Bubble and Squeek: Brussels, Leeks and Ham

Don't let leftovers get you down. Make this quick and delicious potato dish and they'll never know it was from stuff you already had in your fridge. They'll also never know it's healthy, brussel sprouts are hiding in this flavorful comfort food.


Bubble and Squeak, in it's varying forms is the name for fried left-over vegetables from Sunday lunch. Traditionally, it would be eaten on a Monday for lunch or dinner with a fried egg, bacon, or meat leftovers. There is no specific recipe it is simply a way of using up whatever you have left from dinner. The main ingredient is mashed potatoes which is the 'glue'  holding all of the other veggies together and often, but not always cabbage.

In Ireland, it is known as Colcannon and is made from mashed potatoes, cabbage or Kale and onion and similar to Bubble and Squeak as is Rumbled Thumps in Scotland.

Bubble and squeak was a popular dish during World War II, as it was an easy way of using leftovers during a period of hardship and when most foods were rationed. The name comes from the bubble and squeak sounds that are made as the vegetables cook.

PREP TIME   15 MINUTES  
COOK TIME    30 MINUTES
SERVES    4



BUBBLE AND SQUEAK


1 1/2 lbs (750 g) floury potatoes
1/2 cup(125 ml/4fl oz) milk
3 oz (90 g) butter
14 oz.(450g) any combination of  chopped or shredded green vegetables 
{cabbage, leek, brussel sprouts, kale, spinach}
4 oz (110 g) bacon or ham
1/2 cup (125 ml)  Gruyere cheese, shredded 
salt and cracked pepper to taste (I use French Grey Sea Salt)

Cut the potatoes into even-sized pieces and put them in a pan of cold water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until tender, about 8-10 minutes, do not boil or the potatoes may break up and absorb water before they cook through. Drain thoroughly.

Heat the milk in a pan. Add potatoes and half of the butter then mash with a fork until the mixture is smooth. Melt  half of the remaining butter in a large, heavy-based pan with a handle suitable for using in an oven. Cook the ham or bacon until just done. Add the green vegetables (I used brussels and white & light green part of leeks this time) and cook until they are just tender and cooked through. Add them to the potato and mix together with cheese. Season to taste with salt and cracked pepper.

Melt remaining butter (yup, more butter) in pan and spoon in the potato mixture, smoothing off the top. Cook until the bottom is browned and crispy. Remove pan from the heat and place it under a preheated oven at 450 degrees F. Cook until the top is golden browned, about 12 minutes.

Delicious served with a salad or an accompaniment to poached eggs.

Wash brussel sprouts under cool water. Pat dry.

I threw them in my food processor and shredded them.

Brown the brussels and leeks over med-high heat in butter or a high-smoke point oil like grape seed.

Cube potatoes into small pieces and place in salted, cool water into a shallow pan. 

Bring to a gentle boil for 8-10 minutes. Drain.

Now listen, these photos are from 2 different times I made this dish.
The 1st time I mixed all my ingredients in a bowl and then placed them back into the shallow pan and reheated it on the stove and then placed it right into the preheated oven to brown on top.

The 2nd time I used a casserole dish. Not sure why, maybe because I thought it would be prettier. I suggest using the same pan for everything if you have one that is oven proof. Cook your potatoes first, drain and set aside, then brown veggies. Then bake {just follow the recipe above}

 Bon Appetite!

This post is linked to:

For the Kids Friday's

Potato-Blu Cheese and Broccoli Soup {low-fat}

Many of you may have gotten over soup recipes the minute the weather reached 70 degrees outdoors. Here in Phoenix however, it is only cold outside for like 3 weeks out of the year, and that's if you consider 55 degrees on a bright, sunny day cold. So when the weather decides to be all freaky and bi-polar and it is cold, overcast and even windy outside.... we make soup. I literally get giddy at the chance to actually enjoy a hot bowl of comforting soup which can only be truly appreciated when it is chilly and overcast outside in my opinion.

I loved this soup so much that I am seriously thinking of ways to cheat the system. I'm thinking of covering all the windows in thick drapes, turning the air conditioning down to 50 degrees, putting on my fuzzy slippers and making this again in July. Totally grand idea!

The blu cheese was a fabulously unexpected addition to this classic comfort soup. I'm so glad I decided to give blu cheese another chance. I didn't care for it at all in my 20's and now it's one of my favorite treats.

The fresh thyme really brought out all the flavors of the vegetables and just made this soup my new favorite, simple dish. Crispy bacon sprinkled on top of the potato soup had everyone scraping their bowls for the

 very last drop.

Slowly infusing the thyme and garlic in the oil before sauteeing the leeks really kicks up the flavor
and adds a gourmet yet rustic flavour in every bite.

Is the weather acting weird where you live?

You Will Need:

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium leek, thinly sliced 

2-3 cloves garlic smashed

3 small-medium russet potatoes, diced

4-6 sprigs fresh Thyme plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon table salt 

1/2 teaspoon grey sea salt

6 cups chicken broth,  preferabley homemade

3 cups broccoli florets 

1/4 cup almond milk 

Freshly ground black pepper

Cooked and Crumbled Bacon
Crumbled Blue Cheese for Topping

 

To Make:

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the oil, garlic and thyme sprigs. Let them sit in the low heat so that the flavors infuse into the oil, about 8 minutes.  Turn up the heat to medium-high, add the leek and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, broccoli,  table salt, and broth and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook uncovered until the potato is fork tender, about 10 minutes.

Carefully, puree the soup in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender {I love mine}. Return soup to the pot and add the almond milk. Bring to a simmer, taste, and season with French Grey sea salt and cracked pepper.

Ladel into individual bowls and sprinkle bacon and blue cheese and more chopped thyme if you please over top.

Potato Leek Soup Makeover

Potato Leek soup is a pretty common soup I think. Probably because it's pretty simple to make, delicious and warming making it a true comfort food. All of the recipes I've come across are pretty similar, most call for just potatoes and leeks, stock and cream. To me, that just makes glorified mashed potatoes which is all fine and good but I wanted more of a hearty, flavourful yet healthy soup. So I made up my own version out of the usual 'starter' recipe and it was magnificent.

If you've been here at Simply Healthy Family before, you know that I love my veggies and put them in almost everything, even in smoothies. So basically, all I did to this soup was use a good Organic chicken broth ( I use home made broth in broth based soups) and added more leeks and veggies and omitted the cream, using white wine instead for even more flavor. The result was a very flavorful soup without the heavy cream to mask the wonderful leeks and veggies.

This soup was super simple and fairly frugal making it a perfect weekday supper. 4 out of 4 kids loved it!

Simple. Leeks, potatoes, a bit of celery a touch of garlic. Use good quality flavor enhancers like chicken broth, a little bit of a good, dry white wine and French Sea Salt and you'll never miss the butter and cream that sabotage this wonderful soup and your diet.

 Cut the dark green tops off of the leeks and discard or save for vegetable stock or your compost pile. Slice the remaining white stalk lenghtwise. Rinse thoroughly under cool running water to remove sand.

In a ceramic coated cast iron pot (or good soup pot) over medium heat, add a teaspoon or two of EVOO. Gently cook leeks for 3-4 minutes till softened.

Don't let them brown like onions, Leeks are very sensitive that way. ;)

'De-Glazing' adds flavor 

Pour the wine into the pot (can use broth but the wine adds a wonderful flavour!) while scraping the bottom
of the pot with a broad wooden spoon to remove browned bits.
Turn up the heat to Med-High and cook down the wine for about 3 minutes.
Remember not to use metal utensils on your ceramic coated cookware.
and you threw away all of your Teflon pans right???




The center of the celery or 'celery heart' is perfect in soups. Chop up the leaves and add them to soup for more flavour!

Let's talk about salt!



French sea salts are hand-harvested from pristine Atlantic seawater. Unlike most American sea salts, they are usually unrefined so they retain more of the trace minerals that naturally occur in seawater. These minerals include natural iodine which is an essential mineral for proper thyroid function. French grey sea salt, or Sel Gris, is harvested using the traditional Celtic methods. This prized process is done entirely by hand, using only wooden tools. This preserves the pure taste of the French salt, and produces a very special moist crystalline texture. Sel Gris by Le Tresor is also lower in sodium chloride content than average sea salts, generally containing anywhere from 83–87% sodium chloride. French sea salts are ideal for use on salads, cooked fresh vegetables and grilled meat. They are available in coarse grains – ideal for pinching or salt cellars, stone ground fine – an ideal replacement for processed table salts, and extra fine grain – the perfect popcorn salt (or other salty snacks).

 A little goes a long way so even though it's more expensive than regular table salt, you get your money's worth and it's so much better for your health! I just can't say enough about how wonderful this salt tastes!  Potatoes soak up a lot of salt so add a little during cooking to help distribute flavor through your soup but wait until the end of cooking to add salt to taste.

The result?  Drum roll please................... Fantastic. Flavorful. Healthy. 

Comfort city central in my 

kitchen.

Printer Friendly Version of Potato Leek Soup Recipe

TIME  40 MINUTES     SERVES  6-8You Will Need:
5 medium Russet or Yukon Potatoes2-3 Leeks, trimmed and washed2 stalks celery heart w leaves, chopped1 clove garlic, chopped1 cup dry white wine (sub w broth if you must ;)6-7 cups Organic Chicken broth (or home made)2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dry* 1 teaspoon French Grey Sea Salt *Freshly cracked pepper to taste
Optional Garnishes:Center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled on topFresh Thyme


Trim and wash leeks as described above. Cut into thin slices. In a large soup pot over medium heat, add EVOO. Add leeks, cook over medium heat stirring occasionally 3-4 minutes till softened but not browned.Pour in wine while scraping the bottom of the pot with a broad wooden spoon. Let the wine cook down for 2-3 minutes.
Meanwhile scrub potatoes, leave peels on for vitamins. Chop into small, 1 inch pieces. Wash and chop celery. Smash and chop garlic, set aside.
Add broth to the pot, turn up the heat and add the potatoes and celery. Bring to a boil while stirring. Lower heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

Remove from heat. Add garlic, thyme and salt. Using an immersion blender, blend contents of pot to a smooth consistency. Alternately, in small batches, carefully blend contents of pot in a blender.

Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with cracked pepper and chopped bacon, garnish with thyme.

This post is linked to Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sunday's roundup!