Oven Fries

Potatoes, in just about any form, are the ultimate comfort food. Mashed, French fried, au gratin, scalloped, hash brown, chips, or baked. All delicious. All comforting. My favorite is French fries, which I’ve been woefully missing since the start of the pandemic—we haven’t dined at a restaurant since March 14.

Sure, we’ve done carry-out and delivery, but French fries just don’t travel well. Nothing deep-fried does, so why bother? But I do have a solution that comes pretty darned close to the hot and crispy fries from your favorite eating establishment. Oven fries—no deep-frying necessary, which is a good thing because no matter how much I miss fries, I don’t want that grease hanging in the air.

The key to crisp fries from your oven is soaking those fresh-cut batons in a big ole bowl of ice water for about 20 minutes before they hit the oven. A lot of the starch from the potatoes will drain away and the result will be fries crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Another trick is to space the fries apart on the baking sheet, so they are not touching, otherwise, you’ll end up with potatoes that are more roasted than “fried.” Seasoning is key too. At the very least, you’ll want to salt them generously, both before and after they come out of the oven. I like to play around with the flavors though, using a seasoned salt like Lawry’s or a Cajun blend, or you could use your own custom seasoning mixture.

For the ultimate crispiness, a thorough dusting of cornstarch or arrowroot does the trick. I usually mix the cornstarch and seasonings together and toss the taters with the mixture after they’ve been coated in olive oil. Easy peasy and oh so good. Make a platter, get out your favorite dipping sauce, and I won’t judge if you eat them all yourself. That’s what comfort food is all about. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2-4
• Print

About 2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled or unpeeled (I leave the skins on for added flavor and nutrition)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot

1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt or Cajun seasoning (I used the Louisiana brand), or go old school and just use about ½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon onion powder

Ice water

Salt

Cut the potatoes into batons about 1/3 inch thick. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with water and ice. Set aside for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil two large baking sheets.

Meanwhile, mix cornstarch or arrowroot, Lawry’s or Cajun seasoning (or plain salt), and onion powder in a small bowl.

Drain potatoes and place on a clean kitchen towel. Pat dry. Either put dried potatoes back in bowl (dry it out first) or into a large zip-lock bag. Drizzle with olive oil and toss or shake until potatoes are evenly-coated. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the cornstarch mix over potatoes and toss or shake. Repeat two times until cornstarch mixture is used up.

Transfer potatoes to the baking sheets and spread fries out so they are not touching. Bake for 30 minutes, turning fries over and rotating pans about halfway through for even browning and crispiness. Remove from oven and top with a final sprinkling of regular salt. Eat while hot. Makes 2-4 servings.

Falafel with Creamy Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

I don’t know why, but earlier this summer I started craving falafel. And Foxy Falafel, my go-to source for truly great falafel, is limited to curbside pick-up during the pandemic. Deep-fried food just doesn’t travel well, and I’m thinking it wouldn’t be as amazing by the time I got it home.

This led me to look for an authentic recipe that would satisfy my craving. I found it and must share—it’s that good! Plus, it’s not deep-fried–yay! Golden brown and crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside with all those signature falafel herbs and spices, it’s served with a creamy tahini-yogurt sauce, thinly sliced radishes, cucumber, red onion, and tomatoes from our garden. All piled on a whole wheat tortilla or, if you have time, stuffed in my whole wheat pita bread, it’s a nutritious, delicious all-in-one meal.

There’s nothing difficult or time-consuming about this other than the need to plan ahead and start soaking the dried chickpeas the night before (canned chickpeas won’t work here). And after soaking, you don’t have to cook the beans, which makes this recipe even easier! Everything else comes together quickly enough for a weeknight meal. A very special weeknight meal! Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
• Print

Adapted from this Downshiftology recipe
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and all that’s needed to make it vegan is to use a tahini sauce without the yogurt, like this one.

1 cup dried chickpeas (canned won’t work in this recipe)

About half of a medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 cup fresh parsley, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 cup fresh cilantro, in between loosely and tightly packed

1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Several grinds of black pepper

2 tablespoons chickpea flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

Grapeseed or avocado oil for pan-frying (or another neutral oil of choice)

Tahini-yogurt sauce, recipe follows

Flour or corn tortillas or my whole wheat pita bread

Accompaniments:
Thinly sliced radishes, cucumbers, red onion, diced tomato

The night before you plan to make the falafel, place the chickpeas in a pot and cover with water by 2-3 inches (the chickpeas will triple in size and you want to make sure they stay submerged). Cover pot and set aside.

The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to your food processor (after draining, I dump them onto a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry before putting them in the food processor).

Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, salt, cardamom, and black pepper to the food processor and process until the mixture is the texture of coarse sand (you may have to stop and scrape down the sides a couple times).

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the chickpea flour and baking soda. Cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place it in oven.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, form falafel mixture into balls (I used a #30 cookie dough scoop, which is about 1 ½-2 tablespoons) and place in hot pan. Flatten slightly with a spatula. You’ll have to do this in batches—don’t crowd the falafels.

If the mixture seems too wet, add another tablespoon of chickpea flour. If it seems too dry, add a tablespoon of water (I didn’t need to do either both times I have made this recipe).

Cook the falafels for about 3 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Remove to rack in oven to stay warm. Repeat with remaining falafel mixture. You will probably need to add more oil to the pan.

Serve in warm tortillas or pita with a swoosh of tahini-yogurt sauce, several falafels, tomato, radish, cucumber, or other toppings of choice. Makes about 4 servings or 18-20 falafel.

Creamy Tahini Yogurt Sauce
From this Feasting at Home recipe

¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 2%)

¼ cup tahini

2 garlic cloves, grated on a micro-plane

Juice of one medium lemon

½ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (my tahini was salt-free, so I used the full teaspoon)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Wisk all ingredients in small bowl until thoroughly combined and creamy. Can make a day or two ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until use.

 

Secret Ingredient Spinach-Artichoke Dip

When grocery shopping for food to take on our most recent cabin trip, I impulsively grabbed a bottle of Original Grlk Sauce, an amazing condiment I first discovered at an indoor winter market in NE Minneapolis where I sampled the original flavor and was immediately in love!

Creamy, fluffy, garlicy goodness in a plastic bottle. Locally made (in St. Paul, MN) with all healthy ingredients (it’s also vegan, sugar-free, and gluten-free), I was sold! Back then I used my purchase mainly on sandwiches and in sandwich fillings and was very sad when that bottle was empty. The winter market was over, and my source was gone.

A year or so later, I was surprised to find the elusive condiment I had been craving in a grocery store. Hallelujah! I could now satisfy my hankering whenever it arose.

Fast forward to our cabin trip, on a stormy night with Lake Superior’s waves crashing loudly and the wind roaring, we needed a comfort-food snack. I had a bag of spinach, the beloved Grlk Sauce, parmesan cheese, and some scallions and was mad at myself for not grabbing that container of sour cream from the fridge at home when filling the cooler. But somehow the ingredients on-hand came together for a hot and bubbly snack—a perfect example of food always tasting better at the cabin.

Once back at home, I vowed to make this dip again, but with the additional ingredients I wished I had at the cabin and for sure including my new secret ingredient, Grlk. Then I forgot about it. That is, until watching the red-hot Minnesota Gopher’s football game on a sunny Saturday when, once again, the time was right for a comfort-food snack. After a little improvising, this is what I came up with, and I think it’s a winner, even if we’re not at the cabin! Enjoy!

By the way, Original Grlk Sauce, along with additional flavors, is available at a number of stores in the St. Paul-Minneapolis metro area and online here. It’s amazing!

• Servings: 4
• Print

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large clove garlic, chopped

One 6-ounce bag baby spinach

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

One 14-ounce can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and chopped

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup original Grlk sauce

1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (the Annie’s brand is vegetarian and delicious!)

A pinch of cayenne pepper, or more if you like things really spicy

3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided

Sliced scallions, for garnish (optional—I forgot to use them today, but won’t next time)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 1.5-quart baking dish with cooking spray or coat it with a little olive oil.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add spinach, sprinkle with salt, stir, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and bright green. Stir in artichoke hearts.

In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, Original Grlk Sauce, Worcestershire, cayenne, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in ½ cup of the parmesan. Add sour cream mixture to spinach mixture and stir to thoroughly combine.

Transfer dip to prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes, then sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup parmesan. Bake another 10 minutes, then broil for a couple minutes to brown the top–watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with scallions, if using, and serve dip hot with crackers, toasted pita or naan, veggies, or tortilla chips. Makes about 4 servings.

 

Sushi Rice Crostini

When you hear the term rice cake, a crunchy, dry, tasteless round with the texture of styrofoam may come to mind. Not so in this case, in fact, here I prefer the term rice crostini. Sounds a little more sophisticated, fancy even. And the opposite of dry and tasteless. Topped with creamy avocado, piquant peppers, and other fresh veggies, these “crostini” are as pretty as they are delicious.

This fun little appetizer comes from the April issue of Food & Wine Magazine. Intrigued by small rectangles of golden rice, I left the magazine open to that page and kept coming back to it. The other day I bought sushi rice for the first time in my life and got to work on the recipe.

Cook the sushi rice either by package directions or in a rice cooker if you have one. I used mine, it’s hands-off, and no matter what type of rice you’re making, it turns out perfectly every time.

The toppings can be switched out to whatever you prefer. If you’re not vegetarian, you could use sushi grade tuna, along with the veggie toppings.

One thing to note, the “crostini” are best topped and eaten soon after they come out of the oven. Also, the recipe is easily halved. I made a half batch and used an 8×8 square baking pan. If you do make a full recipe and don’t have a quarter sheet pan, just use two 8×8 pans. You’ll need to do a little planning ahead because once the rice is in the pan(s), it must be chilled for at least eight hours (mine was in the fridge for close to 24). Enjoy!

• Servings: 56 pieces
• Print

From the April issue of Food & Wine Magazine

6 cups cooked sushi rice, cooled

3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons neutral oil (grapeseed, canola, avocado)

Suggested toppings:
Chopped avocado
Hot & sweet cherry peppers, sliced
Shaved carrots
Sliced scallions
Arugula
Flakey sea salt, such as Maldon
Tamari (which is gluten-free) or soy sauce for dipping

Line a rimmed quarter sheet pan with plastic wrap, leaving 2 inches of overhang on all sides.

Place rice in a large bowl. Stir together rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl until salt is dissolved. Drizzle over rice; gently fold together. Lightly pack rice into a 1-cup dry measuring cup; invert onto prepared pan. Repeat with remaining rice, creating 2 rows of 3. Moisten hands slightly; gently press rice into an even layer. Place another piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of rice; press firmly into a compact, even layer (1/2 inch to 5/8 inch thick). Fold overhanging plastic wrap over top, gently pressing on top and smoothing outer edges. Chill 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. with oven racks in middle and lower third of oven. Remove baking sheet from refrigerator. Unwrap plastic wrap and remove top piece on rice; invert rice onto a work surface (I used a large cutting board). Remove plastic wrap from back.

Cut into about 56 (1 1/2- x 1-inch) pieces. (For clean slices, dip knife into warm water, and wipe clean often.) Lightly coat top of rice pieces with cooking spray. Brush 2 rimmed baking sheets evenly with the oil. Place 28 rice pieces, cooking spray–coated sides down, on each oiled baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until crisp and lightly golden, 14 to 20 minutes. Flip and top immediately. Makes 56.

Honey-Glazed Sweet Potato Steaks with Brussels Sprouts

I’ve noticed the word steak applied to portabella mushrooms for years, and more recently, to cauliflower, but a new one to me was sweet potato steaks.

This wonderful recipe was found in a Food & Wine Magazine article about Baltimore-based chef Spike Gjerde, who approaches local sourcing like no other. For instance, instead of olive oil and lemons, he uses locally-grown and pressed oils and vinegars in his restaurants, thus providing more opportunities to area farmers and producers.

There were several of Gjerde’s recipes included in the article that sounded amazing like Baked Sheep’s Milk Ricotta with Dried Persimmons and Potato Soup with Sage Butter and Rye Crumbs, but Honey-Glazed Sweet Potato Steaks with Brussels Sprouts intrigued me the most, plus, it was by far the healthiest.

The recipe, as written, only serves two, and it’s really more of an appetizer or small plate quantity, so double it if you want a full meal or if serving as a starter for a small dinner party. Most of the prep can be done ahead of time and the dish comes together quickly after that.

The coating on the sweet potatoes is an addictive bit of crunch and the drizzle of honey that finishes them caramelizes nicely and will have you scraping your plate to get every remaining drop. The less sweet Brussels sprouts are the perfect pairing with their browned bottoms and nutty, savory flavor. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2
• Print

From Food & Wine Magazine, March 2019

Be sure to use a cast-iron skillet for this recipe; it maintains heat and will result in beautifully caramelized honey and well-cooked Brussels sprouts.

1 (1-pound) sweet potato, peeled

1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger

1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola, grapeseed, or avocado)

1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, halved top to bottom

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons clover honey, divided

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut sweet potato lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Place the 2 center-cut potato slabs on a cutting board; reserve remaining sweet potato pieces for another use. Score 1 side of each slab in an 1/8-inch-deep diamond pattern.

Stir together ginger, 3/4 teaspoon salt, coriander, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Rub mixture evenly on both sides of sweet potato slabs.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high until smoking, about 3 minutes. Add oil, and swirl to coat bottom of skillet. Add sweet potatoes, scored side down, and cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip and arrange Brussels sprouts, cut sides down, in a single layer around sweet potatoes. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey; transfer skillet to preheated oven.

Roast until sprouts are tender and cut sides are caramelized, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove sprouts from skillet, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and set aside. Return skillet to oven; continue roasting until sweet potatoes are tender, 5 to 8 more minutes.

Remove skillet from oven, and drizzle sweet potatoes with remaining 1/4 cup honey (I used most, but not all of the honey). Tilt skillet, and baste sweet potatoes until honey caramelizes and sweet potatoes are glazed, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer sweet potato steaks to serving plates. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and drizzle with remaining caramelized honey in skillet. Top with Brussels sprouts. Makes two servings.

Zucchini Fritters

Okay folks, it’s that time of year, when zucchini begin their annual attempt to take over the world, or at least our gardens. Co-workers will bring bags of it to work and beg you to take some. Zucchini bread will show up on the break room table multiple times.  You can buy a shopping bag full dirt cheap at the farmers’ market. It’s everywhere, it’s everywhere!

What to do with this abundance? Here’s a recipe that will use up a pound of the stuff and have you wanting more so badly you’ll put it in your regular rotation until zucchini season is over, and then you’ll be sad.

After finding this recipe last year, I bought zucchini each week at the farmers’ market, something I’ve never done before. Great as an appetizer for a summer dinner party, but just as good as a weeknight supper. Accompanied by a salad, you’ve got your quota of veggies and then some. Leftovers with a poached egg for breakfast are incredibly good!

The key to making these little cakes of deliciousness as crispy as a fritter should be is getting as much water out of your shreds as possible. The salt you mix the shredded zucchini with draws out the water and you’ll be able to wring out more than you ever thought possible. Last night I made a double batch and must have squeezed out over two cups.

Before draining

After squeezing out water

The topping recipe included, along with the crisp fitters, creates a combination that will make you want to keep a full batch of these babies to yourself and eat them all (which is what I set out to do last night when I made that double batch for just Pete and me—although I did have a few left over).

I should point out this recipe is the reason we are now growing zucchini in our garden. More fritters for us! Enjoy!

• Servings: makes about ten 2 1/2 inch fritters
• Print

Recipe from the Smitten Kitchen

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini or a combo of zucchini and yellow squash

1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste (decrease to ½ teaspoon if you only have fine salt)

2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used half all-purpose and half whole wheat pastry flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying (I like grapeseed or avocado oil)

To serve (optional, but really not, in my opinion—go for it!)
1 cup sour cream or plain, full-fat yogurt (Greek yogurt is perfect!)

1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

Pinches of salt

1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place a baking sheet on the middle rack.

Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box grater or, if you have one, using the coarser shredding blade of a food processor (that is, if you have more than one shredding blade; mine has two).

In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini in one of the following ways: pressing it against the holes of a colander with a wooden spoon to extract the water, squeezing out small handfuls at a time, or wrapping it up in a clean dishtowel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing away (the dish towel is my preferred method). You’ll be shocked by the amount of liquid you’ll lose, but this is a good thing as it will save the fritters from sogginess.

Return deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt (most is lost in the water), add a little bit more; we found 1/4 teaspoon more just right. Stir in scallions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a small dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.

In a large heavy skillet—cast iron is ideal—heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet (I used a #30 cookie dough scoop) a few at a time so they don’t become crowded (I did four at a time in a 10” skillet) and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula.

Cook the fritters until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath again, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet in the warm oven until needed. Repeat process with remaining batter, keeping the pan well-oiled. It’s best for the fritters to have at least 10 minutes in the oven to finish setting and getting extra crisp.

For the topping, if using, stir together the sour cream or yogurt, lemon juice, zest, salt and garlic and adjust the flavors to your taste. Dollop on each fritter before serving. These fritters are also delicious with a poached or fried egg on top.

Do ahead: These fritters keep well, either chilled in the fridge for the better part of a week or frozen in a well-sealed package for months. When you’re ready to use them, simply spread them out on a tray in a 325 degree F. oven until they’re hot and crisp again.

Chive Mint Pesto

There’s a patch of chives in front of our cabin that grows like crazy; not sure why it’s so prolific—could be it’s just as happy to be there as we are. I try and remember to cut some to bring home every time we’re there, but it seems like half the time I forget.

This time I remembered, and I brought home a lot! It’s especially nice if the chives are flowering their light purple blooms, so pretty and edible too—a mild onion flavor that works beautifully as a garnish on whatever you’ve used the chives in.

With this volume of chives, the first thing that came to mind was making pesto. I’ve made a rustic chive pesto in the past, but this time I decided to do the more conventional pesto method, in the food processor. And with my mint and basil plants needing a trim, I opted to include a good amount of mint and a little basil.

Following the basic pesto recipe I’ve used for years, but subbing in chives and mint in place of basil and throwing in a shallot for good measure, the result was wonderful! On pasta, as a marinade for grilled vegetables, on pizza, in mashed potatoes, eggs, sandwiches, the uses are endless.

As in other pesto recipes I’ve shared in the past, there’s no cheese, which is not typical for pesto, but with the olive oil, it seems rich enough in my mind already, so I do without. Feel free to include some parmesan if you’d like.

This recipe makes a big batch that would be hard to use between Pete and me in the week or so it lasts in the fridge, so I froze half. Pesto freezes well and it’s nice to have on hand for whipping up yummy recipes at a moment’s notice (a quick defrost in the microwave and your frozen pesto is ready to use).

The bonus is I have enough chives left over to make a couple loaves of buttermilk chive bread—I can’t wait!

• Servings: makes 3 cups
• Print

2 cups firmly packed fresh chives

1 cup fresh mint leaves, or a combination of mint and basil, firmly packed

1 cup chopped walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or a combination, toasted

¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, chopped

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients, except olive oil, in bowl of a food processor. Process until combined. Scrape down sides of food processor bowl.

With food processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until mixture is completely blended. Scrape down sides again and give it a final pulse or two. Taste, and add more salt or lemon juice if necessary.

Keeps in the fridge for a week or so, in the freezer for a couple months. Makes about 3 cups.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Our favorite Chinese restaurant is The Tea House in St. Paul. I first heard about it years ago in a St. Paul Pioneer Press review. They gave it 4 out of 4 stars, something I hadn’t seen in any review before, so we had to check it out. We’ve been fans ever since.

I usually order their Szechuan Eggplant in Garlic Sauce—it’s amazing! My mouth is watering just thinking about it—spicy, sweet, and sour perfection. For a starter, we always get an order of their Shanghai Scallion Pancakes and they are delicious. Something made me think about them last week and I decided to see if there were recipes online for something similar. There were lots of recipes!

After perusing a bunch, I found they were all pretty similar. You make a dough of flour and boiling water, knead it, let it rest, and roll out your dough. Then you brush it with oil (or chicken fat—no thanks!), sprinkle with salt and scallions, roll jelly-roll style and then cinnamon roll style. After a final roll out into a round, you pan-fry them and serve them with a simple dipping sauce.

My first batch was made following an America’s Test Kitchen recipe found on The Splendid Table’s website. They were good, but I thought they would be better using less oil in the pan and more scallions in the pancakes.

For my second batch, in additional to using less oil, rather than rolling the dough initially into rounds, I followed directions from a recipe on the Omnivore’s Cookbook site to roll into a long, narrow rectangle, resulting in a longer coil that ultimately made for more flakiness in the pancakes.

In one of the many recipes I read, it mentioned that traditional Chinese flour results in flakier pancakes than regular all-purpose flour. They suggested using pastry flour or cake flour in place of some of the all-purpose flour, so in the second batch, I used one-third cake flour, one-third whole wheat pastry flour, and one-third all-purpose. I’m not sure how much it helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt.

The second batch was the definite winner. Crispy, flakey, scalliony, with no trace of greasiness. The dipping sauce added a salty, slightly sweet component to finish the dish and made it every bit as good as the Shanghai Scallion Pancakes from The Tea House. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
• Print

Adapted from this Omnivore’s Cookbook Recipe and this America’s Test Kitchen recipe on The Splendid Table

Dipping Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons honey (use agave or maple syrup for a vegan version)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Scallion Pancakes:
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided (or a mixture of all-purpose, cake, and whole wheat pastry flours—half cup each)

3/4 cup boiling water

5 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil or a neutral vegetable oil like grapeseed or canola, divided

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

6 scallions, thinly sliced

For the Dipping Sauce: Whisk all ingredients together in small bowl and set aside.

For the Pancakes: Using a wooden spoon, mix 1 1/2 cups flour and the boiling water in a bowl to form rough dough. When cool enough to handle, transfer dough to lightly floured surface and knead until tacky (but not sticky) ball forms, about 4 minutes Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes to an hour.

While dough is resting, stir together 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil, the sesame oil, and remaining 1 tablespoon flour into a paste. Set aside.

Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over low heat to preheat. Divide dough into three equal portions. Cover two pieces of dough with plastic wrap and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the first piece of dough into a rectangle, approximately 12 x 8 inches. Drizzle with one-third of the paste and use a pastry brush to spread evenly over entire surface. Sprinkle with 1/3 teaspoon of the kosher salt and a third of the scallions.

On the long end, roll the dough into cylinder (jelly roll style). Coil the cylinder into a spiral (cinnamon roll style), tuck the end underneath, and flatten the spiral with your palm. Cover with plastic and repeat with remaining two pieces of dough, oil-flour mixture, salt, and scallions.

Roll each spiral into 7 or 8-inch round. Cover with plastic.

Place 1 tablespoon peanut oil in the skillet and increase heat to medium-low. Place one pancake in the skillet (oil should sizzle). Cover and cook, shaking skillet occasionally, until pancake is slightly puffy and is golden brown on the underside, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. (If underside is not browned after 1 minute, turn heat up slightly. If it is browning too quickly, turn heat down slightly.) Drizzle 1/2 tablespoon peanut oil over the pancake and use a pastry brush to distribute over entire surface. Carefully flip pancake. Cover and cook, shaking skillet occasionally, until second side is golden brown, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Uncover skillet and continue to cook until bottom is deep golden brown and crispy, 30 to 60 seconds longer. Flip and cook until deep golden brown and crispy, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer to wire rack. Repeat with remaining pancakes.

Cut each pancake into 6 wedges and serve, passing dipping sauce separately. Makes 4 appetizer servings.

To Make Ahead: Stack uncooked pancakes between layers of parchment paper, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw pancakes in single layer for 15 minutes before cooking.

Brussels Sprouts Elote-Style

Recently Pete and I crossed a “must-try” restaurant off our list. Pajarito, a St. Paul Mexican eatery, has been open a little more than a year and what a shame it took us that long to get there—the food was phenomenal! Everything we ordered, we’d happily get again, but the Brussels sprouts elote-style were change-your-life good. For reals!

Elote is Mexican street corn, but when Pajarito opened last winter, corn wasn’t in season, so they decided to give the elote treatment to Brussels sprouts. The flavors were amazing and as soon as we got home, I started googling to see if I could find a similar recipe. Lucky me, the restaurant’s actual recipe was written up by two local media outlets (that’s how popular these little nuggets of wonder are!).

Pajarito starts by deep-frying the Brussels sprouts, and because I refuse to venture into the land of deep-frying in my kitchen, I used their suggestion of oven-roasting as an alternative. Also, their recipe uses a homemade aioli. Being a little leery of making things with raw egg yolks and not wanting to buy a dozen pasteurized eggs when only one was needed, I simply added their seasonings to already-on-hand mayonnaise (Earth Balance’s Mindful Mayo).

Tajín is the brand of seasoning the restaurant uses to finish off this dish, along with a sprinkling of cotija cheese. After checking one store and not finding Tajín, I just went ahead and ordered it from Amazon. This mixture of lime, chilies, and salt really elevates the dish, so definitely use it if you can find it locally or have Amazon Prime.

The finished product was absolutely delicious—I thought it was just as good as the restaurant’s deep-fried version, minus the extra fat and calories. And by using vegan mayonnaise, all that’s needed if you want it completely plant-based is to skip the cotija. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
• Print

Adapted from a recipe by chefs Stephan Hesse and Tyge Nelson of Pajarito in St. Paul, MN

1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/8 cup Elote Aioli (recipe follows)

About a 1/2 tsp. Tajín brand seasoning (can be found in the international section at well-stocked grocery stores and from Amazon)

1 lime, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place Brussels sprouts in a medium bowl and toss with olive oil and salt & pepper. On a parchment lined baking sheet, place sprouts, cut side down. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.

Transfer cooked sprouts to a bowl and toss with 1/8 cup Elote Aioli. Place sprouts on a serving dish/plate, sprinkle with Tajín seasoning, cotija cheese, then garnish with lime wedges, and serve. Makes about 4 servings.

Elote Aioli

Note: This is basically a flavored mayonnaise. Crema is a more sour crème fraîche and is available in most supermarkets and Mexican specialty food stores. The recipe will make more Elote Aioli than needed for this Brussels sprouts recipe, but the leftovers are good on just about anything, including in place of plain mayonnaise in tuna salad—awesome! Refrigerate remaining aioli in a tightly sealed container for up to a week.

1 cup mayonnaise

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¾ teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

¾ teaspoon hot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot)

1/4 c. crema (which I didn’t have so used a couple splashes of buttermilk)

½ to 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Salt, to taste

In a medium bowl, whisk together first 8 ingredients (through lime juice). Season to taste with salt. Transfer aioli into an airtight container and refrigerate. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Chunky Potatoes with Garlic and Peanuts

A few years ago for my birthday, Pete gave me 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer, a cookbook I’d had my eye on for a while. Full of mouth-watering recipes layering spices and ingredients, there’s a huge section of both vegetable and legume curries to satisfy any vegetarian, plus biryanis, spice blends and pastes, and it starts with a detailed primer on curries. There’s also a large chapter called “Curry Cohorts,” that in addition to rice recipes, contains delicious curry accompaniments like coconut noodles, lentil pancakes, and all sorts of heavenly Indian breads from naan to roti to parantha.

After making a few recipes, I found several more I really wanted to try, but they called for fresh curry leaves. What!?! I had heard of curry powder, but never curry leaves. After searching large grocery stores and the co-op, I finally found them after checking several Asian food stores that, unfortunately, weren’t conveniently located for me.  Eventually, the book was set aside, and has been gathering dust.

Recently a Whole Foods Market opened up near our house and I had to check it out. Impressed with the variety of produce that includes items not found in other stores near me, I was so surprised and excited to see fresh curry leaves. Time to dig out 660 Curries again.

Fresh curry leaves

With my stock of fresh curry leaves, I perused the book to decide what to make. For a weeknight when there wasn’t a lot of meal prep time, Chunky Potatoes with Garlic and Peanuts was deemed the ideal recipe. It had a manageable list of ingredients, some intriguing flavor combinations, and called for fresh curry leaves!

The combination of sesame seeds, peanuts, garlic, and chiles piqued my interest, and smelled wonderful after being combined in the food processor. Not used to potatoes and tomatoes together, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this dish, but we weren’t disappointed. The sesame-peanut blend will release the most amazing aroma into your kitchen while cooking, and once combined with the rest of the ingredients, will morph into a delicious scent that makes it hard to wait until supper is ready.

The cookbook suggests this as either a side dish or stuffed into fresh pita. Since this was to be our main course (actually, our only course), and I didn’t have pita or naan (which would go so perfectly), I cooked up some brown basmati rice and served the potato dish over it. Gradually growing on me from one bite to the next, this spicy, hearty meal won me over and will definitely be made again . And I had plenty left over to take for lunch the next day (which I thought about and, even dreamt about, all night!). Enjoy!

• Servings: 4-6
• Print

From Raghavan Iyer’s 660 Curries

2 tablespoons white sesame seeds

2 tablespoons raw peanuts or roasted peanuts (if salted, reduce salt later in recipe)

4 medium-sized cloves garlic, peeled

3 dried red Thai chilies or cayenne chiles, stems removed (I used about ¾ teaspoon crushed red chili pepper)

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 pound russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 inch cubes, and submerged in a bowl of cold water to prevent browning (I didn’t peel my potatoes and skipped the bowl of water because I cut them up at the last minute, quickly, while the sesame-peanut mixture was roasting)

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons salt (use only one if both your tomatoes and peanuts already contain salt)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley if you are cilantro-averse)

12 medium to large-sized fresh curry leaves (if you can’t find curry leaves, this dish will still be delicious)

Combine the sesame seeds, peanuts, garlic, and chiles in a food processor and pulse to form a gritty, sticky, mellow-smelling blend.

Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat. Scrape the sesame-peanut blend into the warmed oil and roast the mixture, stirring, until it starts to release it’s own oils and loosens, turning crumbly and nutty brown, 5-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, drain the potatoes, if they were in water.

Stir the turmeric into the sesame-peanut blend and cook for a few seconds. Then add the potatoes, tomatoes, (with their juices), 1 cup water, and the salt. Stir once or twice, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork-tender and the sauce has thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and curry leaves and serve. Great as a side dish, stuffed inside a pita, along-side warm naan, or over brown basmati rice. Makes 4-6 main dish servings.