potatoes

Posts Tagged ‘potatoes’

Smashed Potatoes with Olive Tapanade

Last Sunday we found ourselves in a not to far, large wooded park. It’s a treasure to have parks like this when you live in an urban area and we find ourselves there pretty often. This one is lined with lots of trails, through tall cedar trees and cliffs that overlook the puget sound. This day however, we were there for more than just the scenic beauty and fresh air, we were on a mushroom hunt.

Have you ever gone mushroom hunting? This was my first. I lived in five acres of densely wooded land when I was growing up, and always admired the mushrooms I found for their silent beauty and fairy tale-like mesmerization, but never had I dared to pluck one from the ground, stow it in my pocket, and bring it home to eat. I had heard the stories of mushroom poisonings or hallucinogens that can happen if you have no idea what you’re looking for, so I treaded on the safe side and instead felt humbled in their presence.

Following the foragers number one rule “never eat something unless you are 100% sure what it is,” we joined a friend who knows what he is looking for. We followed the trails until we came to a few spots where he picked chanterelles in the years before. Then it was into the bushes and over fallen logs, each step sunk into pine needle and mossy ground. We were out there for hours, but it only felt like we had just begun. We came out with only two mushrooms; one for him and one for us.

We were expecting so much more, but it was thrilling and so natural to just be out there that I didn’t even care once we got home. I held the chanterelle close to my nose and took in the earthy forest smell, then sliced into it, sauteed it in a little butter, garlic and herb mixture and served it on a slice of toast. It was delicious and enough. At least until we forage for more.

There are so many things that are seeming to come back into our lives these days. Foraging, a forgotten hunt and gather, that our ancestors relied on for food and livelihood is one, but also print. The one tool that has been around for centuries and is used to tell stories, send letters, document, enjoy over a cup of coffee or tea, and line itself up on bookshelves. None of these things are going away per se, but less and less are becoming tangible things. I like when I can touch something and write my own notes in it, or the thrill of finding my own grandmas handwriting on a scratch of paper.

There has been a decline of print magazines because everything is going online these days, but there are still a few who have claimed it is not yet gone and are paving the way. Wilder Quarterly is one of those magazines. Here’s a little of what they’re about from their website:

“Wilder Quarterly is a publication for people enthralled by the natural world. In our pages you’ll find green thumbs, rooftop gardeners, foodies and chefs, seed savers, architects, hobby farmers, horticulturalists, innovators, amateurs, and experts. Just your everyday mix of growing enthusiasts. Wilder is ‘life through the lens of the growing world’— indoors and out, culture, travel, food and design. Published seasonally for this generation of growers and the next.”

The first thing I noticed, besides the beautiful cover shot, was the paper choice. This may not be something many people think about, but coming from a design background, it kinda means a lot to the whole experience. Inside, every single image or drawing is absolutely beautiful and pulled from talent all over. I found myself curled up with each story and took away knowledge of subjects I never new I was interested in. There’s a handful of recipes mixed in throughout and I pulled out this one to share with you here. A lovely recipe for smashed potatoes that get a golden crunchy crust and are topped with a briny salty olive tapanade. I served mine over a bed of arugula for a light salad meal, but they would be the perfect starter to any meal if you have a few people around to share with.

Smashed Potatoes with Olive Tapanade
Recipe by Francis Mallmann’s Seven Fires of Argentina via Wilder Quarterly: Fall 2012 Issue

for the tapanade
1 cup kalamata olives, minced
2 tablespoons capers, minced
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper

Mix everything together in a bowl and allow to stand for a while to blend. You can whiz everything in a food processor to make it easier. Don’t skip the lemon zest and juice. They are delightful in this.

for the potatoes
about 1 1/2 lbs. of waxy small red or white potatoes
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
6 black peppercorns
salt

Wash potatoes. If not uniform in size, cut to size and boil, with all added seasonings, until tender. Drain and discard seasonings. Allow the potatoes to cool slightly, then gently crush them with your palm so they break open, but don’t bust them apart too much.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cast iron works beautifully for this. Add a small amount of butter and oil and swirl to coat the pan. When hot, place potatoes in a single layer in the pan. Cook 10 minutes or so, until a good crust forms on the bottom. Dot the top with about 1/4 cup of the tapanade, and carefully turn the potatoes over. Allow to cook on the other side for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with tapanade on the side.

*Full disclosure: Recipe re-printed with permission from Wilder Quarterly. I was not paid to endorse Wilder Quarterly, but all photo’s, text, and opinions are my own.

Gluten-Free, Salads, Sides, Vegan, Vegetables

Roasted Roots & Spinach Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

This salad is really more about the lemon tahini dressing than the salad as a whole. I wanted to share with you more ways to use the dressing than on a traditional green salad (which is equally delicious) and since roasted root vegetables have been a weekly staple since well, late fall, that’s what I cooked up. A hearty winter root salad, livened up by a dressing you really must try.

I’ve been eating this dressing on everything for the last few weeks. Yes, every. Single. Thing. It’s just so good and I’ve found it so versatile too. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to share it with you.

It’s rich and nutty tasting, balanced by the tartness of lemon and spiced up from the garlic and cayenne. It’s super creamy and goes well over a sturdy salad made with Romaine and equally as well spooned over a wrap or for dipping your sweet potato fries in. I can hardly wait until summer arrives and I can drizzle some over eggplant or keep it thick and dip fresh veggies in.

Roasted Roots & Spinach Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing / serves 4

I’ve kept the roasted vegetable amounts below pretty loose. You’ll want roughly 4lbs for 4 meal sized servings. If you can find sunchokes, use them. They are absolutely one tasty little root, but other options could include parsnips and sweet potatoes. The dressing has been adapted from The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook. It’s a great little book full of recipes from small farms all over the NW and I have little tags hanging out all over for new recipes to try.

4lbs. root veggies of your choice (I used red sunchokes, carrots, and yellow potatoes)
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of salt and ground pepper
1 bunch baby spinach, washed and dried

for the dressing
1/4 cup tahini
just and finely grated zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon white miso
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro or parsley
pinch of cayenne
water as needed

Preheat the oven to 425F. Have ready a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat mat.

Wash and scrub the vegetables well and roughly cut into even thicknesses so they bake at relatively the same time. Drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Give everything a good toss and roast in the oven for about 30-45 minutes, depending on the thickness you cut everything. The vegetables should be tender and have lightly golden crusty ends.

Meanwhile make the dressing. In a small bowl whisk together the tahini, lemon juice and zest, miso, and garlic. Mix in the cilantro and cayenne and enough water to reach desired consistency. I like to thin mine out quite a bit for this recipe. You can also do this in a small food processor to make it quickly. Store in a covered container in the fridge for up to a week. Makes about a 1/2 cup.

To assemble, place the spinach on a plate, pile with the roasted veggies and drizzle with the dressing and serve.

Fall, Gluten-Free, Salads, Sides, Vegan, Vegetables, Winter

Mini Twice Baked Potatoes with Spinach & White Bean Filling

I was recently invited by Guilt Taste to participate in reviewing some of their beautiful gourmet products. The first shipment was their Chef’s Garden box from Farmer Jones Farm. It arrived on my doorstep late last week and after bringing it inside I headed straight to the kitchen to open what was inside. Carefully wrapped in insulated bubble wrap with a cold pack was a beautiful assortment of seasonal vegetables and herbs. I just about squealed with delight when I discovered the colorful little edible flowers (I guess the sight of flowers this time of year is exciting, considering most of what’s outside right now around here is brown and dying). After carefully taking stock of what all was in there I had my mind set on making a healthy seasonal appetizer.

Everyone loves a two-bite sized appetizer, but most of the time they’re a little on the unhealthy side, especially when it comes to twice baked potatoes. I decided to resolve that by adding a little protein (in the form of white beans) and spinach to the potato filling and seasoning it all with spices and fresh herbs. The result is so good you won’t even miss the cream, butter, or cheese.

Mini Twice Baked Potatoes with Spinach & White Bean Filling / makes 24 small potatoes

These are simple to make and don’t really take much time to make aside from filling them, but they can be assembled a day ahead and quickly re-heated the next day to save yourself some time. It will seem like a lot of spinach when your done chopping, but once it cooks down it all fits in nicely. I had a little leftover, but I just nibbled that up myself. In fact, I could have eaten just the filling by itself, and decided you could make a lazy version of this as a meal and instead of filling the potatoes, just mash everything up together, maybe add more beans and seasoning and call it dinner.

24 small potatoes, scrubbed and washed well
2 tablespoons olive oil divided
4 ounces spinach, washed and dried
1/2 cup cooked white beans
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne (optional)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Toss the potatoes in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place on a baking sheet, pierce each with a fork, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced. Let cool for about 10 minutes or until you can handle them without burning yourself.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, use a small spoon to hallow out the middle. Make sure to leave enough of the side so the potatoes maintain their structure. Transfer insides to a bowl and set aside.

Thinly slice the spinach into strips. The easiest way to do this is to stack each leaf on top of one another and slice with a sharp knife. In a large skillet, heat up the last of the olive oil. Gently cook the garlic for a minute, then add the beans, cooked potato flesh, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne, if using. Cook while mashing everything together with the back of a fork or a potato masher. Once everything is well mashed and incorporated stir in the spinach. Cook until spinach just begins to wilt. Turn off the heat and stir in the fresh oregano.

Take the hallowed out potato halves and fill them with the spinach mixture. I started this process trying to be really careful with a fork, but soon found it was much easier to really fill each potato if I held it in my hand and used my other hand to grab a bit of the filling and pack it down in.

At this point you can either pop them right back into the oven for about 8 minutes to warm up again or you can place them in the refrigerator until your ready to heat and serve. If cooking later, turn your oven back up to 425?F and heat for 8-10 minutes.

Some tasty topping ideas would be sliced green onion, Greek yogurt, sour cream, caramelized shallots, chives, or more fresh herbs, and cheese.

* Full Disclosure: Guilt Taste graciously provided me the spinach, potatoes, garlic and oregano for this recipe. I was not paid and all photo’s, text, and opinions are my own.

Gluten-Free, Proteins, Sides, Vegan, Vegetables

Roasted Veggie, Quinoa, Millet & Arugula Salad

I love roasting vegetables. It usually starts in the Fall and doesn’t end until our wet Spring is over. They just seem to go with every meal this time of year and I can prepare them as simply (salt and pepper) or complex (curry spiced) as I want and they fill me up in that perfect way.

Roasting sweet potatoes and carrots together seems to happen most often. So the other night when our first batch of the season was in the oven, I decide I wanted to jazz it up a bit. I quickly brought a pot of water to a boil with some quinoa and millet, whisked together a simple dressing and washed and dried some arugula.

Aren’t those carrots pretty! They’re a white variety that ended up in our csa box, but they taste just like the orange ones, so don’t feel like you need to hunt them down. The taste of this salad was so satisfying. The slight chewiness from the grains, mixed with perfectly tender, sweet bits of potato and carrot and topped over the spicy arugula all worked as well as I had hoped. The lime was a bit of an unexpected welcome in the dressing, but I’m sure lemon would work too. I think a light hand of crumbled feta or goat cheese would be nice here as well.

Roasted Veggie, Quinoa, Millet & Arugula Salad / serves 4 generously

The roasted vegetables and grains I think could work well even on there own without the arugula if you’d prefer. I think if I had more limes I would have added an extra slice to each plate for others to squeeze a little extra on if they wished. I love all things tart and vinegary though. Also I kept the skins on my potatoes, it doesn’t bother me and it saves peeling time, but they can be peeled if you prefer.

for the salad
1 bunch carrots, washed, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 sweet potato, washed and sliced 1/8-inch thick, then halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup millet
1/4 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 bunch arugula, washed and trimmed

for the dressing
juice of half a lime
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oven to 425F.

Place the carrots and sweet potato on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Toss with your hands until everything is well coated, then place in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until just tender, stirring half way through.

In the mean time, rinse and drain the millet an quinoa. Place in a small sauce pan and add the water. Bring everything to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Use a fork to fluff up and check for doneness. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking as you go. Stir in the salt and pepper.

Place the veggies and millet/quinoa into a large serving bowl and toss together. Pour in the dressing and toss so everything gets well coated. Serve over arugula with extra lime wedges if you wish.

Gluten-Free, Grains, Salads, Vegan, Vegetables

Lentil Veggie Salad

Every summer I find myself in a particular rhythm; one I wish would never end. A rhythm that has me feeling free and laid back in shorts or skirts and t-shirts every day. A refreshment filled with ice in one hand and ripe juicy fruit in the other. Evening walks, long casual bike rides, trips to the ocean or mountains. I am truly a Summer time gal.

Living in the NW makes Summer time especially sweet. If you live here, or have ever visited, then you know that a 76?F day with very low to none humidity and a slight breeze are the norm. You also know that it takes forever for it to arrive and that its time is always shorter than expected; lasting to the end of September if we’re lucky, before cool and crisp Fall days are upon us.

What also makes it sweet is the bounty of fresh and local produce. Even though the first of our strawberries and asparagus come usually a month after all you Californians and southerners get yours, they still come. By August we’ve practically caught up to you and have more Summer squash, berries, peaches, greens, peppers, tomatoes, cherries, beans, and corn growing so quickly we wonder what we’re going to do with it all, but it finds its place.

It’s hard for me to understand why people are still buying produce from the grocery store, especially in the Summer. I know there is a slight convince to stores being open every day for that quick stop, but even if you planned to buy just one thing from a local farmer this week, I’d guarantee you’d be hooked and go back the next week for more. Beside, many times you can go directly to a farm and pick up produce and they are usually open through the week. Recently Kelsey and Shaun over at Happyolks posted many great reasons for supporting local food, I’d suggest you read it.

Lentil Veggie Salad / serves 4-6

Last week before we headed to the mountains, I made this salad from a bunch of odds and ends I had left from a recent market purchase. August is truly a month for experimentation, you really can’t go to wrong when things are so fresh! I also had a hard time finding a name for the salad. Even though there are potatoes in it, I hesitate to call it a “potato” salad because there is equal parts patty pan squash, lentils and curly endive too. So lentil veggie salad is all I could come up with; not exciting, but definitely tasty.

1/2 cup dry lentils, rinsed and sorted (I used French green lentils or Le Puy)
1 lb fingerling potatoes
2 patty pan squash, diced
2 T rice vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
1 tsp. sea salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
2T chives
2T basil
2T parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 cups curly endive, chopped

Place the lentils in a small saucepan and cover with water about 2-3 inches. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. When they are finished they should be tender, but not mushy or falling apart. Remove from heat and drain the remaining liquid, set aside and allow to cool a bit.

While the lentils are cooking, place the potatoes into another saucepan and cover with cool water. Bring to a rapid boil, then lower the heat so a gentle boil. Cook just until a knife can be inserted easily, but that they are not falling apart, about 15 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes. Drain and let cool a bit before dicing into bite sized pieces.

While everything is cooking, prepare the dressing. Place the vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs into a small glass jar and give it a good shake. Add the olive oil and give another shake.

Place the cooked lentils, potatoes, and patty pan squash into a large bowl. Pour over the dressing and give everything a good toss. Add in the curly endive and toss once more so everything is incorporated. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Store tightly covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Gluten-Free, Proteins, Salads, Sides, Summer, Vegan, Vegetables

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