Indian-Spiced Vegetables and Chickpeas with Raisins

I'm not really sure what made me save this e-mail from the Splendid Table, except I liked that it sounded easy yet exotic, and that I'm always looking for new meatless dishes. I wasn't expecting the sum of the dish to be so much more than its parts, however. It's a simple idea - just roasted veggies tossed with chickpeas, raisins, garam masala, lemon and some parsley. But wow, was it full of flavor!

As an added bonus, this dish makes cauliflower actually taste good, a feat I never suspected was possible (being a staunch cauliflower hater as a matter of course). I liked this dish so much, I am making it again in a few days.

Indian-Spiced Vegetables and Chickpeas with Raisins (Serves 4)
From Meatless All Day by Dina Cheney

28 ounces baby red potatoes, quartered
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons coarse salt, divided
5 grinds black pepper
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2- x 1/2-inch matchsticks
1 small head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets
1/2 cup raisins or currants
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed, strained lemon juice
1 teaspoon garam masala (without salt)
About 2 cups plain yogurt, for serving

1. Place two oven racks in the top two-thirds of the oven. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the top rack and heat the oven to 400°F. Once the oven is hot, carefully remove the hot pan. Using tongs, toss the potatoes well with half of the oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and all of the pepper. Roast until the potatoes are tender and golden brown and crispy in many parts, about 50 minutes, tossing halfway through.

2. On another rimmed baking sheet, toss the carrots, 2 tablespoons oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; spread on one side of the pan and roast for 15 minutes (put this pan on the lower oven rack); remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a spatula to flip over the carrots. Onto the empty half of the baking sheet, use tongs to toss the cauliflower florets, the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Keep the carrots and cauliflower separate as best as possible. Return the pan to the oven and roast the carrots and cauliflower until both are tender when poked with a fork and golden brown in a few spots, about another 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with 1/2 cup of boiling or very hot water. Let sit until the raisins are tender, about 30 minutes, then drain.

4. Pour the potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower (with their oil) into a large bowl, then add the drained raisins, drained chickpeas, parsley, lemon juice, garam masala, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss well with tongs. Divide among the serving plates and add a dollop of yogurt alongside each portion

First Harvest of Potatoes

Yesterday I went out with my basket and dug up the first half of my potatoes. Next year, I will use much more compost for a greater yield, but the first harvest wasn't too shabby for container potato plants. There were Purple Majesty, Banana Fingerling, and Yukon Gold Potatoes.

Digging for the potatoes is half the fun, like an Easter egg hunt for grown ups. I emptied one container at a time into a plastic bag and then dug around for buried treasure as I added the soil back into the container.

Of course, the other fun part about growing your own potatoes is figuring out how you will eat them. These potatoes are so tender and crisp inside, and on the outside, the thin skin so very delicate.  My favorite way to prepare them is simply to roast them in olive oil with fresh herbs and garlic.

Growing potatoes at home gives me such a thrill that I think I will grow them every year from now on. I ordered special seed potatoes this year by mail, but next year I may just use organic potatoes from the Natural Foods Co-op where I live.

Spanish Tortilla

After making Portuguese green soup this week, we had leftover linguica, and I decided to make a Spanish tortilla, using Portuguese sausage in place of the Spanish chorizo.

When I announced my intention of making a Spanish tortilla, my husband became excited. "You won't like it," I responded. "Of course I'll like it!" he insisted. "You won't mind the eggs and the potatoes?" I queried (he despises both foods). Puzzled, he said, "Huh?"

Obviously, my husband had the Mexican tortilla confused with a Spanish one, which is more like a fantastic omelette, layered with potatoes and onions. I found a recipe online and tweaked it a bit. I used a cast-iron skillet, which works wonderfully for browning the tortilla and the meat, and can easily be used on both the stove top and oven.

Linguica made a wonderful substitution for the chorizo. I stuck with fresh parsley for the herbs and accidentally substituted fennel for the leek, but it still tasted amazing. Here are the basic stages of the process, followed by the recipe.

Once all of the ingredients have been combined, the tortilla will cook in the skillet,
first on the stove, then in the oven to brown the top.

Finally, you turn it out onto a plate...

Slice it up (here's the cross-section view)...

And serve it up. It will be gorgeous, brown and crusty on the top,
with delicate layers of egg, potato, sausage, onion and leek underneath.

Spanish Tortilla

Few dashes red pepper flakes
Small handful of chopped herbs (parsley, chives or chervil, or combination)
Olive oil
1/2 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
1/4 lb. potato, VERY thinly sliced
1/2 leek (white part), washed well and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
1/4 lb. dried chorizo or linguica, sliced and quartered
6 free-range eggs

Preheat the oven to 450F. Place the red pepper flakes and herbs in a large bowl. Meanwhile, heat a cast-iron or saute pan over medium low heat and saute the onions until soft. Add the potatoes and leeks to the pan and when soft, add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Place ingredients in the bowl with the red pepper flakes and herbs. Wipe out the saute pan with paper towels and return to the heat. Saute the sausage for about 5 minutes or until crisp, then add to the bowl of ingredients.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a fork and season with a little salt and pepper. Add eggs to large bowl with other ingredients. Heat a little more olive oil in the pan and swirl to coat. Add all of the ingredients to the pan. Cook on one side until the eggs are set (the top will be runny still). Then, place pan in oven until the tortilla is light brown and firm to the touch (check after 5 minutes). Leave to set for 5 minutes, then turn onto a serving platter.

Indian Potatoes with Peas

Lately I have been craving Indian food. While it's not the cheapest thing to eat out (my favorite lunch buffet is $13.99 - ouch!!!), it can be fairly economical to make at home once you stock up on the basic spices found in the Indian pantry. Because many people in India are vegetarian, there are many tasty meatless dishes to choose from as well. Here is an easy, quick recipe if you're new to Indian food. Serve over basmati rice.

Indian Potatoes with Peas

1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. ginger
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 bag of frozen peas
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
3 medium tomatoes, chopped

Directions: 1. Lightly brown onion in oil in a medium size skillet until golden.
2. Stir in spices. Add potatoes and cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add tomatoes and peas, cover pan and cook until potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.

German Potato Salad

In my family, traditionally a BBQ means hot dogs and hamburgers. However, my co-workers last year introduced me to the beauty of a well-made sausage. This discovery prompted me to throw a German-themed grill party.

On the menu: smoked bratwursts from local authentic German deli Morant's; freshly baked rolls from the Grateful Bread bakery; mixed greens with lots of vegetables, including the first tomato from our patio garden (wonderfully sweet and delicious!!); fresh fruit platter by my friend Heidi; German potato salad; and for dessert, my friend Chelsea brought (what else?) German chocolate cake.

We had a wonderful time laughing with friends and devouring our German feast and sampling a variety of root beers... But I'll have to blog about our tasting conclusions next time! I will share the recipe for the German Potato Salad, which was given to me by a sweet little German lady who is a client of the law firm where I work. Her name was Ingeborg (you gotta love a lady with a name like that!) and she shared it with one of my associates who lived in Germany as a child, who then made copies for all of us. This salad is cool and refreshing and light, very good with sausages of course, and an excellent alternative to a mayo-based salad for those who are scared of food poisoning (or just don't like mayo)! It serves 8-10 people.

P.S. I threw some green onions in for added color, then garnished with chopped red bell pepper and flat-leaf parsley.

Bavarian-style German Potato Salad
Courtesy of Ingeborg Wright

5 large potatoes (I used red potatoes)
1 small red onion
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 T. salt
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 3/4 T. distilled white vinegar
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dill weed

Wash and clean the potatoes (do not peel). Boil potatoes in large pot until done (when they feel soft when pierced with a fork). When done, remove potatoes and set aside until cooled to lukewarm. THEN remove the potato skins (I left some on for texture) and cut potatoes into small pieces.

Dice the onion into tiny pieces. Combine with ALL the other ingredients in a container and mix well. Pour about half of the mixture over the potatoes and let soak for 20 minutes - THEN stir. Add a little of the remaining mixture and let soak for about 10-15 minutes and stir again. Repeat this procedure until the mixture is all or almost all used up. (Sometimes you will not have to use all of the mixture - do not make the potato salad too thin.)

Cover and store in refrigerator. Tastes best when allowed to soak overnight before serving. It will keep for several days when refrigerated.