Stovies

Stovies, what looks like mush in a bowl is actually a brilliant and delicious leftover makeover, popular in Scotland. We had roast last night and while all of it would easily have been eaten I kept back a small bit to try this for lunch today. And one taste and it was like with the Molha, it was a new dish that was an instant favorite. Something that suits my tastes perfectly. 

At first I thought this would be a bit like the hash my mom made growing up but with at least one notable difference.  Though both are intended to use up leftovers has is fried or sauteed instead of simmered. In the end the potatoes in the hash with retain more of their shape and it will be a loose dish where stovies is more of one mass.

As I was trying to take a nice picture I took the one above and then chopped a few chives to sprinkle on the top for color in the second picture. However having a garnish just didn't really go with such a humble meal so I nixed that, stirred them in and ate it. It might not have worked aesthetically but they added a great flavor to it. 

Something interesting I noticed when looking around on how other made this was the two sizes of potatoes. Typically in cooking they are called for being uniform so they cook evenly. Which is exactly why you don't want them uniform here. The smaller ones will cook down faster and break down before the large ones are cooked thickening everything and holding it together in the most delicious way possible. 

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bit of butter and oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large potatoes
Meat from leftover roast
leftover gravy or drippings
Salt & Pepper to taste
Chives, optional

Heat the butter and the oil in a narrow deep pot, once it's warm add the onion over medium heat until it's soft. 

Meanwhile, peel and chop the potatoes. Make them two different sizes. Chop half of them fairly small, i'd say about a 1/4 of an inch. Chop the rest of them about an inch. 

Add them to the onions with some salt and cook, stirring, until some of them start to look a little lighter around the edges, and they are just starting to cook. 

Add the gravy and enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, just until the potatoes are just about done but the slightest bit still crisp in the middle. 

Stir in the meat and uncover. Keep cooking until the potatoes are all tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.  You can leave this to crisp a little on the bottom, it will be golden and add a bit or caramelized flavor as you stir it in. 

Serve with black pepper and chives.

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Original Picture - Post Updated 1/2/2019