Tag Archives: potato

Rioja-style Potatoes

10 Jul

This recipe is an adaptation from a recipe presented by chef José Andrés in his PBS show Made in Spain and made by him later on at the Martha Stewart show.

I’ve been fascinated with Spanish cooking all my life, but after my recent trip to Spain 2 years ago, I’ve become a fan of chef Andrés and his cooking.  The thing is that most these recipes are not vegetarian per sé, but we just need to give them a few nudges to make them perfect for us.  Besides, he’s so passionate about Spain and its cuisine it’s contagious.  I TiVo his show every weekend and already know many episodes by heart.

What I liked about this recipe is that it’s simple and hearty.  You can eat it as a tapa, alone or even over rice – very versatile. And the ingredients you probably have already in your pantry.

 

 Papas a la Riojana

RIOJA-STYLE POTATOES

2 medium-sized potatoes, russets work fin here – cut into 1-inch cubes, but cut them haphazardly to get some rough edges on them
½ onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 link of Tofurky kielbasa-style sausage, sliced on a bias into ¼ inch pieces
1 tsp Spanish sweet pimentón – paprika in English
½ tomato, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste
Spanish olive oil
Filtered Water
 
  1. In a medium sized skillet with tall sides over medium heat, heat olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic.  The idea is to cook and soften the onions, not necessarily to get color on them.
  2. Add the pieces of tofu sausage and cook to get a golden brown color on them.
  3. Papas a la Riojana 1
  4. Now we add the potatoes…  stir them into the onions, garlic and sausage pieces and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add the pimentón and enough water to almost cover the potatoes. 
  5. papas a la riojana 2
  6. Cover for a few minutes to bring the water to a boil.  After water is boiling, uncover and let it simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and the water is reduced in half.

 

Very easy to do and very delicious… Gracias José.

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Spanish Tortilla

8 Jul

A Spanish Tortilla is one of the most quintessential dishes in Spanish cuisine.   But if you ever visit Spain, please do not ask for a Spanish omelet or Spanish Tortilla… because a “madrileño” might reply you that ALL tortillas in Spain are indeed Spanish tortillas.

That’s what happened to us when visiting the island of Mallorca.  Mallorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.  In Puerto Rico, we eat a sweet bread original to Spain and specifically to Mallorca, that we just simply call “mallorcas”.  When my mom asked where we could buy some “pan de mallorca”, the gentelman replied: “All breads in Mallorca are “pan de mallorca”. 

Which made me think how many other food items we traditional know with the name of the region they originated from, but if you go to that country/city, no one will know them by that same name…  here are a few I could think of:

 

If you  visit: Do not ask for: Instead, call it:
Mallorca, Spain Pan de Mallorca or a Mallorca Ensaimada
Spain Spanish Tortilla Tortilla de Patatas
France French Fries Frites
France French Toast Pain Perdu
France French green beans Haricots verts
France French Bread Baguette
Switzerland Swiss Cheese Emmentaler
Belgium Belgian Waffle gaufre de Liege or suikerwafel
Greece Greek Salad horiatiki
Turkey Turkish Delight Loukoum
Poland Polish Sausage kielbasa

 Although, if you’re vegetarian… you shouldn’t be ordering that last one at all.

Notice that the title of this post is Spanish Tortilla and not Spanish omelet… why, because traditionally a Spanish omelet or Tortilla is made with potatoes, onions and eggs.  And even though some vegetarians consume eggs, the line I practice does not.

So my version of a Spanish Tortilla is egg-less.  And I ate a LOT of potatoes testing recipes to achieve a similar consistency of a tortilla without using tofu or soy products… I wanted to use ingredients right out of my pantry and that no one has to go out and buy specifically for this. And to make things even easier and with less oil, we’re baking it in the oven, instead of making it stovetop.

 

 Tortilla Espanola 1

SPANISH TORTILLA

3 medium potatoes, russet or Idaho work best here…
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 garlic clove, minced
About ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese
About 2 tbs breadcrumbs
Spanish Olive oil – about 3tbs or so… remember I do not measure much
Canola oil Spray
Salt and pepper to taste

 

  1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the onions.  Add the garlic clove, season with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.
  2. Spray a medium sized pyrex dish with Canola Oil Spray and sprinkle with about 1 tbs of breadcrumbs.  Shake the pyrex so the breadcrumbs coat the dish as much as possible… just as if you were flouring a pan to bake a cake…  Set aside.
  3. Using a mandoline, slice as thinly as possible the potatoes.  Place in a bowl and add about 2 tbs of olive oil, the grated parmesan cheese, the onions, some additional salt and pepper.   Toss well to combine the potatoes, onions and seasonings.
  4. Place the potatoes and onions into the breaded pyrex dish.  Place them with your hands trying to create layers after layers of potato and onion.  It does not need to be perfect, but try to lay them all flat.
  5. Sprinkle some added breadcrumbs over the top and add a bit more parmesan cheese to create a nice crust on top.
  6. Because I do this in a toaster oven, I never pre-heat… but place it in a 400F oven for about 1 hour.  If you feel the top is browning too fast, just cover with a piece of aluminum foil with parchment paper underneath so the aluminum does not touches the food.

 

The potatoes collapse onto each other and create this creamy consistency…  it’s not a traditional Tortilla de Patatas, but it sure tastes like that…  Buen Provecho.

 I love Tortilla de patatas

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Potato Zucchini Gratin

4 Jul

I got the inspiration for this dish by a recent post from Heidi from 101 Cookbooks.  When I read her recipe I realized I had most the necessary ingredients waiting for me in my kitchen.  And what I didn’t have, I would substitute and improvise…

I had received a couple of great zucchinis from my CSA box that I was wondering how to cook…  Heidi and her recipe came to the rescue.  Thanks a lot.

 

 Potato Zucinni Gratin

POTATO ZUCHINNI GRATIN

3 medium russet potatoes, washed well and peeled
1 medium sized zucchini
¼ teaspoon of sea salt
About 1 ½ tbs of basil/parsley oil
About ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese
About ¼ cup of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Canola Oil Spray
About 2 tbs of fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs
Some additional sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 

  1. Spray a medium-sized pyrex dish with canola oil spray and sprinkle with about 1 tbs of breadcrumbs.  Shake the pyrex so the breadcrumbs coat the dish as much as possible… just as if you were flouring a pan to bake a cake…  Set aside.
  2. Using a mandoline, slice as thinly as possible the zucchini.  Place in a colander and sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon of sea salt and let them drain some if its moisture out. 
  3. Sliced Zuchinni
  4. Using the same mandoline, slice as thinly as possible the potatoes. 
  5. Sliced Potatoes
  6. Place in a bowl and add the basil/parsley oil, the grated parmesan cheese, the Pecorino Romano, some salt and pepper.  
  7.  After about 5 minutes after salting the zucchini, squeeze them to release as much moisture as possible.  Using a paper towel pat them dry.  And add them to the bowl with the potatoes.  Toss well to combine potatoes, zucchini and seasonings.
  8. Place the seasoned veggies into the breaded pyrex dish.  Place them with your hands trying to create layers after layers of potato and zucchini.  It does not need to be perfect, but try to lay them all flat.
  9. Potato Zuchinni Casserole - Prep
  10. Sprinkle some added breadcrumbs over the top and add a bit more parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese to create a nice crust on top.
  11. Because I do this in a toaster oven, I never preheat… but place it in a 400F oven for about 30-45 minutes – the perfect amount of time to allow you to take a shower and meditate.

 

I had this with some goat cheese toasts on the side… The potatoes cook well and the zucchini tastes perfect in it.  It was super good. 

Thanks again to Heidi at 101 Cookbooks… this will definitely be a go-to recipe from now on…

                Gratin and Goat Cheese 2

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Steamed Veggies with Horseradish Vinaigrette

29 Jun

A few weeks ago I received a bunch of green beans in my CSA box…  but not the regular green beans, the haricot vert French-kind green beans…  thinner and crisper than the regular ones.

As you may have read here already, I am not a bean fan.  But green beans are a completely different thing.  I grew up eating French-style green beans from a can.  It was one of the choices of ready-to-eat veggies we were given – green beans, canned corn or sliced tomatoes…  and they had to be the thin french ones, because the fat, stubby regular ones were not the same… you could see the little beans inside and that would be a no-no for me.

But evolving into fresh green beans is something much more recent… as I was explaining to a friend the other day, canned and fresh greens beans are two completely different things.  And after you’ve tried the fresh kind, you’ll never go back to canned, ever.

To me the easiest way to prepare them is steaming them…  and I top them with some sort of olive oil-based dressing.  This time around was with prepared horseradish.  Check it out…

 

 Steamed Veggies w- Horseradish Vin

STEAMED VEGGIES WITH HORSERADISH VINAIGRETTE

About 4-5 baby red bliss potatoes, washed and cut in half
A small handful of haricots verts or french-style green beans, trimmed
The juice of 1 lemon
1 tbs of prepared horseradish
Salt and Pepper to taste
About 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

 

  1. In a medium pot, I cook some potatoes in a little bit of salted water.  I boil/steam them over medium heat in the covered pot for about 15 minutes.
  2. Boiling potatoes
  3. When the potatoes are about to be done, I place the trimmed green beans on top of the potatoes, cover the pot again and let them steam  about 2-3 minutes.  After that,  I turn the stove off and leave them there for about 5 minutes more until the green color in the beans is super bright.  Super easy.   
  4. Steamed Green beans and Potatoes 1
  5. While the beans steam, prepare the dressing…
  6. In a measuring cup whisk together the lemon juice, horseradish, olive oil, salt and pepper.   Drizzle over veggie and enjoy.

     Horseradish Vinnaigrette 1               Horseradish Vinnaigrette 2

Watch out…  make sure the horseradish you use does not contain egg or egg yolks in it.  I bought mine at Whole Foods and as you can see by the labeling, it does not contain any egg.  Just be careful if you’re traveling with it, because airport security might consider it a liquid and might take it away.  I was LUCKY I got a nice security person and let it slide…

           Gold's Horseradish                 Gold's Horseradish - BACK

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Undercover Potatoes

16 Mar

What to do when you have leftover sauce from your Undercover Carrot Mac  & Cheese??  Pour it on top of steamed potatoes… what else??

Another way to sneak in carrots into your kids meals…

 undercover-carrot-potatoes

UNDERCOVER POTATOES

About 10 fingerling potatoes, washed well and cut in half
About ½ cup of leftover sauce from this recipe here

 

  1. In a medium sauce pan place the fingerling potatoes.  Add enough water to the bottom of the pan, where about half of the potatoes are still exposed.  I find that potatoes cook better and faster when only a small amount of water is added to the pot.
  2. Salt the potatoes and swirl the water in the pan for the salt to combine with the water.
  3. Cover and let it boil/steam over medium heat for about 15 minutes.  Check the potatoes for doneness.  If they’re still underdone, let them go for about 2-3 minutes more and without uncovering, turn off the stove. 
  4. After about 10-15 minutes, the potatoes will be perfectly steamed and at the right temperature to handle.  I sometimes take the skin off after I steam them… but that’s entirely if to you.
  5. While the potatoes are resting, heat the leftover sauce.  After it’s warm, pour on top of potatoes. 

 

Serve with a nice side salad for a light dinner…

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