Curried Stir-Fried Potatoes

A few months ago, iTunes celebrated it's 5 year anniversary by offering some of it's most popular apps for free. Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything app, was one of those free ones, so I snatched it up! It's normally $9.99 and it is probably worth the price, but I refuse to buy anything from the app store. This recipe for Curry Potatoes comes from the app:

Curried Stir-Fried Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or canola
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds (optional)
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1½ pounds all‐purpose potatoes, peeled and shredded or minced
• 1 tablespoon garam masala or curry powder (to make your own, see Garam Masala, Hot Curry Powder, or Fragrant Curry Powder), or to taste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch cayenne
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Put the oil in a large nonstick or well‐seasoned cast‐iron skillet over medium‐high heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds if you're using them, fry them for 30 seconds, then add half the onion and the potatoes. Add the spice blend, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook, stirring or tossing, until the onion has caramelized and the potatoes are lightly browned, about 10 minutes; the potatoes need not be fully tender.

2. Add the cilantro to the pan, toss once, and transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with the raw onion and serve immediately.

The potatoes were served alongside naan and chicken tikka masala in a pre-made simmer sauce. The potatoes weren't so great - I felt like they needed a lot more curry flavor. Considering that I can't remember when I purchased the curry powder that's sitting in the pantry, maybe it's time to buy a new one? I would try this again, but it is not on the top of my cooking list.

Potato, Patata

Sliced potatoes

A few weeks ago, I posted the potatoes that came from the CSA and I wondered about what to make with them that wasn't mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes. When I asked my husband if he had any ideas, he seemed to know exactly what we should make - tortilla de patata. My husband studied abroad in Spain, in a small town outside of Madrid called Alcalá, and tortilla de patata aka tortilla española aka Spanish omelettes are a popular dish in Spain. It consists of eggs, potatoes, and onions - kind of like scrambled eggs and hash browns that you can enjoy all at once!

The finished product - delicious!

Tortilla de patata takes a bit of work - you need to thinly slice a lot of potatoes and onions, which is not such an easy feat. This must be the third time since I've been blogging that I've needed a mandolin. Maybe it's time to finally purchase one! This dish also takes a bit of fancy flipping - halfway through cooking, you need to transfer the tortilla onto a plate then flip it upside down back into the pan so that it can finish cooking. Easier said than done, that is for sure!

Profile shot - check out those layers!

Tortilla de patata is obviously a great breakfast, but it also is good for lunch alongside a salad or bowl of soup. It would also make a great dish for a brunch!

Heinz 57 and French Fried Potatoes

Cheeseburger in Paradise is not just a Jimmy Buffet song, it is also a great restaurant. Alright, I've only been to one of them, over 15 years ago...but I remember it being delicious. Who doesn't like a grilled pineapple slice on their cheeseburger? Anyway, this post is not about cheeseburgers - it's about french fried potatoes! French fried purple sweet potatoes, to be exact! Have you ever made homemade french fries without a deep fryer? It's so simple and much less intimidating than you might think. I picked up these purple sweet potatoes from the CSA two weeks in a row, and I made sweet potato french fries with both of the shares! No use in trying to reinvent the wheel - this recipe was so perfect and delicious the first time, there was no reason to think of any other uses for these purple beauties.

Here they are after being chopped - note the deep purple color!

And here they are, fresh out of the oven, sprinkled with some sea salt. See how purple they are on the inside???

In case anyone was wondering, I was told these sweet potatoes are a little milder and more starchy than their orange cousins. I couldn't really tell much of a difference in this preparation, but they were delicious...and great with a cheeseburger!

Flying Purple Potato Eater

Purple potatoes! From the outside, they don't look like anything special or that different...but on the inside, they are purple! These ones were actually a bit more pinkish than a true purple, almost too beautiful to eat. This is one of those times I wish I had a mandolin...what could be better that PURPLE potato chips? Since there is no mandolin in my apartment, these potatoes just had to be made into roasted rosemary and parmesan potatoes. If anyone out there in blog land wants a recipe, just contact me, and I will happily send it along. These potatoes tasted just like...potatoes! There wasn't any noticeable difference in these colorful potatoes vs. the yellow/gold variety. We served them alongside baked chicken, and it definitely did brighten up the plate! It was a nice visual change. And here's what they looked like after they were in the oven:

still purple!

Sidenote: I've been feeling a bit under the weather these past few days - thanks to my lovely sinuses that enjoy giving me pain every once in a while. Sinus infections are not fun :( Anyway, because I'm just trying to rest up, I now have the perfect opportunity to catch up on the blog! So be prepared for a few new posts coming down the line the next few days.

Red Potato Salad

These next few posts are going to be on the shorter side - I've done lots of cooking but very little blogging, so it's time to cut to the chase and just quickly give an update on what's been going on in my kitchen.

Red Potato Salad

served alongside a veggie burger - yum!

This was a really simple recipe to make and required very few ingredients. Here's how it was made:

Ingredients:

• potatoes
• salt and pepper
• parsley
• mayo
• any other add-ins you like, such as onion (which I took a picture of but didn't end up using), hard boiled egg, or celery

Directions:

1. Boil 2 quarts of water in a medium pot. Wash and scrub potatoes, if leaving skin on. Otherwise, peel potatoes. Cut into bite sized pieces. Place potatoes in boiling water, allowing to cook until soft but not mushy, 15-20 minutes.

2. Remove potatoes from and drain. Season with salt and pepper, add mayo to taste (I like creamier potato salads!), and parsley. 

3. Cool in the refrigerator and enjoy - will last for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.