Marvellous mint
Nicola Galloway shares a use for rapidly spreading mint – a simple potato dish and a family favourite ice cream.
Weekend kitchen
Once you have mint in the garden it is there to stay. The mint in mine was already here when we moved in, and if I was starting over it would be in a big pot on the patio rather than in the garden spreading its tentacles.
It dies away over winter, but when the new shoots come forth in spring the battle begins to keep it contained within one area of the garden. If you also have mint in the garden you will understand my lament. Knowing it will be difficult to get rid of completely, the mint coexists with the berries, which also have a tendency to spread. This is the wildest part of the garden, tamed within paths so any shoots can be nipped in the bud, so to speak.
Fortunately it is a culinary mint, peppermint I suspect, that I enjoy using in cooking and drinks. So all those spring escapee shoots get put to good use in the kitchen. What isn’t used fresh can be gathered in a bunch to dry in a shady spot. Once dry the leaves can be used to make herb tea or crushed by hand to sprinkle into cooking, widely used in Greek and Middle Eastern cooking. Crispy roasted potatoes with capers and mint
This potato dish could also be called roasted potato salad as it uses many of the flavours that might be used in a cold salad. Potatoes love punchy flavours so don’t hold back here with the capers and mint.
Ever wondered why sometimes cold water is used to cook potatoes and other times boiling water? It comes down to the age of the potato, new potatoes, which I used, are lower in starch so are best started in boiling water. While older stored potatoes are higher in starch so starting in cold water ensures they are evenly cooked. Preparation time: 20 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes Serves 4 as a side About 800g small gourmet potatoes, or use larger potatoes cut into 4-5cm chunks 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp capers, rinsed and chopped 2-3 sprigs of mint, leaves roughly chopped 2 spring onions, thinly sliced 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or grated 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 4 tbsp olive oil Cracked pepper Preheat the oven to 220C (fan 200C). First parboil the potatoes. Place them into a large saucepan, cover with boiling water (or cold water if using older potatoes) and add the salt. Be generous with salting the water to gently season the potatoes while they cook – the salty water is drained away. Bring the potatoes to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes until just tender. Drain well and leave to steam dry in the hot pan. Prepare the dressing. Combine the prepared capers, mint, spring onion, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil in a bowl. Add salt and cracked pepper to taste. Tip the hot potatoes into a roasting tray. Use a small wooden bowl or plate to gently squash the potatoes so the skins burst. If the potatoes also burst apart that is just fine – the more exposed surface area the better. Evenly spoon of the caper and mint dressing over the potatoes. Place in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes until golden and crispy. Spoon over the remaining dressing and serve alongside any main and green salad. Can also be served warm to accompany a barbecue. Mint chocolate ice cream
Without a doubt when we go out for ice cream the majority of my family will choose chocolate mint (if it is available). So with all this mint on hand and the warmer weather I set to making it at home. It was such a hit I suspect I will be making a lot of this over summer. The cream and milk is first infused with fresh mint then churned into ice cream with crunchy pieces of chopped chocolate.
I have also included a little olive oil, which reduces ice crystals in homemade ice cream while complementing the fresh mint flavour perfectly. Once you try ice cream with olive oil it is hard to go back, so do give it a go. And remember if you are using an ice cream maker, put the maker bowl in the freezer the day before so it is ultra cold for churning the ice cream. Preparation time: 30 minutes plus 3-4 hours cooling time Freeze time: 2.5-5 hours Serves 6 500ml (2 cups) cream 250ml (1 cup) milk 5-6 bushy mint sprigs (about 10g) 4 free-range egg yolks cup (100g) sugar 3 tbsp olive oil Pinch of salt 70g dark or mint chocolate (I used Trade Aid), finely chopped Place the cream and milk into a saucepan. Remove the mint leaves from the stalks, crush in your hand to bruise a little and add to the cream. Heat over a low heat until the cream foams on the surface. Remove from the heat, cover with a lid (to prevent a skin forming) and set aside to infuse for 15-20 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, olive oil and salt until thick and emulsified. Strain the infused cream through a sieve into a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to press the mint leaves to extract as much flavour as possible. Pour about cup of the warm cream into the egg mixture, whisking to loosen then pour both of the liquids back into the pan. Over a low heat, stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard lightly coats the back of the spoon – about 5 minutes. Don’t let it boil. Pour into a bowl and cool completely – this can be sped up by sitting the bowl in a larger bowl or sink of cold water, whisking occasionally to prevent a skin forming. Cover and chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Once cold, pour the custard into an ice cream maker and churn for 20-25 minutes until thickened. Add the finely chopped chocolate and continue to churn for 2 minutes. Scoop the ice cream into a freezer-safe dish and freeze until firm, about 2 hours. If you don’t have an ice cream maker. Pour the chilled custard into a freeze-safe dish. Freeze for 1 hour then whisk the custard vigorously to break up the ice crystals. Repeat this step twice more adding the chocolate in the last mixing, then freeze for at least 2 hours until solid. To serve, remove the ice cream from the freezer 5-10 minutes before serving to soften for easier scooping. The ice cream can be made ahead of time and frozen for up to 1 month. Nicola Galloway is an award-winning food writer, cookbook author and culinary tutor. Visit: homegrown-kitchen.co.nz.