potatoes » Thrifty Living

Spicy Spanish potato salad

Jun 272011

Yes, another potato salad recipe! This one is completely different than the mayo-based Potato salad with garlic & herbs. It is a super quick and easy recipe, and uses common kitchen ingredients.

With this recipe, the potatoes are cooked with a chilli, and then dressed with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing. The cooked chilli plus raw garlic in the dressing makes the salad nice and spicy. You can adjust both to your taste.

I’m not sure how authentically Spanish this recipe is, but it sure is tasty. It’s from the book In Praise of the Potato.

Remember to gently simmer the potatoes, and check often so you don’t overcook them.

Enjoy!

Spicy Spanish potato salad

British		American
450g	new or other waxy potatoes	1 pound
1	jalapeno or other chilli, or to taste	1
1 tablespoon	olive oil	1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon	lemon juice	1 tablespoon
1 or 2	cloves garlic	1 or 2
3/4 teaspoon	salt	3/4 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon	mild paprika powder	1/2 teaspoon

1. Scrub potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks.

2. Boil water in a medium-sized saucepan; add a bit of salt to the water, and then potatoes. Return to a gentle boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are just tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Drain and let cool until they can be handled.

3. Mash garlic clove with 3/4 teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle until a paste forms. Put olive oil in a mixing bowl and gradually whisk in lemon juice. Whisk in the garlic paste and paprika.

4. When potatoes can be handled, peel them (this is optional if the skins are thin). Peel the chilli and chop it into bits. Place potatoes and chilli in a serving bowl. Drizzle dressing over top and mix gently. Serve warm or cold.

Makes two generous servings. Also keeps vampires away.

Potato salad with garlic & herbs

Jun 202011

This yumm-tastic ‘tater salad is the perfect way to enjoy those new potatoes you’ve been digging from the allotment or garden (or, if you are less fortunate, buying from the store).

Be sure to use new potatoes (or another waxy potato) for this recipe, as they stay firm when cooked (provided you don’t overcook them, of course).

Our freshly dug spuds take just 10 minutes to cook, so be sure to stay in the kitchen (or set the timer), lest you end up with accidental mashed potatoes. Another way to end up with mash is to cook the potatoes too vigorously; a gentle simmer is best.

For herbs, I use either baby dill or chives. Feel free to experiment with other herbs (and let me know how it turns out!)

Thanks to Epicurious for the original recipe.

Potato salad with garlic & herbs

British		American
450g	new or other waxy potatoes	1 pound
1	clove garlic	1
3/8 teaspoon	salt, or to taste	3/8 teaspoon
1 tablespoon	lemon juice	1 tablespoon
2-1/2 tablespoons	vegan mayonnaise	2-1/2 tablespoons
1-1/2 teaspoons	hot water	1-1/2 teaspoons
to taste	freshly ground pepper	to taste
2 tablespoons	minced fresh herbs	2 tablespoons

1. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1- to 1-1/2 inch chunks.

2. Boil water in a medium-sized saucepan; add potatoes. Return to a gentle boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are just tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Drain and let cool until they can be handled.

3. Mash garlic clove with salt in a mortar and pestle until a paste forms. Mix this garlic paste with the mayonnaise, lemon juice, hot water and pepper to taste.

4. When potatoes can be handled, peel them (this is optional if the skins are thin). Place in a serving bowl. Drizzle dressing over top and mix gently. Sprinkle fresh herbs on top.

Makes two generous servings. Keeps vampires away all night.

Viana chickenless nuggets

Nov 102010

Occasionally I buy faux meaty things instead of making them myself… but sometimes it’s research, ya know, so that I can try to back-engineer the products to make at home.

My favourite company for back-engineering attempts is German company Viana. They make a huge range of vegan faux meaty things, and all of the ones I’ve tried are scrumptious. They use less processed ingredients (like tofu & wheat gluten), rather than stuff like “isolated soy protein”, which makes back-engineering easier.

Tonight we had Viana “Chickin nuggets”. They were good-sized and had minimal coating on them, which made them seem very substantial. The flavour was a bit different to other faux chicken things I’ve had, not as “chickeny”, but very tasty nonetheless. I’d definitely buy them again (if I can’t figure out how to duplicate them, that is).

We served them with homemade potato wedges and vegan Caesar salad.

Nom!

Reggae reggae [veggie] ribs & tater tots!

Nov 052010

Today, November 5th, is Guy Fawkes Night, which originated as a celebration of the failure of Mr Fawkes, a Catholic, to carry through to fruition his plan to assassinate the Protestant king of England with a cellar full of gunpowder, back in 1605.

Nowadays it’s an excuse to light bonfires and set off fireworks.

So what better for this night of fire than a meal to set the tastebuds alight?

Okay, so the veggie “ribs” weren’t actually that hot. They were pleasantly spicy, though.

I used this recipe for the ribs (which are made using “bean curd sticks”, which taste much better than they sound), using Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae sauce for the barbecue sauce. Since the bottle is only 315g, I made up the difference to 500g [2 cups] using passata [tomato sauce]. Ribs made from bean curd stick turn out pleasantly chewy, with none of the nasty fatty/gristly bits you get with the “dead-animal-parts” type of ribs.

Then to give Mr Thrifty his potato fix, I made homemade tater tots. OMG were they good. The first batch fell apart in the oil, though, so a couple of tips. First, press the tots firmly into shape before frying. Secondly, don’t shake the frying basket whilst frying… let them cook in peace until they are done.

We rounded the meal off side dishes of sweetcorn and broccoli salad with sesame dressing.

A most taste-tastic meal.

Roasted new potatoes with garlic & herbs

Jul 222010

This is a delicious way to cook new potatoes. It’s from Jack Bishop’s Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook.

Soaking the potatoes in cold water helps remove some of the starch so they don’t stick to the roasting tin. Adding the garlic and herbs halfway through ensures the garlic doesn’t burn. You can use thyme and/or oregano instead of rosemary and sage.

Thanks for the great recipe, Jack!

Roasted new potatoes with garlic & herbs

British		American
450g	new potatoes	1 pound
2-1/2 tablespoons	olive oil	2-1/2 tablespoons
2 cloves	garlic, minced	2 cloves
6	fresh sage leaves, minced	6
1 teaspoon	minced fresh rosemary leaves	1 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon	salt, or to taste	1/2 teaspoon

1. Preheat oven to 210C (425F). Scrub potatoes and cut into 2.5 cm (1 inch) pieces. Place in a bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Drain potatoes but do not blot dry. Place them in a roasting tin large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and toss to coat evenly. Roast, turning once, for 30 minutes.

3. Crush garlic in a mortar and pestle with salt until reduced to a paste. Add sage and rosemary and ombine remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons oil, garlic, sage, rosemary and salt in a small bowl. Drizzle over the partially roasted potatoes. Toss gently to distribute the seasonings. Continue roasting, turning the potatoes occasionally, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Cashew nut roast with herb stuffing

Nov 232009

cashew nut roast with herb stuffing 1

Yesterday being Sunday, we had a roast dinner (not that we have one every Sunday, but yesterday we did).

Instead of serving a faux meaty thing to go with all the veggies, I decided to try a nut roast. Cashew nut roast from Rose Elliot’s Vegetarian Christmas, to be precise.

It was awesome, really really delicious, with a perfectly moist yet firm texture. This would be so good for Thanksgiving (and what a coincidence… American Thanksgiving is right around the corner) or Christmas or really anytime you are hankering for a roast dinner and don’t want to do the whole fake turkey thing.

cashew nut roast with herb stuffing 2

We served it with rosemary roasted potatoes, agave-mustard roasted parsnips & carrots, peas and gravy.

Note when you are assembling the roast that it looks like there is no way that it will fit into a 1-pound loaf tin, but it does (just) if you pack it in. The stuffing was a bit crumbly, so next time I’ll probably moisten it with some vegetable stock. I might further tinker with the recipe as it is quite high in fat, probably by adding some mushrooms for moisture and reducing the margarine. But it is delicious just the way it is.

Cashew nut roast with herb stuffing

British		American
For the roast
50g	vegan margarine	4 tablespoons
1 large	onion, peeled and sliced	1 large
2 large	cloves garlic, minced	2 large
225g	raw cashew nuts	1-3/4 cups
125g	fresh white or wholemeal bread	4 ounces
200 ml	prepared vegetable bouillon	7 ounces
1 tablespoon	nutritional yeast (optional)	1 tablespoon
to taste	minced fresh or dried sage	to taste
to taste	sea salt, freshly ground pepper	to taste
For the herb stuffing
1 small	onion	1 small
125g	white or wholemeal fresh breadcrumbs	2 cups
50g	vegan margarine, melted	4 tablespoons
to taste	minced fresh or dried sage, rosemary, thyme	to taste
to taste	sea salt, freshly ground pepper	to taste

For the roast:

1. Prepare a 450g/1lb loaf pan. Put a long strip of baking paper across the bottom and up the two narrow sides, then use some of the margarine to grease the pan and paper well.

2. Melt most of the remaining margarine in a medium-sized saucepan, add the onion and fry for about 10 minutes until tender but not browned. Add the garlic cloves and continue to cook for one minute. Remove from the heat.

3. Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

4. Grind the cashew nuts in a food processor until they look like breadcrumbs, then remove to a large mixing bowl. Process the bread into crumbs in the food processor and add to the bowl.

5. Add the onion/garlic, bouillon, nutritional yeast and seasonings to the crumb/cashew mixture and combine well.

6. Prepare the herb stuffing (see below).

7. Put half the cashew mixture into the prepared pan, top with all of the herb stuffing and pack down. Then spoon the rest of the nut mixture on top. Dot with the remaining margarine. Stand the pan in another pan to catch any margarine which may ooze out, then bake for about 30 minutes or until firm and lightly browned. Cover the roast with foil if it gets too brown before then.

8. Cool for a minute or two in the pan, then slip a knife around the sides, turn the nut roast out and strip off the paper.

For the herb stuffing:

Peel & grate the onion. Place it in a bowl and add the margarine and seasonings. Add the breadcrumbs and mix it together well.

Makes six servings.

Matar mushroom, rajma chawal & more!

Nov 152009

Matar mushroom, rajma chawal, simla mirch bharata, aloo dum

Last night my father-in-law came over for an evening meal, and I decided to make curry.

Feeling bored with my usual repertoire of Indian food, I made some different things, all of which were extremely tasty and went over a treat.

On the menu was matar mushroom (mushroom & peas curry), rajma chawal (kidney bean curry), aloo dum (potato curry) and simla mirch bharata (bell peppers with garlic curry). Also rice, papadums, and store-bought samosas and pakoras.

The mushroom/pea, kidney bean and potato curries were all from a fab site I just discovered, Manjula’s kitchen. Not only does the website have full detailed recipes, but also video tutorials of “Auntie” Manjula demonstrating exactly how to make each dish. I know I will be visiting this site regularly.

The bell pepper curry was from one of my Indian vegetarian cookery books whose name escapes me at the moment.

A very successful meal and one which we be having again tomorrow as there were lots of leftovers. Thank you, Auntie Manjula!

Tandoori tofu & mustard seeded potatoes

Oct 302009

Vegan MoFo logo Last night, I decided, was going to be curry night, and Mr Thrifty concurred as he is always up for a good curry. I made an old favourite, and tried a couple of new dishes too.

Tandoori tofu, mustard seeded potatoes, succulent mountain mushrooms

I’ve made Succulent mountain mushrooms several times before; it’s easy and tastes waaay better than the mushroom dishes that our takeaway does (for starters, it isn’t swimming in oil… why do some restaurants think everything tastes better with a slick of oil on it?)

Then I tried my hand at tandoori tofu kebabs. They were really good, but somehow were lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. Perhaps because I forgot to sprinkle them with lemon juice & coarse salt before serving. Oops. Also, I think I pressed the tofu a bit too much, so I might skip that step next time.

I also wanted to make something with potatoes (cuz, ya just gotta have potatoes when you have a curry), and settled on Potatoes cooked with mustard seeds, from Madhur Jaffrey’s Eastern Vegetarian Cooking. The potatoes were golden and crunchy and delicious, and I’ll definitely be adding them to my rotation of Indian dishes.

Vegan Yorkshire puddings

Oct 192009

Vegan MoFo logo Mr Thrifty has been asking me for ages to try my hand at vegan Yorkshire puddings. Since I finally have a Yorkshire pudding tin, I have no more excuses.

Vegan Yorkshire puddings

Woo hoo… success on the first try!

I cannot take credit for this creation.. it’s from the now-defunct blog gorgeousveganblog.co.uk. They are super-easy to make, with only four ingredients: plain flour, gram (chickpea) flour, soya milk and salt.

They are sooo scrummy! Since I’ve never had traditional Yorkshire puddings, I relied on Mr Thrifty to critique their authenticity. He said the only differences between traditional ones and these vegan ones were that these had a slightly sweet taste (from the soya milk, which has a bit of sweetness that I’ve never really noticed before); and also they didn’t rise quite as much.

Roast dinner with vegan Yorkshire pudding

They were perfect with our Sunday roast dinner.

Sharing the plate is a beefy seitan roast, stuffing balls, roast potatoes, vegan gravy and stir-fried Chinese cabbage with garlic.

Inside a vegan Yorkshire pudding

For those who aren’t familiar with Yorkshire puddings (which is probably everyone outside of the UK), they’re like a pancake on the bottom with a crispy coating on the sides & top and a hollow middle. They are traditionally served with Sunday roast dinners, but Mr Thrifty has guiltily admitted to having them with curry in the past.

In future, these will make a regular appearance on the plate whenever we have a roast dinner.

The gal who created the original recipe made them in a muffin tin, and the recipe yielded six puddings, but my Yorkshire puddingn tin only has four holes. There is more batter here than is needed for four puddings, so I’ll tweak the recipe in future.

Because I’m lazy, I didn’t convert the UK “weight” measurements to US “volume” measurements, but will do so next time I make this recipe.

Here, thanks to gorgeousveganblog.co.uk, is the recipe for making these scrummy delights!

Vegan Yorkshire puddings

4oz plain (all-purpose) flour

salt to taste

1 heaped teaspoon gram flour (chickpea flour, besan)

half a pint of soya milk

vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 230C (450F). Pour a thin layer of vegetable oil in the holes of a Yorkshire pudding or muffin tin and place in oven. The oven needs to be hot and the oil needs to be hot.

2. Mix plain flour, salt and gram flour together with a whisk. Gradually pour in the soya milk taking in the flour slowly until all the milk is added and the flour is incorporated. Whisk with all your might until you can see bubbles. (I used the whisk attachment of my stick blender.) Note: the batter will be very thin, much thinner than pancake batter. It’s supposed to be that way.

3. Carefully remove tin from oven and fill the holes. If using a muffin tin, fill half way up; if using a Yorkshire pudding tin, fill all the way up. Put back in oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Don’t open the oven door to check them, as the oven needs to stay really hot. If your oven cooks hotter at the back than the front (like mine), you can rotate the tin halfway through, but do it quickly.

Enjoy!

Alpine farmer’s macaroni

Oct 072009

Vegan MoFo logo

When I think of the food of Switzerland, I think of cheese. So in choosing a dish to make from the land of yodelling, I decided to veganise Aelplermagrone, or Alpine farmer’s macaroni.

Alpine farmer’s macaroni

Aelplermagrone is a simple, cheesy pasta and potato casserole that’s full of wonderful homely flavours. I had an inkling (well, more than an inkling) that Mr Thrifty would love it, since it contains one of his favourite foods in the world, the versatile spud.

And love it he did. It took a lot of willpower, he said — after polishing off a second helping — to abstain from thirds and instead save some for his lunch the next day.

Besides sauteed potatoes, the dish contains slow-cooked onions, macaroni, meatless “bacon”, and a simple vegan cheese sauce made with soya milk, vegan sour cream and vegan cheese.

For the vegan cheese, I used half Smoked Cheddar Sheese and half Mozzarella Cheezly.

Served with a salad, it’s the kind of meal that’s perfect for a cool autumn evening… regardless of whether the view from your dining room is the Alps, or just the back garden.

Alpine farmer’s macaroni

British		American
2 teaspoons	extra virgin olive oil	2 teaspoons
2 teaspoons	vegan margarine	2 teaspoons
200g	onions, halved & thinly sliced	7 ounces
1 clove	garlic, minced	1 clove
200g	potatoes, cut into 1cm (1/2″) chunks	7 ounces
115g	elbow macaroni	4 ounces
2 slices	vegan “bacon”	2 slices
125ml	soya milk	1/2 cup
4 tablespoons	vegan sour cream	4 tablespoons
60g	vegan cheese	2 ounces
	salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat one teaspoon olive oil and one teaspoon margarine in a heavy skillet over low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Add garlic, cook another five minutes.

2. While onions are cooking, parboil potatoes in boiling salted water for five minutes. Drain.

3. In the same water, cook macaroni according to package directions, until just tender.

4. Heat one teaspoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of margarine over medium heat. Fry parboiled potatoes until browned and crispy, 10-12 minutes.

5. Put potatoes and macaroni in a small casserole dish and mix.

6. Gently fry vegan bacon in a little olive oil until warmed through, a minute or two each side. Chop into small pieces and add to casserole dish.

7. Make sauce: Gently heat soya milk with vegan sour cream until just hot. Stir in vegan cheese and continue to heat, stirring with a whisk, until cheese is melted.

8. About 10 minutes before onions are done, preheat oven to 175C (350F).

9. When onions are finished cooking, add them to the casserole dish along with the sauce. Mix thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper and mix again.

10. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes.

Makes two generous servings.

Older Entries

Thrifty Living

Spicy Spanish potato salad

Spicy Spanish potato salad

Potato salad with garlic & herbs

Potato salad with garlic & herbs

Viana chickenless nuggets

Reggae reggae [veggie] ribs & tater tots!

Roasted new potatoes with garlic & herbs

Roasted new potatoes with garlic & herbs

Cashew nut roast with herb stuffing

Cashew nut roast with herb stuffing

Matar mushroom, rajma chawal & more!

Tandoori tofu & mustard seeded potatoes

Vegan Yorkshire puddings

Vegan Yorkshire puddings

Alpine farmer’s macaroni

Alpine farmer’s macaroni

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