crispiest, best roasted potatoes ever

a little food science goes a long way in this recipe from kenji at serious eats. i tried them, and it’s no exaggeration. these are like mashed potatoes inside, and extremely crispy outside.

the crispiness is amazing. the only down sides? a bit more time-consuming than your average roasted potato. they’re also most delicious on the day you make them. reheating made my batch dry out and cave in; if you’re making a huge batch for the week, i’d still go with your average roasted potato. but you can still spruce up your potatoes even if you don’t use kenji’s method…

check it out at serious eats, or just make sure to use yukon golds or russets instead of red potatoes, add a half-teaspoon of baking soda to the water you par-boil them in (alkaline water yields crispier potatoes,) and toss the chunks roughly in oil so the chunks are covered in a “mashed-potato-like paste”.

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…another tip for amazing roasted potatoes? this tip is from epicurious/bon appetit by way of mark – he puts vinegar on the potatoes before roasting, so they come out like crispy salt and vinegar chips! i tried them, although i left out the chives and used apple cider vinegar instead. no idea why this never occurred to me, but it’s a great idea! i’ll make them again for sure.

both methods are recommended to mix up your roasted vegetable routine!

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ragda pattice (crispy mashed potato cakes with bean curry)

Everyone loves a potato pancake. Crispy outside, creamy inside, hearty… but all that grating can be time-consuming. Well, have you ever made a mashed potato pancake? These patties are like hash brown patties, but better. This is one of the best comfort foods I can imagine. If you have never tried ragda pattice (ragda patties) before, now’s the time.

FOR THE PATTIES:
potatoes – 3 or 4
corn flour, breadcrumbs, or anything to hold together the potatoes – about 1/4 cup
pinch of cumin-coriander powder
chopped green chili (to taste)
chopped cilantro (optional)

FOR THE RAGDA:
a can of white beans, or whatever you have in the house
a few curry leaves
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
water from a soaked tamarind pod, about a quarter-cup (I used maybe 2 tsp of paste)
1/4 t turmeric
1 t garam masala
red chili powder to taste (recipe says 2 t… mine was spicy with less than half of that)
pinch of asafoetida
pinch of amchur powder
pinch of fennel
chopped cilantro (optional)

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PATTIES: Cut potatoes into chunks and boil. Remove skins. Mash with the chilis and some salt. Add corn flour or breadcrumbs, a pinch at a time, until consistency begins to resemble dough and not mashed potatoes. Form patties, like hamburgers.
Preheat a pan til it sizzles when a drop of water hits it. Add a little neutral oil, like canola. Fry patties until golden brown on both sides.

RAGDA: Start oil in a pan. Add curry leaves; fry 1-2 mins. Add ginger and garlic, stir-fry for a minute or two. Add spices and stir-fry for a minute or two. Add tamarind and beans. Turn down heat and simmer for about eight minutes, or until it tastes great. Salt to taste.

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adapted by friedsig from raks kitchen

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My favorite fish cake recipe is a little steamed fish mixed into mashed potatoes – it’s basically a mashed potato pancake. But I’ve never made them vegan, with hot chilis instead of fish. This is a real winner. The sauce is easy to throw together. The crispy, golden potato cakes satiated my craving for deep-fried junk food, and making it low sodium was no problem because of the great garam masala flavor. I’m even adding this recipe to the “rotation” tag so I can remember to make it again soon. A really great way to mix up the standard “rice and beans”.

Serve with veggies – like sesame peanut eggplant/baghara baingan, or sweet-and-sour eggplant/khatta meetha baingan, or eggplant with tomato/mughlai baingan masala, or palak paneer/spinach with cheese.

roasted sweet potato and middle eastern couscous salad

This combination of orange carrots with tahini drizzle and a simple pasta salad is surprisingly good.

roastable vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, whole cloves of garlic, etc.
1.5 cups stock or broth
1/2 t cinnamon or middle eastern spice blend
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup middle eastern/israeli style couscous (it’s bigger than regular couscous!)
olive oil
fresh cilantro or chives (optional)
orange juice (optional)
salt and pepper
dressing (i recommend a simple lemon vinaigrette or a tahini lemon sauce)

If you have oj in the house, you can drip a bit over the veggies. Otherwise, just cut into chunks, or leave whole if small veggies, like whole garlic cloves. Toss in olive oil and roast on 425 til sweet and soft. Cool and chop into bite-sized chunks.

In a pot, caramelize half an onion in olive oil. Add cinnamon and stock, lower to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes (don’t overcook!!! they will turn to mush!)

In a big bowl, combine all the couscous, veggies, herbs, and dressing, with salt and pepper to taste. Chill and serve.

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salad recipe by friedsig and tahini sauce by syrian foodie

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Not bad! I didn’t finish the whole recipe, so I might cut it down next time. Not a bad way to add some veggies to your Israeli / middle Eastern style couscous! Make sure you love the dressing to give this the sour kick it needs!

lemon dill mushroom pot pie

Delicious, hearty, and satisfying! Not too heavy with the lemon dill sauce replacing a traditional heavy cream sauce. Never made a pot pie from scratch before. I’ll give an approximation of what I did, with both a vegetarian and chicken-y option.

-1 package mushrooms cut into small chunks (I used portobellos)
-a pound or two (or more) of potatoes (I used maybe 12 baby red potatoes)
-a few carrots, parsnips, celery, peas, leeks, or whatever veggies you have
-a tablespoon or so of flour (can use gf or apf or whatever you have)
-vegetable or chicken stock
-olive oil or chicken schmaltz
-onion and garlic
-one to two fresh lemons
-fresh dill to taste
-1 sheet frozen puff pastry, or any flaky pastry recipe from scratch
-dried thyme, sage, or other dry herbs (optional)
-splash of milk or cream (optional)
-chicken or veg meat-substitute (optional)

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This is a really flexible recipe. You can poach everything together in the stock, or cook things separately and add them at the end. You can cook everything on the stove and then dump everything into an oven-safe casserole dish if you don’t have a dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet. I’ll just share how I did it:

1. (optional: roast a chicken and set aside the meat, torn into small shreds, like for chicken salad. or use a rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken, whatever you have. veg folks can use leftover chunks of meat substitute, or just leave this out. )
2. In a dutch oven or oven-safe deep pan, caramelize an onion in olive oil or schmaltz.
3. Add minced garlic and raw vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, leeks, potatoes, or whatever you have. (You can also boil the potatoes the day before to save time. Add them towards the end if you choose this.)
4. When veggies are almost soft, add a tablespoon or so of flour, until veggies are lightly coated. Cook til flour is browned. (May want to preheat the oven to 425 around now.)
5. Add a cup or two of vegetable or chicken stock until things look saucy, stirring well. Add any soft ingredients like peas, and dried herbs like thyme (optional).
6. Simmer until everything tastes perfect, maybe 5 or 10 minutes, longer if the potatoes were raw. (If you like it creamy, add a splash of milk or cream here.)
7. Turn off heat. Add the juice of a lemon or two, to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add back in the cooked chicken and a bunch of minced fresh dill to taste.
8. Lay the pastry on top and bake for a half hour or until pastry is golden brown. Start the oven high for a while and turn it down lower, so the puff pastry gets crunchy.

recipe by friedsig and adapted from potato, leek, and pea pot pie from epicurious

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I am really into lemon dill lately. My go-to soup is avgolemono with lemon and dill, and my go-to chicken salad is this chicken salad with spinach, apple, and dill. This is not dissimilar from a Greek chicken soup – carrots, dill, lemon – but the pastry really makes it feel special. Next time I will tackle a homemade pastry, but the frozen one I used made a flaky and beautiful crust. Fed some friends over graduation weekend and they all said it was amazing – one said it’s one of the best things she’s ever eaten. I think she was just being nice, but either way, I will definitely make this for a crowd again.

latkes

Found my old recipe journal. This one said only, “latkes: 2 eggs, 1 small onion, 1.5 lb. veggies –> 3 potatoes: 1 onion: 1 egg: 2 T. flour”

I’m going to try to interpret that into a recipe here….

1. Grate 3 potatoes (or a combination of beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips.. for a total of 1.5 lbs)
2. Make your least favorite person grate one small onion, or half a large onion, because it will burn their eyes.
3. SQUEEZE the mixture and discard the liquid. This will make a much better texture in your latke.
4. Combine these in a large bowl with an egg, 2 T. flour (all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour mixes are fine,) and a lot of salt and pepper.
5. Heat canola or vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Smash latkes thin in the pan so they cook all the way through. Flip when you notice a little brown crust. If they stick, let them sit longer, or turn the heat up a bit.

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This is my classic, go-to latke recipe. I don’t make them a lot anymore, because they’re more effort than crunchy-top bleu cheese mashed potatoes or kartoffelsalat. But there’s something really special about a good potato pancake. If this is too basic for you, or not fun enough to say, try zachary’s falafelatke, a chickpea and potato pancake with a very fun name.

watercress and buttermilk soup

cook the white and light green parts of 2 sliced leeks in 2 T unsalted butter in a medium pot over medium heat, stirring until tender, 4-6 mins.

add one chopped russet potato, 2 cups chicken broth, and 4 cups water.

simmer until potato is tender, 8 – 10 mins. add 2 bunches watercress (thick stems removed) and 1 T fresh tarragon leaves.

cook until watercress is bright green, about 1 minute.

puree, stir in 1/2 c buttermilk, season with salt. serve warm or room temperature topped with tarragon.

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from a clipping in a magazine (not sure which magazine!)

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it’s more of a watercress vichyssoise, or cold potato and leek soup, than a buttermilk soup. it doesn’t taste like buttermilk – it has a lot of flavor for being so simple. my mom hates tarragon, so i substituted dill. i figured, you can’t go wrong with potatoes and dill. i also added garlic. it came out well. if you are craving a cold potato soup, this is a good one. not my favorite soup, but definitely a good, solid way to use an abundance of cress. i liked sipping it cold out of a mug on a hot morning.

feta and spinach potatoes

boil potatoes until they are just barely cooked.
meanwhile, fry ground sausage. set aside, and in greasy pan fry onions (if veg, just cook onions in olive oil and add mushrooms and garlic.)
slice potatoes thin.
butter a casserole dish and add one thin layer of potatoes.
salt.
make a thin feta, fried onion, and sausage layer.
grate a little melty mild cheese, like mozarella, monterey jack, or any other. (i used a habanero cheese.)
continue layering.
grate melty cheese on top and bake at 325 for fifteen minutes.
serve while very hot. once served, each person should add shredded baby spinach to their bowl right away and stir to wilt it.

top with plain yogurt, tahini dressing, tahini-yogurt sauce, sour cream, or your favorite creamy thing.

eggless spicy sweet potato black bean burgers

1/2 cup quinoa, cooked in 1c water
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large sweet potato, cooked
1 small onion or half a large onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 jalapeno, seeded
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons spicy cajun seasoning
1/4 oat flour (oat bran will work)
salt and pepper, to taste

In bowl of food processor, add onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Pulse til minced. Add beans, cooked sweet potato, cumin, cajun seasoning, and pulse until almost smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor when necessary. Add cilantro. Transfer mixture to bowl and combine with cooked quinoa. Add salt and pepper to taste – and possibly more cajun seasoning if you’d like. Mix in oat bran/oat flour, but only enough so that you are able to shape patties. (You shouldn’t need more than 1/3 cup).
Divide into 6 patties (about 1/2 cup each) and place on baking sheet; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to help patties bind together.

Pan-fry in your favorite oil or fat (peanut or sesame goes great with these flavors!)

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modified from ambitious kitchen

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i can never seem to keep veggie burgers from falling apart in a hot skillet. this sounds like the perfect food to be topped with goddess dressing or a syrian yogurt or tahini sauce. the recipe calls for an avocado crema, made simply with lime juice, avocado, cilantro (coriander) leaves, and thick yogurt. sounds great, too!

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update 8/19

mixed it all up and it tasted good, and unbelievably, after refrigerating the patties overnight, they really stayed together! when done, though, the center oozed a bit – not too badly, but not burger-like. is the extra time spent turning them into burgers worth it if it becomes bean dip halfway through? the texture was also made a bit strange and gummy by the oat flour. a complete protein, though, and it looks nice on the bun! recommended, healthy, and interesting, but not perfect.

gujarati khattai alu (sweet and sour potatoes)

another recipe i used to make all the time when i first learned to cook!

1 lb floury potatoes
1 T tamarind pulp
1/4 c water
2 t brown sugar
1 1/2 T ghee
1/2 t black mustard seed
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t cayenne or ground chili
1 t ground coriander
1 t ground cumin
1 t salt
2 fresh green chilis
2 T dessicated (dried) coconut

peel and dice potatoes. dissolve sugar in tamarind pulp liquid after soaking leftover tamarind in water to extract pulp.

fry mustard seeds in oil or ghee. add spices and fry for 1 min on low. add potatoes, toss with salt and water for a minute. cover and cook on low for 15 minutes. add tamarind, chili, and coconut and stir. cook 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

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source: a sheet of paper

healthy no-sugar-added sweet vegan mash

a fun alternative to mashed potatoes! sweet and savory.

six or so baby yukon gold potatoes
one long piece of yuca (cassava) root, peeled of its waxy skin
one large white sweet potato

a splash of almond or coconut milk (optional; I didn’t and it was just fine)
about 1 T coconut oil
about 1/2 t onion powder
about 1/2 t garlic powder
a few cloves of roasted garlic (optional)
about 1/2 t rosemary, crushed
one dash cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

boil yuca and sweet potato; add baby potatoes as yuca and sweet potato become soft

mash everything together

served mine with ribs and it made an amazing dinner. highly recommended!