Tag Archives: potato

BBQ Roasted Potatoes

27 Jan

Who says you need to have BBQ only in the summertime???

Where I live it is summer weather year-round so I really do not discriminate when I should or shouldn’t eat something slathered with BBQ sauce.

When I get a craving to eat BBQ sauce, like I used to when I used to eat ribs at Tony Roma’s…  I go to this recipe.

 

BBQ ROASTED POTATOES

2 large red-skinned potatoes, cut up roughly into 1” pieces
2 veggie hot dogs or tofu dogs, sliced on a bias
1 medium yellow onion, cut up into wedges
3 tbs of your favorite BBQ sauce, organic preferable
A drizzle of Olive Oil
Garlic Salt to taste

 

 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400F
  2. In a medium bowl toss together all the ingredients.  Make sure all the potatoes, onions and pieces of hot dog are coated with the BBQ and seasonings.  Transfer to a baking sheet and line everything up in one layer.
  3. Roast in oven for about 40-45 minutes.  I move things around about halfway thru cooking to make sure everything gets golden brown on all sides.

 

Serve alongside some garlic toasts…  or next to a refreshing crispy salad to cool off the heat from the BBQ sauce.

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Vegetable Pot Pie

27 Oct

The casseroles I grew up with were pastelones… so when I listen on TV to recreate a food from your childhood and people mention a pot pie, I can’t really relate.  My mom told me she used to buy some frozen pot pies when we were little kids… I honestly do not recall at all.

But I have been intrigued by pot pies for some time now.  I guess I am drawn to a puff pastry topping… which in my book is always welcome. And when I saw a recipe from Ina Garten for Vegetable Pot Pie, I kind of wondered “why didn’t I think of that one on my own?”  I guess because I was intrigued about it, but without a real reference from before, it’s not something I truly crave or miss.

Now that I have been staying with my sister in Southern Florida, there’s a great abundance of winter squashes and pumpkins…  Autumn and Halloween are nearing, definitely.  And it’s also the perfect excuse to make this recipe for all the “paussy” that’s staying here.  It’s definitely a recipe challenging to make just for one.

 

VEGETABLE POT PIE

1 stick of butter
2 medium onions, diced
1 fennel bulb, top and core removed, thinly sliced
½ cup spelt flour + ¼ cup additional for the puff pastry
2 cups organic vegetable broth
4 tbs of heavy cream
1 large baking Idaho potato
1 medium butternut squash
2 small carrots
About 1 cup of asparagus, sliced small – left over from the asparagus tart I had made earlier in the week
½ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
Sea Salt
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Olive oil
1 sheet puffed pastry

 

  1. In a medium sauce pan filled with salted boiling water, parboil the potatoes and the butternut squash pieces for about 10 minutes.  Take them out and set them aside.
  2. Bring that same salted water to a boil again and par-cook the asparagus and carrots for about 5 minutes.  Set aside.
  3. Melt the butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions and fennel and sauté until softened and translucent for about 10 minutes. 
  4. Add the flour and stir it all together and allow the flour and butter to cook thru about 3-5 minutes.  Slowly, add the stock and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for about 5 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.  Add the heavy cream.
  5. Add the cooked potatoes, butternut squash, asparagus and carrots.  Mix well to combine.  Add the parsley and allow to cook for a few additional minutes.  Cover and turn off the stove.
  7. Pre-heat oven to 425F.
  8. Take the thawed puffed pastry and roll it out a bit to fade as much as possible the creases.  Measure the ramekins or the pot where you will bake the pot pie and cut the puff pastry about ½” over the size of the mouth of the ramekin.  
  9. Spread a little of heavy cream over the rim of the ramekin to make the puff pastry to stick to the edge of the ramekin. 
  11. Make a few slits on top of the pastry to allow the steam to escape.  Brush a bit of extra heavy cream over the puff pastry to make it golden brown in the oven.
  12. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper… this is important because the filling will boil and might spill and you do not want that to be on the bottom of the oven.
  13. Bake in oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the pastry on top is golden brown.

 

I served this with a side salad… but you can even enjoy the filling without the pastry.  It’s a delicious stew all its own.   My sister was wary of the fennel and it really adds a nice dimension of texture and flavor to the filling.

A pot pie still does not represent in my mind the epitome of comfort food, but definitely its something I have learned to appreciate and enjoy… hopefully many more times in the future.

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Potato Broccoli Crepes

27 Sep

A year ago I was walking the streets of Paris for the second time… enjoying as much as my senses could gather.  I loved the ambiance, the rhythm of the city… everything!!!  I felt that if I wanted I may be able to even live there.

Place de la Madeleine      notre dame    crepes nutella

Well, that’s what my friend Jesiel actually did.  She has moved herself to Paris to start at 33 a new career as a Pastry Chef.  She recently started a blog – Sweet Journey of Inspiration – to capture her travels and her love for good authentic food, especially pastries.

So to reminisce about my days in Paris and to celebrate Jesiel’s decision to leave all that is familiar to her and start anew in a city where she still is learning the language, I decided to make these savory crepes…

Savory crepes… crêpes salées or gallettes are extremely popular in menus across Paris.  As you can see from my previous post on Parisian crepes, they’re mostly made from buckwheat flour and come in an infinite variety of savory combinations.  I had mine then with potatoes, spinach and cheese. 

Crepe epinard 1

Well, with the abundance of broccoli we’ve had recently, these are made with delicious broccoli.  They’re simple to make and a nice savory alternative to using up those crepes from our crepes recipe post right here…

 

POTATO BROCCOLI CREPES

1 small red potato, quartered
3-4 broccoli florets
Handful of shredded cheese – it could be gruyere or a cheese blend like I used
Handful of walnuts
Drizzle of honey – optional
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 crepes – recipe here
 
  1. In a small saucepan filled with about ½’ of water, place the potato quarters.  Salt the potato.  Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.
  2.  When the potato is about to be done, place the florets on top of the potato for them to steam.  After covering the saucepan again, wait about 15 seconds and turn off the stove.  The florets will cook with the steam and remaining heat in the saucepan for about 10 minutes more.
  3. If you have already made your crepes, you should reheat them so they’re flexible and pliable again.  So while you wait on the broccoli to finish cooking, heat up a skillet (I use the same skillet I used to make the crepes in the first place) and over medium heat, place the crepes for about 1 minute on each side.  This will just reheat them and bring them back to life…
  4. Drain the water from the potato and broccoli.  Mash the potato and broccoli together.  Season mash with salt and pepper.  Add the shredded cheese and nuts to the mash. Mix well to combine.
  5. Place about ¼ cup of mashed mixture onto each crepe, fold and place in a plate.  Drizzle with a bit of honey over crepes and sprinkle added nuts on top for garnish.

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Potato and Yautía Pastelón

24 Sep

Recently my grandma was in the hospital… and when this happens, my mom stays with her all the time and I become the official vegetarian food delivery service.

This is one of the recipes I made for my mom while she was staying with my grandma at the hospital.  It was easy to make, nutritious and delicious.

 

POTATO AND YAUTÍA PASTELÓN

2 medium red potatoes, chopped into 2” pieces
1 medium white yautía, chopped into 2” pieces
1 broccoli stalk, both florets and stem, chopped into small pieces
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
½ onion, chopped
1 tbs sofrito
2 tbs horseradish
3 tbs butter, divided
1 tbs parmesan cheese
1 handful of shredded mozzarella cheese
Sal t and Pepper to taste
About 1 tbs of olive oil
Canola Oil Spray

 

  1. In a medium saucepan, I place the chopped potato and yautía pieces along with the broccoli stems but not the florets.  I add water until it comes up halfway.  Add salt to taste, cover and bring to a quick boil over medium heat.  I usually lower the heat when I see some steam coming out of the cover to avoid the water to completely evaporate.  Pieces are usually cooked after 15 minutes. 
  2. Right before you turn off the heat from the potato/yautía… place the broccoli florets inside the same pot so it steams with the steam from the pot.  Cover immediately, wait about 15 seconds and turn off the heat on that burner.  Broccoli florets will be cooked thoroughly in about 5 minutes.
  3. While the potatoes and yautías cook, we prepare the filling… in a medium skillet over medium heat we add olive oil and sofrito.  Sauté for a few minutes.  Add the chopped onion and sauté some more until the onion softens.   Add the thawed corn and cooked broccoli florets. Season with salt and pepper and mix well so all the flavors mix in.  Set aside.
  4. Drain all the remaining water from the cooked potatoes, yautías and broccoli stems and return to the same pot.  Add butter, olive oil, horseradish and parmesan cheese.  You could add a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese too if you’d like.  Mash it all together until smooth.
  5. In a medium-sized glass baking dish sprayed with Canola Oil, add about half of the mashed potato/yautía mix.  Spread it out evenly across the bottom.  Add the corn/broccoli filling on top of this layer.  Now cover with the remaining potato/yautía mash.  Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.
  6. Bake in oven at 450F for about 10-12 minutes, until the cheese on top melts and becomes golden brown.  The pastelón per se is all cooked so you’re just looking for a nice crusty top.

 

Serve alongside a crispy green salad…  This is a great potluck dish or to take to someone when they’re “under the weather”.

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Montreal Steak Potatoes

13 Aug

I am a potato girl… and making them roasted in the oven allows me for the toaster oven to work on the side dish on its own while I continue making the rest of the meal.

These potatoes are a bit spicy and zippy, which are perfect to go side by side a sandwich, a hot dog or even on their own.

 

MONTREAL STEAK POTATOES

2 medium russet potatoes, cubed into 1-inch pieces – red skinned potatoes would work well here too
About 1 tsp of spicy mustard
About 1 tbs of olive oil
About 1 tbs Montreal Steak Seasoning – it contains coarse salt, coarse pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic and paprika
Kosher salt

 

  1. Pre-heat toaster oven to 400F.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, combine potatoes with mustard, olive oil, Montréal seasoning and salt.  Toss well so all potato pieces are well coated.
  3. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast in oven for about 30 minutes.  At about the halfway time, move the potatoes around to make sure they cook evenly and turn golden brown on all sides.

  

Serve them alongside your favorite meal – an eggplant sandwich, a hot dog or even…  you fill in the blank here.

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