Pan Haggerty

It’s Sunday morning and L has gone out with some of her friends. I’m left on my own for a chunk of the day. Last night we went out to a Roller Derby bout, Toronto Roller Derby’s Gold Digger Grudge Match between the Bay Street Bruisers and the Chicks Ahoy!. We had an absolute blast but I think I might have overdid it a bit with the alcohol (come to think of it this whole week was a bit of a boozy-binge) my body was crying out for something big and starchy. A usual “my body is a lard temple” meal is a fry-up—fried bacon, fried eggs, fried bread, fried tomatoes, you know, a good Brit breakfast guaranteed to cure the brain-fuzzies. But today I decided on something slightly different. I did a bit of an inventory of the fridge and pantry and decided on pan haggerty.

I always like a dish whose origin is easy to explain and thus move on to the recipe. This one isn’t one of those. Pan Haggerty is essentially an onion, potato and cheese dish although variants include bacon or tinned corned beef. Variously called pan haggerty, panhaggerty, panakelty, or panacalty. The only mention I found that puts forth a reference other than “my gran says” explains that it is a Geordie supper dish originally called panhaggerty, and is said to have taken its name from the French hachis meaning to “chop or slice”. Apparently it is mentioned in a book describing the dialect of Winlaton, near Newcastle. Traditionally Pan Haggerty is always served directly from the pan in which it is cooked. Of course I’ve also found numerous recipes for a “traditional” Irish dish called haggerty, and guess what? Yup, same recipe. Whatever the origin, it is rich, filling and delicious.


PAN HAGGERTY

Ingredients
7oz potatoes, peeled and finely sliced
1 sweet onion, finely sliced
4 tbsp bacon drippings (if you don’t have or wish to make this vegetarian, use unsalted butter)
4 oz streaky bacon, sliced into lardons
4oz +1oz sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
sour cream (optional for accompaniment—lovely)

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C / gas mark 4. Heat half of the bacon fat in a cast iron skillet (or any oven-proof pan) and fry the onions until soft, then remove them from the skillet.

2. Fry bacon in same skillet until crispy, then remove them and pit them aside with the onions.

3. Put a single layer of potato into the same skillet and fry until golden brown.

4. Layer onion, cheese, potato, onion, cheese, potato—seasoning between each layer before finishing with potato.

5. Heat the remaining bacon fat and pour over the pan. Put in preheated oven for around 35-40 minutes or until soft.

6. Just before serving, top with 1oz of grated cheddar and put under broiler until bubbling and melty. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Paul’s Potato Salad

Our friend Dave invited us to his house for a barbeque last Saturday. I thought it would only be polite to bring a some sort of side dish other than a case of beer (the perfect side-dish to any bbq). When breaking bread old-stylie, around a fire, with friends, two dishes immediately come to mind—cole slaw and potato salad. The Adam and Eve of summer time dishes. Macaroni salad could, I guess be added, but then my analogy wouldn’t stand up. I love them with a passion and for versions I always prefer the creamy style dressing. They possess that Proustian ability to evoke all kinds of childhood picnics, bbqs, and cottage bonfires. All of the summer eating experiences I remember have been accompanied with a creamy dressed salad—a vinaigrette version would just not do for Dave. I decided for this meal I would make a potato salad.

I flipped through a lot of different recipes, mentally tasting them all. Nothing quite caught my imagination so I finally decided to come up with my own recipe. My version has that rustic feel I remember as a child as well as a nice mix of tangy and savoury flavours that I love. Grab your plastic forks, dear readers, it’s bbq time!


PAUL’S POTATO SALAD

Ingredients
2 lbs new red potatoes
4-5 tbsp home-made mayonnaise (or store bought if you are short of time)
1 rib celery, diced
½ big sweet onion, diced
4 rashers crispy streaky bacon, crumbled
4 cornichons, diced
3 hard boiled eggs, diced
1 tsp Maggi Seasoning
½ tsp + pinch smoked sweet paprika
½ big lemon’s juice
kosher salt & freshly ground long pepper (regular black pepper would do as well)


Method
1. Peel and halve potatoes. Throw in a saucepan, and cover by about an inch of water, add about one teaspoon of kosher salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes (or until the little guys are fork tender). Now, how firm you want the potatoes is up to you, I like a certain amount of resistance in my potato salad. Too soft and the salad degenerates into some mealy spread. But hey, if you like that...

2. Meanwhile make the dressing. Put the mayonnaise in a large bowl and mix in the diced celery, onion, bacon, cornichons, hard boiled eggs, Maggi Seasoning, sweet paprika, and the lemon juice. Make sure everything gets evenly distributed.

N.B. - I should add a quick note about the Maggi Seasoning. Maggi Seasoning is an extract of pure vegetable proteins. Made in China, this sauce features a distinctive flavour and aroma, which adds zest and depth to all kinds of food. I discovered it in Alastair Hendy’s cookbook entitled Home Cook: More Than 180 Recipes for the Food We Love to Eat. In his recipe for his Mum’s potato salad he noted that it gives the salad “a savoury edge, and perfects it.” He wasn’t lying. If you don’t have any Maggi you could substitute equal parts dark soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, but the stuff is cheap and available everywhere now, I’d suggest just getting some.

3. When the potatoes are ready, drain in a colander. While still warm toss with dressing making sure that everything is thoroughly coated. Season with kosher salt and long pepper and finish with a pinch of smoked paprika. Leave in the fridge for a while until all the flavours have had a chance to marry.