Norfolk Rissoles Recipe

For many years, I spent every Tuesday morning battling to herd pigs into their pens in the cattle market at King's Lynn in Norfolk, England. These wilful beasts never wanted to go where they should and I often wondered if people bred them just to make my life difficult! But I only have to eat a Norfolk Rissole to get my answer... they are quite delicious and extremely economical too.

How to make Norfolk Rissoles:

Peel the potatoes and cut into pieces of roughly equal size (A medium-sized potato is usually cut into about 6 pieces). Rinse the potatoes to remove any surface starch. Now place them in a large pan with sufficient salted water to cover the potatoes. Bring the water to the boil then turn down the heat and cover the pan so that it continues to boil gently.

Cooking time can vary depending upon the type of potato and the texture. Generally, however, somewhere between 15 - 20 minutes is sufficient. When you think that the potatoes are close to being cooked, pierce one or two of them with a fork. If the fork penetrates easily with little resistance, the potatoes are cooked. Remove the pan from the heat and drain off the water. Add 2oz (50g) of the butter and, using a potato masher, begin to break up and mash the potatoes. Add milk (or cream if you want to be decadent) until the texture is soft and light.

Allow the potatoes to cool, meanwhile chop the bacon into small pieces and fry for a few minutes until it is crisp. Mix the bacon in a large bowl with the remaining 2oz (50g) of butter, the self-raising flour (self-rising flour) and the cooled potatoes until a soft dough is formed (you can add a small quantity of milk if you wish, to create a pliable dough). Shape this dough by hand to for 'cakes' about 3" (7.5cm) across and 1" (2.5cm) deep.

Using the pan in which you fried the bacon, fry these 'cakes' over a medium heat for about 5-6 minutes on each side until they are lightly browned. Serve hot (with a fried egg perched on top!) accompanied by Grilled Sausages or Grilled Gammon Steak