Champ (traditional)
List of Ingredients
14 large spring onions
1 1/2 cups milk
1 level teaspoon salt
1 1/4 pounds potatoes
1 quart cold water
1 1/2 ounce butter
pepper to tasteRecipe
Trim, cut and chop onions
Soak in milk for about an hour. Stir in half the salt.
Peel and slice the potatoes into a saucepan.
Bring quickly to the boil with remaining salt.
Boil until tender; drain thoroughly and mash.
Place the onion and milk on to boil. Add the butter.
Cover and simmer gently until tender.
Gradually beat into the potatoes. Keep beating, mashing and stirring until the potatoes are fluffy and the onions are entirely absorbed.
(In Ireland a wooden masher or pestle is used for this process, popularly called "beetling".)
Beat in pepper to taste. To quicken the process of mashing, stand pan in a larger saucepan of boiling water, as the potatoes must be kept hot.
Traditionally, Champ was piled on heated individual plates.
A well was then made in the center of each portion and a large knob of butter slipped in, and allowed to melt.
You ate it with a spoon from the outside, dipping each spoonful in the well of melted butter.
Yield 4 servings
Note: Sometimes I beat the butter into the Champ and serve it in a heated vegetable dish as an accompaniment to cold meat or salad.
|
|
member logon
