JUMBLE SALES! by BYRON

In my family we have a dish that we call “Jumble Sales”, as in “Garage Sales”.

Its sounds like an unusual name for a meal, but basically its what you make out of whatever is left over in the fridge the next day. Its a bit of everything that is in the house… hence “Jumble Sales”

As far as I am aware my family is the only one that calls it this.

“Well Byron, wottizzit?” I hear you ask.

Actually, I don’t hear that, because if I did I would clearly be losing my mind, and perhaps you shouldn’t be following a recipe from someone so delusional that he is hearing voices.

But I digress…

Jumble Sales are what everyone else calls “Fritters” or “Flapjacks” or “Bubble & Squeak”, or if you are Swiss – “Rosti”

Basically they are like Hashbrowns with extra stuff, – potato cakes with all your leftovers mixed in for extra yummy yumminess!

Traditionally, my Dad has always made these in our family, and I have struggled for years to replicate his Jumble Sales, but to no avail. They were too floury, too eggy, or would fall apart, or be too solid.

That is, until about 2 months ago when the Mum of one of my work mates gave me the secrets to making perfect Jumble Sales…

Secret # 1: The Flour-to-Egg Ratio

1. 1cup of Self Raising Flour to 1 egg [if you need 2cups of flour, then you need 2 eggs!]
   Note: Don’t use Plain Flour – you will end up making hard, solid rocks that you could probably use as defensive weapons!

Secret # 2: The Process: “Dry-to-Wet” – in that order

1. Add the ingredients to the mixing bowl
2. Stir
3. Add the flour
4. Stir
5. Add the Eggs
6. Stir

The best ingredients are leftovers from the family’s Sunday Roast [or whatever day you usually have a roast]: meat and veges. But you really can use anything, fish, sausages, chicken, pork, lamb, beef, and any assortment of veges, herbs and spices.. The more the merrier really!

Chop up the following into 1cm square chunks:

1. Meat
2. Baked Veges [potato, pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, anything really, skins and all]
   Note: Broad Beans [Fava Beans] don’t really work since they go very hard when fried. Other beans and peas are just fabulous!

1. add 1x diced onion [raw]
2. add 1x tin of “corn and peas” [you should always add corn to Jumble Sales!]

1. place all these ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir them about to mix them up

1. sift 2x cups of self raising flour onto the mixture.
2. add about a desert spoon of curry powder
3. add a pinch of salt… or maybe a bit more.
4. Using a large cooking spoon, mix the flour into the ingredients until everything is thoroughly coated and no loose flour remains.

1. add a good squirt of Fish Sauce
2. add a really good squirt of Maggi Seasoning Sauce [or any other sauce that is used to season meat etc]
3. thoroughly stir 2x eggs in a cup and then pour that over the mixture.
4. using the large cooking spoon, stir the eggs thru the mixture until everything is coated with egg [it will look “wet”]

When you have added the eggs you will think that there is no way that two egges will coat everything in the bowl, but it will. Really. You just have to keep mixing it with the big cooking spoon. It takes about five minutes or so, and I find that slicing the spoon through the mixture works very well.

Do not be tempted to add more liquid or eggs!

Just DON’T, ok!

1. Heat olive oil [about 1cm deep] in a large electric skillet on maximum heat.
2. add a cooking-spoon full of the mixture to the oil when it is hot, flatten it out to about 1.5 – 2cm thick and cook it for about 4 minutes on each side [or until it goes a dark golden brown colour]

Eat while they are hot, or refrigerate and eat cold as snacks.

CHECK OUT MORE OF MY ADVENTURES IN COOKING…

1. MUSHROOM SOUP SO GOOD – IT SHOULD GET ME LAID!
2. FETTUCCINI ALFREDO
3. PERFECT POACHED EGGS
4. SWEET PORK & RICE
5. WATERMELON? … WHO KNEW IT COULD TASTE THIS GOOD?
6. DUCK SOUP FOR THE SOUL
7. JUMBLE SALES!
8. I MADE SANGRIA
9. PIZZA FROM CASA DE BYRON
10. MY FETTUCINE CARBONARA