HEART-SHAPED FONDANT POTATOES

Posted in Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

Valentine’s Day is coming up, so if you are cooking at home, this would be a perfect side dish… A little bit tricky to get the timing of everything right the first time, but we absolutely loved this recipe.

HEART-SHAPED FONDANT POTATOES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

Medium-large Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 quart warm water
4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1 to 2 cups chicken broth
sprigs of rosemary and thyme

1 heart shaped cookie cutter, preferably metal

Cut the potatoes in slices as thick as your cookie cutter. Use the cookie cutter to get heart shapes, as many as you want and will fit an oven-safe skillet in one single layer. Place the slices of potato in a bowl with the warm water and salt for 2 to 6 hours.

Remove the potatoes from the brine, dry them well. Heat the olive oil in a skillet, when really hot, add the slices of potato and let the first side brown well. Season with a little pepper, you might want to skip the salt due to the brining. Brown the first side for about 4 minutes. Flip the slices over, add the butter, once it melts, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the chicken stock, to about half the height of the potatoes. Add the rosemary and thyme.

Cover the pan and transfer to a 400F oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the sprigs of herbs, and spoon some of the cooking liquid over the potatoes. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Fondant potatoes are a classic, but as you might imagine, I had to reduce a little bit the amount of butter. It did not compromise the taste, they were melt-in-your-mouth tender and super flavorful. In the classic version, cubes of potatoes much larger are used, and the cooking time is longer. It is al little tricky to make it work with thinner slices, but worth the trouble. Leftovers, in case you are wondering were spectacular still two days later. We enjoyed them with beef tenderloin and asparagus. Ate like Royalty. Not surprising, since a Prince lives with us…

ONE YEAR AGO: Coconut Cupcakes get Frosty

TWO YEARS AGO: Mexican Bolillos

THREE YEARS AGO: Brazilian Style Banana Cake

FOUR YEARS AGO: Tiger Shrimp in Chili Sauce

FIVE YEARS AGO: Tangzhong Hamburger Buns

SIX YEARS AGO: Potato Soup with Spicy Shrimp

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Rose-Harissa Chicken Thighs

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Caramel-Chocolate Tartlets

NINE YEARS AGO: Chicken Korma-ish

TEN YEARS AGO: Sunday Gravy with Braciola

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, February 2015

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Avocado and Orange Salad with Charred Jalapeno Dressing

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Green Olive, Walnuts and Pomegranate Salad

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Romanian Flatbreads

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Ziti with Artichokes and Meyer Lemon Sauce

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Blasted Broccoli, Stove-top version

30Jan2026

KAREN’S THIN CRUST POTATO PIZZA

Posted in Pizzas, Pizzas & Small Dishes by sallybr

She raved about it (click here), and I jumped on making it pretty quickly. I was never quite sold on the idea of potato on pizza, but it is absolutely delicious! I made a few modifications to suit our way of cooking, which maybe by now you know, does not involve onions. But please go to her site for the original version. Preparation is super straightforward, commercial yeast, a couple of hours and voilà: PIZZA AT THE TABLE!

THIN CRUST POTATO PIZZA
(slightly modified from Karen’s Kitchen Stories)

for the dough:
250 grams (about 1 3/4 cups plus) bread flour
5 grams (1 + 1/4 tsp) instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
150 grams (2/3 cup) room temperature water
Extra virgin olive oil

for the topping:
1 quart lukewarm water
4 teaspoons salt
3 to 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
4 slices of Prosciutto, cut in small pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
Salt to taste (I omitted)
Shredded Parmigiano cheese to taste

Whisk the dry ingredients for the crust together in a medium bowl. Add the water and mix it into the dough with a dough whisk or your hands until all of the flour is incorporaed, no more than a minute.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit until doubled, about 2 hours.

In a medium-large bowl, combine the water and salt and stir to dissolve the salt.
With a mandoline slicer, cut the potatoes into thin (1/16 inch) slices. Immediately place the slices into the salted water. Let them soak for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.

Drain the potatoes and press out as much water as possible. Toss the potatoes with the black pepper, rosemary, and olive oil.

Heat the oven to 500 degrees F with a rack in the middle. When the dough is ready, drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a half sheet pan and spread it with your hands to coat the pan.
Place the dough in the half sheet pan, and flip it to coat both sides of the dough. Stretch it out to a long column to fit the middle of the pan. With your fingers, begin to press the dough to the sides of the pan. This may take awhile. When the dough resists your efforts, let it rest for a bit while you work on the potatoes. Eventually, your dough should just about cover the entire pan. If holes develop, just pinch them together.

Spread the potatoes over the top of the dough, all the way to the edges. Add the pieces of prosciutto scattered over the whole surface.
Bake the pizza for 15 minutes, add the Parmigiana on top, and continue baking for 15 minutes longer, until golden brown and the edges of the crust are beginning to pull up from the sides of the pan. The pizza will be very crispy.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This one goes into our rotation for sure! If you can have onions, go for it. The crust is very crisp, so don’t expect it to have that regular pizza vibe. It is addictive, and satisfying. You know I adore leftovers, so I am here to inform you that the leftovers were mine all mine next day.

The prosciutto gets very salty when it bakes, so if you add it, make sure to omit any additional salt, you won’t need it. I hope you make this recipe, it was perfect for us on a Saturday evening…

Karen, thank you for this gem of a recipe, cannot wait to make it again!
.

ONE YEAR AGO: Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Dates and Pistachios

TWO YEARS AGO: Peppermint Dust Macarons

THREE YEARS AGO: Valentine’s Sourdough, Three Ways

FOUR YEARS AGO: Embossed Chocolate-Cherry Sourdough Loaf

FIVE YEARS AGO: Springerle Painting 101

SIX YEARS AGO: Mincemeat Pies, when the third time is a charm

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Shibari Bread]

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple Times Four – January 2018

NINE YEARS AGO: Two Salads and a Blog Award!

TEN YEARS AGO: When Three is Better than Two

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Somebody Stop Me!

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Zucchini Pasta with Cilantro-Cashew Pesto

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Bran Muffins, Take Two

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Mogo Mojo

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Slow-Roasted Chicken Thighs: an Ice-Breaker

13Oct2023

INCREDIBLY SIMPLE TIMES THREE

Posted in Incredibly simple, Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

It’s been a few months since I blogged on super simple stuff, so here I am… I will start with a pretty unusual and kind of cute take on the humble broccoli. I am sure you are familiar with smashed potatoes, but in this version, broccoli is the one getting smashed and baked. Delicious, and oh so simple!

SMASHED BROCCOLI

Here’s what you do: cook broccoli florets – as many as will fit in a baking sheet – until just tender, don’t let it get all mushy. Drain, run through very cold water to stop the cooking. Add the pieces to a parchment-lined baking sheet, smash them flat with the bottom of a measuring cup, drizzle a good amount of olive oil, salt and pepper and a bit of cheese on top. You can load it with cheese if you want, or use restraint like we did. You can use mozzarella, Gruyere, Mexican cheese, whatever you feel like. Bake at 425F until the cheese is melted, bubbly, getting dark on the edges. ENJOY!

Inspiration for this recipe came from an Instagram post that my friend Elaine shared with me. You can find it here. She goes heavily on the cheese, and next time I might do the same, at least in some pieces. Mouth-watering stuff!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SLICES

Usually I resort to bags of cut butternut squash because I despise having to prep it myself. However, recently I used this trick that is a game changer: microwave the butternut squash for 4 minutes. No need to poke holes, nothing. Just microwave, allow it to cool a bit until you can handle it, and it will peel like a dream! Then just slice it, coat the slices with olive oil, add salt and pepper, and roast or air-fry it.

If you find a butternut squash with super long neck, go for it. More slices for you!

BRITISH-STYLE JACKED POTATOES

Phil and I make these ALL THE TIME. I was sure it was on the blog already, then he asked me for the link to send to a friend and I had one of those big “palm-to-forehead” moments. No blog post to be found. Better late than never, here’s what you do: get very large Russet potatoes, wash, scrub them and make two deep cuts in a cross. Season lightly with salt. Place in a 400F oven for TWO HOURS. That is it. Ten minutes before the two hours are up, go with a knife and cut the cross slits a little deeper, squeeze the potatoes (wearing gloves) to open the flesh a bit. Drizzle a touch of olive oil and bake for the additional ten minutes or until they start to get all golden. DONE. You can eat the skin and all, it will be crunchy, the flesh very smooth and flavorful. You can read all the details about it here.

I hope you give these simple recipes a try. Sometimes simple is all you need…

ONE YEAR AGO: Chile Rellenos

TWO YEARS AGO: Vietnamese “Pizza”

THREE YEARS AGO: Chocolate Bonbons with Mango-Ganache Filling

FOUR YEARS AGO: Giant Cookie Meets Mousse

FIVE YEARS AGO: The Brazilian Battenberg

SIX YEARS AGO: Salzburg Sourdough

SEVEN YEARS AGO: If I had One Hour

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cake

NINE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Rye Bread with Flaxseeds and Oats

TEN YEARS AGO: Apricot-Raspberry Sorbet: A farewell to Summer

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Marcela’s Salpicon

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Pork Kebabs

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Fondant au Chocolat

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Got Spinach? Have a salad!

9Jan2023

ACCORDION POTATOES

Posted in Air-Frying, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

I am not a fan of tiktok, but apparently this method to cut the potatoes was a huge hit a while ago, everybody doing, sharing videos, raving about it. I was intrigued, decided to give it a try. Super cool technique, and if you don’t need to make too many of those, the air-fryer does a great job. I made three, which fit well in the basket of our fryer. Most people deep fry the potatoes, but I almost never choose that path. I suppose you could use a very hot oven too, but I haven’t try it, so feel free to experiment. If you want to see how to cut the potatoes, this video explains it in detail.

ACCORDION POTATOES
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

3 large Russet potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

Peel the potatoes and trim them to form a nice rectangle shape. Place the trimmed potato over a cutting board, nudged between two chopsticks that will prevent your knife blade from cutting the potato all the way through. Make very thin slices – around 1mm thick. Turn the potato over, and make the same type of cut, but diagonally (check the video if you need clarification).

Thread a wooden skewer in the center of the cut potato and carefully open it like an accordion. Soak the potatoes and skewers in cold water for 30 minutes or so. Dry very well. Spray olive oil, season with salt and pepper and air-fry until golden brown, flipping the pieces every 5 minutes or so. Time will vary, depending on the power of your air-fryer and size of the potato.

You can deep fry if you prefer. Season with additional before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: It is hard to understand how to cut the potato without watching a video, so I advise you to either watch the one I linked in the post, or search the many options available on youtube. The most important thing is to cut the slices thin, or you won’t have the accordion effect. I sometimes wish we had a larger air-fryer, and this was definitely one recipe that would benefit from it. But for the two of us, three accordion slabs are enough, so no need to invest in a bigger machine.

The best part is the crispy edge, but the center will be cooked nicely, very creamy. Even if you mess up and cut the slices a bit thick, it will work, but might take a little longer and not be so crispy. Experiment with it, we made it three times already. I intend to try with sweet potatoes soon…

ONE YEAR AGO: Braised Lamb Shanks in Clay Pot

TWO YEAR AGO: Cookies with a Smile

THREE YEARS AGO: Pearled Farro with Asparagus Coins

FOUR YEARS AGO: Pistachio Caramel and Apple Mousse Cake

FIVE YEARS AGO: Someone turns 70 today!

SIX YEARS AGO: Carioca Cake, the Final Chapter

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Duck Confit for a Special Occasion

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Ken Forkish’s Warm Spot Sourdough

NINE YEARS AGO: Bran Muffins, Rainbows, and a wonderful surprise!

TEN YEARS AGO: Salmon Wellington

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: The Green Chip Alternative

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Weekend Pita Project

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Let it snow, let it snow, eggs in snow

17Mar2021

FARARI BATETA

Posted in Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

If that title did not call your attention, nothing will. Brazilians might suspect the dish involves potatoes, since the word for them in Portuguese is “batata.” And they would be right. This recipe, aka Ferrari Potatoes, is enjoyed by Hindus on days they must fast. I would not mind fasting with a nice bowl of these in front of me…

FERRARI POTATOES
(adapted from this blog post)

12 oz small new potatoes, yellow and red cut in quarters
1/3 cup peanuts unsalted, raw
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 small Jalapeno pepper, very finely minced
1 piece of ginger, peeled and grated (about 1/2 inch in size)
3/4 teaspoon salt
fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of half a lemon

Coarsely grind the peanuts using a mini-food processor and set aside.

Heat the oil into a wide-bottomed frying pan on a medium heat. When it’s hot, add the cumin seeds and as soon as they start to pop and release a nice smell add the potatoes and ground black pepper. The idea is to cover the whole surface of the pan with the potatoes, so adjust the amount of potatoes accordingly.

Stir-fry the potatoes for around 12 minutes, until they start to brown. When they are getting tender, add the jalapenos, ginger, and salt. Continue to cook until the potatoes are golden brown. Transfer to a bowl, add the ground peanuts on top, the cilantro leaves, and finally sprinkle with the lemon juice, mixing it all gently.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I never thought of adding peanuts (particularly ground!) to a potato dish, but it turned out pretty awesome. This is a recipe full of flavor, perfect to go along a roast chicken, although that would compromise the fasting aspect even further. I will not hold it against you, in fact… that’s exactly how we enjoyed it, with a very juicy clay-pot roast chicken, which will be on the blog soon.

As I mentioned in the recipe, you’ll need to have the potatoes in a single layer so that they all brown nicely in the end. Depending on the size of your skillet, you can add a few more potatoes than I did. No need to adjust the other components, though. It is all going to have a very happy ending.

The peanuts end up looking like sesame seeds, and I bet those would work very well also, so in case you have peanut allergies, go for toasted sesame seeds when you serve it.