What’s the big deal about hasselback potatoes? Originating from a Swedish restaurant of the same name in the 1700s (and now this Bugis girl is making them), here are reasons why you should be roasting them.

• They are drop dead easy to make
• They make you look like a first class fancy schmancy cook when you know you’re not
• They are crusty on the outside and soft in the inside

You can top them with herby yoghurt, plain yoghurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, ketchup… you name it. They are amazing as a side to grilled fish, meat, chicken or even balsamic grilled veggies for a meat-free dinner. Or, if you’re going on some kind of downward spiral, I guess you can eat piles of them on their own. Your choice, really (haven't we all been there?).

This recipe serves 2.

What You Need:
4 medium sized russet potatoes OR 2 large sized russet potatoes
3 tbsp. Butter (NOT margarine!)
1 tbsp. olive oil
Dried or fresh rosemary

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. You’ll be cooking the potatoes skin-on, so be sure they are washed/scrubbed clean.
3. Dry potatoes. Slice them in 0.5cm thick slices, almost all the way down but not all the way down so that they stay intact as one whole potato.
4. Melt the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Slather the potatoes with the melted butter mix. Reserve the rest of the butter.
6. Pop in oven for 20 minutes.
7. Take out, give them another good butter wash, and bake for another 10 minutes.
8. The time may vary on your oven and potato size. Keep an eye on them.
9. Take out, let cool. Add your favourite topping. Or not.
10. Eat while hot.

Here’s my usual dilemma when I’m back home from a long-ass day at work; I'm too tired to go out, I don’t like takeout dinners, but I’m too lazy to cook, and I also would like some me-time to relax after long hours at the office.

Enter the tray bake. I can’t live without my oven, and years of cooking for myself whilst a busy student/worker had turned me into a self-professed tray bake fan. The best thing about this recipe is that you can really just wing it with anything you have in the fridge, as long as you’ve got the crucial elements – sausages, any type of root vegetables, any sort of herbs, and perhaps a sliver of citrusy peel (orange, lemon, lime) to make it extra special and fancy-looking.

This is my favourite tray bake combination so far. The orange peel makes the whole dish smell amazing, and the slightly caramelised onions really compliment the roasted potatoes and carrots. Using rosemary gives it a heartier feel, and using good quality sausages really makes a difference (lower sodium levels, non-processed, high minced meat content = healthier and tastes better).

This recipe serves one with no leftovers, or great as a side to a roast.

What You Need:
2 good quality sausages (or cocktail sausages if you’re on a budget)
1 large Russet potato, peeled
1 carrot, peeled
1 red onion, peeled
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves (fresh or dried)
Orange/lemon/lime peel (optional)
½ red capsicum (optional)

What You Do:

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
2. Cut the potato, carrot and onion into large chunks, roughly all the same size.
3. Toss in a baking tray with a pinch of salt, generous amount of coarse black pepper, rosemary, orange peel (if using) and a good glug drizzle of olive oil.
4. Roast in over for 25 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, go do some yoga or check what’s happening on E!News today.
6. After 25 minutes, take the tray out. Roughly cut the sausages into similar sized pieces as the veg, and toss them in. Roast for another 10-15 minutes.
7. Wrap up that yoga session, while enjoying the seriously amazing smell coming out from the oven.
8. Serve warm with a simple side of green salad (suggestion: dress some lettuce with some lemon juice, whole-grain mustard, salt/pepper and olive oil).

 
Note** If you use foil as a base to your baking tray, you will end up with zero washing up, except for you knife, chopping board and dinner plate. (insert huge sigh of relief)

Sunday brunch time! I love a good hash brown, but unfortunately in KL you’ll end up eating a greasy version of it or paying too much for shredded potatoes. When in fact, it is so simple to make. Not to mention enjoying a plate of hash browns on a lazy Sunday morning is both healthy and therapeutic. Here is a recipe for easy, perfect, crispy hash browns every time.

This recipe serves 2.

Here’s what you need:
2 large russet potatoes (or actually, any potato is fine by me)
2 eggs
Fresh grated parmesan (optional)

Here’s what you do:

1. Wash potatoes. Don’t bother peeling them.
2. Shred the potatoes using the largest grater scale on your box grater.
3. Soak shredded potatoes in water for five minutes (this removes the starch)
4. Drain water. Now get a kitchen towel. Place the shredded potatoes on it. Squeeze the hell out of the potatoes to remove as much residual water out of it as possible (this is what makes the hash crispy)
5. Season potatoes with salt and pepper.
6. Lightly grease a non-stick pan. When hot, place a layer of shredded potatoes.
7. Flip when cooking side is brown and crispy.
8. Serve with a sunny side up, ketchup and some parmesan if you had a rough night last night.

Warning: If you’re on some kind of diet or detox program, walk away NOW.

Let’s talk about the life blessing that is the potato gratin. What is it? Picture this; soft slices of potatoes, arranged side by side in layers, and bathed in gooey, stringy, creamy cheese sauce. Serve them warm and steaming, perfect for a chilly day. Got your attention yet? Okay.

The best potato gratin I’ve had was at a small French restaurant at Lake Annecy, on a summer afternoon. While looking for lunch options, we walked past this restaurant but stopped dead on our tracks and moonwalked back, because we saw a French woman devouring a large bowl of potato gratin, which looked like it was begging us to eat it. So we sat down, ordered a serving, and the next hour was a heavenly memory of scooping up creamy, cheesy potatoes and dipping crusty bread into the sauce. This restaurant uses four types of regional French cheeses in its gratin. For a money-saving, more relevant option, here’s my twist on a potato gratin to make at home. 

Here’s what you need:

300 g potatoes, or 5 Malaysia-sized ones
A packet of instant Mushroom soup
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Cheddar if you have some

Here’s what you do:

1.      Wash, peel potatoes
2.      Slice them into 0.5 cm thick slices
3.      Par-boil them. By that I mean until it’s slightly soft, but not until they break into mush.
4.      Add water to the mushroom soup mix. Taste. Add salt if needed. Make sure it’s runny (it will thicken in  the oven)
5.      Layer the slices of potatoes in a small baking tray. The layer goes like this – potatoes, mushroom           soup mix, cheddar & mozzarella. Keep going.
6.      Make sure the potatoes are submerged in the sauce.
7.      Dust the dish with some ground pepper. Top with mozzarella.
8.      Into oven, 180 deg C for about 15 mins or until cheese melts.
9.      Take out. Eat while sitting on a couch.
10.    That breakup seems ages ago, doesn't it?