Wednesday Food Blogging

Potatoes and Green Beans with Pesto Sauce

 

Lookee here! There's something else you can do with potatoes and green beans!

I am particularly fond of potatoes and green beans. But I've made this yummy salad so many times I could almost taste it in my sleep—indeed, when I trimmed the green beans and began boiling the small salad potatoes, for a moment I caught the scent of Dijon and dill—its key ingredients.

But this time I was using pesto, a jar of vegan pesto I've had sitting in my cupboard. The end result was still herby, though, and a more substantial side dish than either potatoes or green beans on their own.

With jarred pesto, this is incredibly easy to make. I won't even bother with a recipe. I simply boiled potatoes (I always plop the larger ones in first, then add the smaller ones to ensure even cooking) and then added the green beans to the same (salted) water after removing the potatoes.

My beans were short, so I didn't bother slicing them in half, but shorter pieces make for a better presentation.

Meanwhile I toasted some walnuts, and mixed three or so tablespoons of pesto with soy cream (I buy mine in France; lucky me!). I used about 3/4 cup of soy cream, though I think soy milk may work just as well.

Then I tossed sliced potatoes, green beans, the walnuts, and the pesto mixture together. I barely had time to photo it—when Daughter Number Two and her dad returned from the gym, they gobbled it all up.

My favorite part of this dish? It's so easy to make, and looks, and tastes, like you tried really hard.

Dijon Roasted Potatoes

Dijon mustard and potatoes. Made for each other.

So I was peering into my cupboards the other day, looking for something to cook, and I noticed several jars of Dijon mustard. We’d bought a cute Wine-goblet shaped jar in Cherbourg. Other choices included a Scooby Doo -themed juice glass, but being adults, we chose the wine glass. The mustard came in handy, as every night I mixed up a salad dressing using other jars I bought: Olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I also brought home some French potatoes, a thin-skinned white potato I hadn’t got around to cooking while in Normandy.

Suddenly the idea of mustard and potatoes was irresistible.

I mixed up some mustard, olive oil, rosemary, and salt, coated the potato wedges, and a half hour later had some yummy baked potato wedges.

Here’s more:

White Asparagus with Vegan Hollandaise Sauce

Frou frou asparagus, in a frou frou dish

When I saw white asparagus at the French supermarket for 99¢ (about $1.59) I couldn't resist. I placed it gently in my shopping trolley, and brought it home across the Channel.

But I remembered reading somewhere that something special had to be done to white asparagus, unlike green asparagus.

I Googled and discovered that white asparagus has to be peeled, and then cooked for 20 minutes. So I peeled each stalk, a time-consuming process, and even then, I don't think I got all the peel off. After boiling it for 20 minutes, it still was tough and stringy, especially toward the bottom of the stalk. I should have broken them off, like I do with green asparagus, but instead I'd followed instructions to only cut off the last inch.

But the Hollaindaise Sause, made with French soya cream, was delicious. So I'm posting this recipe, with a caveat that white asparagus just isn't worth the effort. It doesn't have as much flavor as green asparagus, and takes a lot longer to prepare. Kinda makes me wonder why European farmers go to all the trouble of piling up the earth around the stalks to prevent them from turning green in the sunlight.

I also really wanted to show you my new serving dish I got at one of the frou frou shops in Noordwijk. It was 50% off, so I guess it was only frou.

Roasted Roots

A side dish of roots: Dig it!

Turnips really are one of my favorite vegetables. Despite harrowing tales of victory garden produce forced upon Britain's youth, it turns out turnips taste much better than their reputation would indicate.

So when I saw a bag of turnips at my local grocer for a pound, (£1) I snapped it up, knowing I could cook those winter roots any of several ways.

My favorite is to roast them. Since I had parsnips, and baby carrots too, I sliced them up, along with a potato, poured a generous amount of olive oil over it all, and popped it into the oven.

The result: melt-in-your-mouth root vegetable heaven.

Here's how:

Pilau Rice with Cauliflower

Now if only Daughter Number One would tell me how to make my photo not look washed out.

Daughter Number One loves Indian food, but Daughter Number Two isn’t such a fan. But DNT went into London with her friend for New Year’s Eve, so I took the opportunity to make Indian for beloved older daughter (who had graciously offered to babysit later for our neighbors).

With the spicy rich korma I served, I wanted a lively rice dish, and this more than fit the bill. In fact, my husband, ungrateful for the bounty of food I’ve been putting on the table lately, insisted that this alone would have been enough for a meal. No need for the korma, the raita, the samosas, the mango slices, the naan, the chutney—Readers, you’ll never know how close I came to hitting him on the head with the cauliflower stump.

He did do the dishes.

For easy directions on how you can turn your Indian meal into a feast, keep reading.

Potato and Parsnip Rösti

A simple side dish, for Hanukkah perhaps.

You could call these latkes, or not, depending on how badly you’re wanting to celebrate Hanukkah vegan-style. Then you’d have to serve them with applesauce and vegan sour cream, and jelly doughnuts. Or you could call them hash browns, but that brings up images of Mickey D’s and those pre-packaged, pre-formed Tater Tot-like patties.

So why don’t we just go with the Swiss, who call them Rosti? Or Rösti, if you want to get technical.

I formed my Rösti into three separate 6-inch pieces, but you could make one large Rösti  if you’d prefer. Technique is crucial: Slip the browned Rösti onto a plate, cover the plate with the frying pan, and invert to brown the other side.

If you have a food processor with a grater attachment, use that; it will make short work of the prep involved. But if you don’t, or prefer to work with your hands, then be sure to watch your knuckles. Bloody knuckles are no fun; I don't even think the Swiss have a cute name for them.

Hanukkah begins on December 4, if you'd like to skip ahead.