Bubble and Squeak!

English food has some humorous names. Bubble and Squeak. Spotted Dick. Bangers and Mash. Toad in Hole. They sound more like embarrassing conditions you'd whisper about behind closed doors rather than savory and delicious dishes.

Tonight I'm making a recipe for Spiced Parsnip Bubble and Squeak that I found on the BBC Good Food website. We need something comforting, spicy and not too fattening, and this fits the bill. In fact, on the website, you can search for recipes in a certain calorie range, which was how I found this one.

Here's what Wikipedia says about Bubble and Squeak:

Bubble and squeak (sometimes just called bubble) is a traditional English dish made with the shallow-fried leftover vegetables from a roast dinner. The chief ingredients are potato and cabbage, but carrots, peas, brussels sprouts, and other vegetables can be added. It is traditionally served with cold meat from the Sunday roast, and pickles. Traditionally the meat was added to the bubble and squeak itself, although nowadays the vegetarian version is more common. The cold chopped vegetables (and cold chopped meat if used) are fried in a pan together with mashed potato until the mixture is well-cooked and brown on the sides.

This version is vegetarian and not made from leftovers, though I'm sure it will turn into lovely leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. I think the spice mixture looks really good--turmeric, lemon juice, cumin, garam masala, coriander and red chili. I'm going to serve it with a tangy tomato chutney, just as suggested. I'll snap some pics when I finish and we'll see if it's as good looking as the BBC's pic. Maybe it'll be even prettier...





Okay, maybe not, but it tasted great! I love the recipe. Andy liked it too, although he felt it needed potatoes. If I made it again, the only change I would make would be forming it into manageably sized patties so it could be browned and flipped more easily.


P.S.
The chutney was really tasty--sweet and tangy and very easy to make. I just diced some onion, sauteed it in olive oil, added pureed garlic, a tablespoon of double strength tomato paste, then a can of good quality diced tomatoes, about a tablespoon of sugar and balsamic vinegar. Then I simmered it for half an hour or so, until it thickened a little.