Sweet Potato and Rosemary Gratin

I’ve mentioned before that "A" and I signed up for a summer CSA with Equinox Community Farms… but I haven’t mentioned that we signed up for an additional three winter share boxes. While I loved all the summer splendor of the fresh fruits and veggies, I might like the feeling of being inundated with potatoes, onions and carrots a bit more. Not familiar with the feeling? Imagine once every three weeks picking up two boxes that have no less than 10 pounds of potatoes, 10 pounds of sweet potatoes and enough carrots and onions to bring the total weight up to a metric ton.

It might be redundant to say, but that’s a lot of storage vegetables. Unfortunately we live in a “studio plus” (or “one bedroom minus”) apartment that, while lovely and fits our needs perfectly, isn’t known for having a lot of extra storage. So where do all these vegetables settle away for their long winter nap? Our average-sized, run-of-the-mill fridge. With every new box, there is a slight panic to eat everything in sight. Not because of my intense love of potatoes and carbs, which is very real, but because food gets very lost, only resurfacing after a grueling excavation mission.

So “A” and I creatively think of new ways to eat potatoes. Our lives have been enriched by many stews, soups, gnocchi’s, hash browns and breakfast dishes. The breakfast dish of this post was discovered on Spoon Fork Bacon - one of my favorite food blogs in my queue. Not only are their photos stunning, but I feel like almost all of their recipes are realistic. Yes, some of their meat dishes I don’t even make or eat but if I WANTED to, I could! 

This was an easy dish to throw together of a very lazy weekday morning and the leftovers kept in the fridge for well over a week.

Sweet Potato and Rosemary Gratin 

Adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/8” rounds
• 1 cup goat milk, mixed with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced and divided
• 1 tablespoon minced rosemary
• 2/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for topping
• salt and pepper to taste
• garnish:
• 1/2 teaspoon minced rosemary

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line a round 8” cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together goat milk and apple cider vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes and until milk has started to curdle.
3. Place sweet potatoes, goat milk mixture and 1 clove of minced garlic into a large mixing bowl and toss together. Allow mixture to sit for 30 minutes.
4. Line the bottom of the cake pan with a single layer of potato rounds. Some overlapping is okay.
5. Sprinkle the top with some garlic, rosemary and Pecorino Romano. Season with salt and pepper and continue layering gratin until all ingredients have been used.
6. Tightly cover with foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until fork tender. Remove foil and invert onto an oven safe dish. Sprinkle top with Pecorino Romano.
7. Turn oven onto broil and return gratin back to oven. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and top has crisped up.
8. Allow gratin to cool for at least 8 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Black Bean Bowl with Poached Egg

Give me a potato, sweet or of the russet variety, and I'm a happy lady. Maybe it's because I'm Irish. Maybe it's because I love brunch food. Or maybe it's both. Regardless of the origin of my lusting, whenever I see a brunch recipe on the internet that manages to incorporate a potato, it's game over for me. If I see it on a weekday, whose morning are filled with oatmeal & drip coffee, I make sure to stash the recipe away for a few days. Sometimes on Pinterest, but usually by refusing to close its browser tab.

But this bad boy black bean bowl? I considered it made the first time I saw it. If you often find yourself short on time in the morning, the bulk of this recipe can me made the night before. Substitute canned beans for dried, even if it does raise the price point a bit. If you're like me and can't make your own poached egg with a perfect dribble, throw on a sunny-side-up egg instead. Don't like runny yolks? I don't judge - I was the same until a few years back. Try a scrambled version and no one will think less of you. In fact, your friends will probably be begging to brunch at your place again and again.

Another praise I can sing for this dish is about its leftover potential. Cook everything down  a little to thicken it up and throw it in a tortilla to call it "burrito lunch." "A" and I used ours the next morning for brunch to make blintzes. To stretch things out a bit more, add some stock and call it soup. It's a flexible dish that will bend to your needs without complaint. All it wants is to make you happy, as do I.

BLACK BEAN BOWL

Adapted from Spouted Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. dried black beans (rinsed and soaked overnight)
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tsp. chile powder
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced in 1'' cubes
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste
• 4-8 eggs (use 1-2 eggs per person)
• cilantro and hot sauce to finish
• Cheese of your choosing 

Directions:

1. Drain and rinse the beans from soaking. Place them in a large pot and cover with a couple inches of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beans are cooked through and just tender (one to one and a half hours depending on freshness of beans), avoid overcooking. They should still have a tooth to them. Remove from heat, add a pinch of salt. Let the beans cool for about ten minutes before draining. Add the cumin, cinnamon, garlic, chile powder, hearty pinch of salt and broth. Bring the mixture to a low simmer.
2. Add the sweet potato to the warm beans, give it a stir and cover the pot. Cook for about 8-10 minutes until the sweet potatoes are cooked through. Stir in the tomato paste and olive oil and taste for salt, you'll likely need another pinch or two, and spices. You could add heat with a pinch of red pepper flakes or chipotle. Cover and keep warm until ready.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water with a splash of vinegar to a low boil. Poach the eggs to desired doneness (deliver the eggs to the water in a ramekin, seems to help them stay together well).  For a medium poach, simmer them 2-3 minutes. If you like the yolk more firm, take them 4-5 minutes. Serve each portion with a hearty scoop of the beans and poached egg on top. Finish with hot sauce, cilantro and cheese if using. 

Italian Sweet Potato Gratin

It is difficult to photograph a gratin, or any casserole for that matter, while is is still in the pan.  I think the photograph above is evidence enough.  If you zoom it too close, it looks like the surface of an alien planet.  Conversely, if you show the whole pan very little detail can be seen and it doesn't look for appetizing.  But please, do not be fooled by my photos above!  This dish is amazing!

My Dad & sister, Caroline, bought Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health at Powell's in Portland.  There are so many recipes I want to try, but a lot of them require very specialty ingredients that I don't really have the budget for at the moment.  However, this one stuck out to me because it contained relatively conventional ingredients and sounded like nothing I had ever eaten before.  Sweet potatoes and tomato sauce?  With bread crumbs?  Oh, but how good it is!  My Dad proclaimed that this is one of the best things I have ever made, even my non-adventurous eater little sister ate it up and the leftovers (which heated up very well) lasted me a week.  The hardest part of this recipe is making sure you slice the sweet potatoes very thin, but a sharp knife and a little practice makes this an easy task.

In other news, I have started eating chicken - and only free range vegetarian fed chicken - for my health.  Expect to see some healthy chicken recipes up on here at some point!

Italian Sweet Potato Gratin
Adapted from: Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health
Ingredients:

• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 cups of VERY thinly sliced peeled sweet potatoes (a sharp knife is key)
• 4 cups of very thinly slices onions
• 3 cups of tomato sauce (while I usually make my own, I'm a huge fan of "Seeds of Change")
• 1 ½ cups grated mozzarella
• ½ cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix together the olive oil, oregano, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper.  Set aside.
2. Evenly spread 1 cup of the sweet potatoes in a lightly oiled 9x13-inch baking pan (don't worry, they don't need to completely cover the bottom of the pan).  Spread 1 cup of the onions over the potatoes.  Drizzle with a quarter of the olive oil mixture and top with a generous ½ cup of the tomato sauce.  Sprinkle with ⅓ cup of mozzarella and then about 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs.  Repeat this layers three more times, using up any extra tomato sauce or mozzarella on the top layer.  Finishing by sprinkling the Parmesan on top.
3. Cover and bake in a preheated 400 degree over until the sweet potatoes are tender, 45 minutes.  Uncover and  continue to bake until the gratin is bubbling and lightly browned, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Gypsy Soup

I love this soup.  There is no easier way to say or put it.  It has chunks of vegetables like a stew, but enough broth that it's a soup.  It is also incredibly healthy & filling - I ate it last night for dinner & reheated it for lunch today at the radio station (just as good, a little bit thicker though).  The spices also give the soup a nice little kick at the end that lingers on your lips and tongue, and the warmth stays in your stomach.  While the Moosewood cookbook says this soup takes about an hour & half to prepare, it took me more like two hours… but that may be because I'm a meticulous slicer & dicer…and as a result I'm not the fastest with the knife (but I'm good!)

Gypsy Soup

Adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil -- up to 4T
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 cups sweet potatoes, diced/cubed & peeled
• 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, cored & chopped
• 1 medium bell pepper, diced
• 1 - 15oz can of chickpeas (I prefer Trader Joe's Organic Garbanzo Beans - great texture & flavor)
• 3 cups stock or water
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• dash cinnamon
• dash cayenne (I didn't have any so I used a little bit of Chili Powder)
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Core tomatoes and place in a small sauce pot for a long 10 seconds, remove & peel skins off over sink.  Squeeze out seeds and chop remaining tomato pulp, set aside.  
2. In a soup kettle or large saucepan, saute onions, garlic, celery and sweet potatoes in olive oil for about 
3. five minutes.
4. Add seasonings and the stock or water. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
5. Add remaining bell peppers, tomato and chickpeas.  Simmer another 10 minutes or so - until all the vegetables are as tender as you like them.

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I finally figured out how to make legitimately CRISPY sweet potato fries - blanching!  I was amazing at how much this simple little trick helped my fry baking potential!  I was planning on making sweet potato fries later in the week, but I had half a sweet potato leftover from making Gypsy Soup... who knew one HUGE sweet potato could exceed my 2 cup expectations and leave me with a significant amount leftover sweet potato!  I also made a little bit of dipping sauce for my fries - ketchup just won't do the trick when it comes to these babies!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.
2. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears.
3. Blanch* for about 3 minutes (or soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes)
4. Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil.  Spread them in a single layer.  Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes.  
5. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula or tongs.  Bake for another 5 to 15 minutes (it really depends on how thick or thin you sliced the sweet potato), until lightly browned & crispy.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.

Dipping Sauce:

It's simple really: mix a few tablespoons of mayonnaise with about a tablespoon of Sriracha sauce, a drop or two of hot sauce, a few grinds of black pepper, and a dash or two of garlic powder.  Taste with the tip of your pinky and adjust seasonings to preference.

*Putting the sliced sweet potatoes in boiling salted water, and after X amount of time, removing & plunged (or rinsed under) very cold water to halt the cooking process