There’s a psychometric test that the BBC used to use, according to a mate of mine who took it, that is based on the chakras. I can’t believe for a second that anyone at the BBC actually knew this, although I’d love to think that a renegade hippy had penetrated the upper echelons of BBC HR. But I’ve adopted the bit about potatoes.
Let’s have a quick refresher on the chakras; we’ll take it from the top. There’s your crown chakra, your connection with the divine, the universe, call it what you will. I call it the god head. Moving to your Frieda Kahlo brow, that’s your third eye, your intuition. Then down to your throat is the chakra of expression. The heart, you’ll know, but the solar plexus in the sternum can be seen as everything from sunshine to ego. I like to think of it as a smiley child who hasn’t been hurt by life. Yet.
Just below the navel or lower belly is the Hara, the root of all creativity, the womb, sexual energy, LIFE. And then there’s your root chakra. Breathe into it and you shall connect to the infinite wonders of the world.
The BBC, apparently, sees the god head as the ability to think out of the box, and measures it in a series of questions. I WISH I could remember what they call it, but Google as I might, I just can’t find the name of the astronomer/astronaut/inventor or some such who gives this bit of the test its name. Think light bulbs popping out of the top of your head.
Skip through the next obvious bits to the Hara which they call your ‘Pavarotti’. I love that. In the seat of creativity lies your biggest voice.
And then there’s your ‘potatoes’. The questions around this are all about your relationship with your family, old friends, your roots. How well you get/got on with them equates to how grounded you are. ‘Has he/she/they got good potatoes?’ is a phrase that has passed into our family vocabulary as a new love interest is announced at the dinner table.
I love to think that the BBC puts such value on full expression in its staff; imagine what the commissioning process would be if everyone had full power in their heart chakras, smiley child energy and light bulbs a-popping! But then my mate was just a continuity announcer…
All of which is an excuse to talk about
who is this week’s guest on Cooking the Books. I think we all know that Mark would provide a rather wonderful set of results of the BBC’s psychometric test. I wonder if that renegade hippy might see his career in planting and growing as a way of putting down his own roots to counter an early tricky relationship he had with his dad.Here’s a little film he made especially for Extra Bites a couple of weeks ago about the potato flowers in his garden as he looked ahead to the first crop in time for his publication date. I think it says it all.
And if you heard Mark on Cerys Matthews (1’15” in) last week, here’s that Homity Pie that he made for her, and which he told us about in his food moments for you to try at home.
CAULIFLOWER, POTATO + CARAWAY HOMITY PIE
Even in the small towns of south-west England in the late 1980s, the occasional health-food shop and wholefood cafe could be found, an island of nutrition in a sea of Spacedust and limeade. Their menus invariably featured at least one thing from the genuinely game-changing Cranks Recipe Book. Very often that was homity pie, a carb-heavy coming-together of potatoes, cream, cheese and pastry. Even writing those words makes me simultaneously ravenous and keen to listen to ‘Sign of the Times’. Here is a gorgeous variation on its theme.
Serves 4
For the pastry
250g (9oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
pinch of salt
1 tsp caraway seeds, lightly cracked in a mortar and pestle
150g (5oz) butter
1 egg, beaten, plus extra for brushing
For the filling
500g (1lb 2oz) new potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1cm/1⁄2in thick)
30g (1oz) butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1⁄2 smallish cauliflower, thinly sliced
150g (5oz) Cheddar, coarsely grated or crumbled small
1⁄4 freshly grated whole nutmeg
small bunch of chives, thinly sliced
250ml (9fl oz) double (heavy) cream
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the flour, salt, caraway seeds and butter into a food processor and blend until
the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and pulse until the mixture just comes together. (Alternatively, using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour and salt until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add the egg and mix to form a dough.) Bring the dough together with your hands and shape into a round. Wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes while you make the filling.
Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and allow to dry.
Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for about 8–10 minutes until soft. Stir in the cauliflower, cover and cook for 5–10 minutes, stirring often until the cauliflower begins to soften. Add the potatoes and half the cheese. Season the mix with the nutmeg, chives and some salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F.
Lightly flour the work surface, then roll out the pastry to fit a tart tin about
20cm (8in) in diameter. The pastry should be around 4mm (1⁄4in) thick. Leave the edges of the pastry bigger than the tin, as it will shrink a little during cooking. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork and line with baking parchment. Fill with baking beans (pie weights) and blind bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the parchment and beans from the case, brush the pastry with a little beaten egg and return to the oven for 10 minutes until the pastry is golden. Trim the edges of the pastry with a sharp knife, then turn the oven down to 170°C/150°C fan/340°F.
Spoon the filling mixture evenly into the tart case and pour over the cream. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake in the hot oven for 35–40 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the filling is set and lightly golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes or so before cutting into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.
VEGAN: Use shop-bought pastry (most brands are vegan) and sprinkle the caraway over it before blind baking; use plant-based cheese, butter and cream.
GF: Use GF flour or shop-bought gluten-free pastry sprinkled with caraway seeds.
SEASONAL SWAPS: Try Broccoli and Romanesco in place of the cauliflower.
Vegetables by Mark Diacono (Quadrille, £27) is available from June 20th. Photography © Mark Diacono
Really enjoyed your conversation with Mark (this morning's company for me and the dog around the old golf course). I was photographing an old hippy earlier this week and was being enlightened on chakras, albeit not broadcasting psychometric tests. I'll be making Mark's homity pie in the near future.