COLUMNIST: DINA WATT
I will show you a great way to disguise Brussels sprouts, one which picky eaters will not even realise features the often-detested green spheres, and how to make the most of your roast potato leftovers during Christmas by serving up homemade potato noodles. Have a great festive season.
Set the hob to a medium heat. In a frying pan, add the chopped garlic then the scrambled egg. Mix them well then throw in the chopped Brussels sprouts and saute them together until they are all well mixed. This will probably take 2-3 minutes. Let it cool and set aside.
I say ‘little parcels’ because they look like cute little parcels. Please see the pictures below to know how exactly to fold the rice paper sheets.
First, dip each of the rice paper sheets into the warm water for about 2 seconds. It will become a bit floppy.
Then add fillings, starting with the pepperoni at the base, then the Brussels sprouts and eggs fillings. Keep repeating the process for each parcel.
Fold them nicely into a square as below.
This is the last step of this cooking process. Set the hob to high and add 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, gently place in 2-3 little parcels, cooking for 2-3 minutes on each side. The oil has to be hot to make the rice paper skin crispy. Don’t let them touch each other or they may stick together!
You can serve with a little bit of lettuce or chopped coriander leaves. For the sauce, use chopped chilli and soya sauce. You could also use sriracha or sweet chilli sauce for dipping.
1. Peel and cut potatoes into thin slices, steam or boil for 15 minutes until they are cooked. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes, add tapioca and potato starch, and knead into a dough. If the dough is still sticky, add a bit more potato starch, then let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
If you have leftover roasted or boiled potatoes from Christmas dinner, just mash/blend them until very smooth.
2. After 15 minutes, take a small portion of the dough and roll it so it turns into a thick noodle as below.
3. Boil the water, then add the noodles and let them cook for about 3 minutes. Take them out and put into two separate bowls to make two portions. In each bowl, add 2 tbsp of soya sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp of sesame oil, chilli flakes (depending on how spicy you would like it to be), chopped garlic, and spring onions. Mix everything and enjoy.
Dina Watt, an Indonesian, now living in Aberdeenshire, is known as the Indonesian Cook. Dina’s love of nature and gardening fuels her passion for cooking using home-grown ingredients. She appeared on BBC's 'Beechgrove' in 4 episodes in 2021.
In her column, Dina shares her own adventurous recipes for delicious home-cooked meals that are easy to make using home-grown, seasonal fruits and vegetables from her own kitchen garden. She is passionate about using every bit of the plant in order to practice zero-waste principles.