Good morning, readers! Things have been a bit hectic in the lives of Kosher Foodies, but not hectic enough in our kitchens! Since we last posted a few weeks ago, Jessica gave birth to a baby girl and I vacationed in California.
Continue reading
Tag Archives: potatoes
Pierogis
A few weeks ago, I just got into my head that I should make pierogis. Not the Mrs. T’s kind, either. Real from scratch ones with sour cream in the dough and shallots in the potato stuffing. Now, I’ve never made pierogis before. I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted some. And all I can say is that, if I can do these, you can, too! I pretty much made them on a whim and they turned out awesome. Continue reading
Lamb and Leek Hotpot
Hope all of you in Sandy’s path (like us!) are staying safe and have enough projects to entertain you on this second day at home! If you happen to have lamb, leeks and potatoes at home, I have a dinner idea for you:
This is becoming one of my favorite dishes. It takes too long to cook be a regular weeknight meal, but it’s all made in one pot (my Dutch oven), it can be made ahead and it’s definitely a special enough for a celebration. Don’t worry, it’s mostly waiting around in the oven time, so you can watch a movie while it cooks, you don’t have to sit in the kitchen all night.
Lamb is usually a treat for us, but it’s not expensive to buy shoulder chops or stew meat, and the long cooking time makes the meat super soft. Leeks are totally underrated. I don’t use them enough, even though they play a part in many of my favorite dishes, including this ginger fried rice. It’s called a lamb and leek hotpot, but potatoes also play a key role in it; they soak up all of the delicious lamb flavor and all of the leek juices. Mm, amazing!
I’ve actually never had or even heard of a hotpot before, but it’s basically lamb and vegetables, surrounded by potatoes. Thanks, Greedy Gourmet for introducing me to this delicious Lancashire pub grub!
Now, the first time I made this, I was smart and bought boneless meat. That’s what I thought I bought the second time around, until I got home and realized there were bones in my stew meat. Oops! Just as delicious, but a little more annoying to eat. Also, I didn’t bother peeling the potatoes, I was too lazy. And if you’re feeling lazy, you’re better off skipping the potato-peeling than the leek-frying! This is a crucial step. Do not skip it.
Your kitchen is about to smell so good!
Lamb and Leek (and Potato) Hotpot from Greedy Gourmet
Serves 6ish
Ingredients:
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 leeks, trimmed and chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 to 2 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 4 medium “waxy” potatoes (about 1 3/4 lbs) (I used yukon golds)
- chopped thyme
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup white wine
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a Dutch oven or another pot that can go on the stove and in the oven. Add the leeks and onions, coat with oil, cover the pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Uncover, salt, remove the leeks and onions to a bowl and set aside.
- Meanwhile, lightly coat the lamb with the flour. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot and brown the meat on all sides (in batches, if necessary) with the garlic, salt and pepper. Remove from pot and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Layer half the potatoes on the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Add half the leeks on top. Then add all of the meat, the rest of the leeks, and finally, arrange the rest of the potatoes nicely on top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme, then pour in the broth and the wine.
- Turn the fire on, bring to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven to cook for about an hour and 50 minutes. Remove the lid, sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and cook for another 30 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately.
Salad Nicoise
Sometimes, the best lunch is just a big giant salad. But not just a boring lettuce and veggies salad, a delicious one with tons of protein, carbs, veggies, and lots of flavor. So when my mom was having company at the pool, I decided to do just that. A giant salad for lunch. It was easy to make, though it took a while to do all the steps, and was definitely worth it. For dinner I would sear tuna steaks, but for lunch, 2 cans of tuna is perfect.
Crispy Potato Roast + a Giveaway!
Happy birthday, baby foodie! Today is Richie’s first birthday. On July second just one year ago (it was Saturday), I was in labor. At 6:49 pm, Riche arrived and screamed his first of many cries. He ate his first meal, and made us all extremely tired and happy. So, in honor of Richie’s birthday, we are doing a giveaway. Instead of Richie getting all the gifts, one of our readers will have the opportunity to receive a wonderful cookbook!
Meatless Mondays: Aloo Matar
Happy Monday! I’m back on my Indian food kick with this simple vegetarian dish of potatoes, peas, tomatoes and spices.
Meatless Mondays: Vegetable Pot Pie
Another Ina meal. What can I say, she has such fabulous recipes that are perfect just the way they are, but also really easy to tweak. This one needed some tweaking. A vegetarian recipe using chicken stock? What’s the point! So I used store-bought vegetable stock…don’t worry, all this chopping and peeling let me make 3 quarts of my own vegetable stock for next time.
I also switched around the vegetables (but of course kept the butternut squash, because it’s my favorite. Can you tell?) and omitted some ingredients that I didn’t have – Pernod? No thanks. The fennel gives enough anise flavor for me. And while I know saffron gives a great color and flavor, I can’t bring myself to spend the money on it. Maybe if someone buys it for me I’ll try it next time.
Recently I’ve been craving chicken pot pie. I see recipes in cookbooks and on TV and think it just sounds so good. With this cold weather here, a big bowl of steaming veggies covered with flaky pie crust is just what we need for a 1-bowl dinner. It’s also a hearty way to make a Meatless Monday meal!
Vegetable pot pie, adapted from Ina Garten:
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, sliced
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups butternut squash, cubed
- 1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- 1 recipe flaky pie or tart dough, or your favorite pie crust
Directions:
1. Make sure all your vegetables are chopped to the same size.
2. Combine the butter and olive oil in a large pot and add onions and fennel. Saute over medium heat for ten minutes, until lightly browned.
3. While the onions are browning, bring a pot of water to a boil. Boil the potatoes for ten minutes and remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
4. Boil the butternut squash, carrots, and celery for five minutes. Drain and add to bowl.
5. Add flour and mix. Turn heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, until all the flour is absorbed. Mix occasionally.
6. Pour vegetable broth into pan and mix until thickens.
7. Add vegetables, including peas, into sauce.
8. Add parsley and mix.
9. Divide dough into six oven-proof bowls or two nine-inch pie plates.
10. Cut dough into 6 pieces. Roll each piece flat. Wet edges of bowl, and place pie crust over the bowl.
11. Brush will egg wash, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
12. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour until the top is crispy and the vegetables are bubbly and hot. Let cool for about ten minutes, because it’s going to be very hot!
Fried Smashed Potatoes
I usually don’t fry things, but the other day I happened to be really hungry and had hardly anything in the house to eat (which happens pretty often, believe it or not). I found some mini potatoes on the counter and remembered watching Giada make potatoes by smashing them and frying them. They looked great on her show, so why not try it!
This dish is in no way filling, but it works as a snack, a side dish, or something to fend off hungry husbands until dinner time. I like it best as a side with eggs – they’re easier to make than hash browns, but still crispy like that breakfast potato we all love. Continue reading
Lemon-Oregano Roasted Potatoes
Potatoes are amazing; have you ever met a more versatile vegetable?
I made these as a breakfast potato along with some scrambled eggs and french toast. By the time they were cooked, everyone was stuffed, but that didn’t stop them from eating all of the potatoes. The moral of the story? these take a long time to cook, like potatoes do, but they’re absolutely delicious once they’re cooked!
Chicken with Potatoes and Tomatoes
I used to watch Jamie Oliver when he was The Naked Chef on the Food Network, but only watched his new show, Jamie at Home, once. In that episode he made game pigeon, which did not really look appetizing to me. I never tried any of his recipes, but admired his use of homegrown (or local/seasonal) ingredients. When I read this article last week, I knew I had to take a look at his new cookbook, Jamie at Home. While browsing through it at the book store, I saw a lot of unkosher recipes, and some graphic pictures of dead hanging rabbits and other animals. I did find a few recipes that looked delicious and very easy, and decided to give a chicken recipe a shot at home.
I actually got the recipe from the food network site (it’s the same as the one in the book), and changed it a bit (or a lot) to make it a little easier. Maybe I’ll try the original one next time…