Tortilla de Patatas Vegana (Spanish potato omelette - vegan version)

I've been watching a little of Spain on a Fork.  Most of his recipes are more than I feel like making, and tend to be potato-heavy, but this looked like something We Cook Vegan would make.  With fewer ingredients.

Basically, it's a chunky latke.  This version uses a chickpea batter in place of eggs, making this version vegan and slightly less expensive.  I had been thinking of making a socca that day, so I was already in the mood for something like this.  I made it as part of dinner, but it really works any time of day.  Hot for breakfast.  Leftovers would make a great cold lunch.  A small slice at tea time.

It does take time to make.  Potatoes have to be thoroughly cooked, and this one doesn't use the oven.  You could make the onion and potatoes ahead of time, then mix with the batter when ready to cook.  All in one shot, you're looking at a minimum of an hour.

1 C diced onion (1 small or 1/2 large)
1/4 C olive oil, plus more as needed for the pan
1 lb dense potato, such as Yukon or red
salt and pepper to taste
*1 C chickpea flour
1 C water

1.  Stir together chickpea flour and water until most of the lumps are gone.  Set aside while you prepare the rest, or up to 8 hours.  For longer, refrigerate.

2.  Warm the oil in a 12" skillet that has a lid over medium heat.  Add diced onion and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.  Stir often so it doesn't get fried and crispy.  You may need to turn down the heat.  We're going for a slow caramelization.

3.  While that's happening, peel potatoes if desired.  I skipped that.  Slice into bite-sized pieces about 1/4" thick and uniform size, so they cook evenly.  I chose to set the cut potato in water because I didn't know how long it would be sitting around.  Not a necessary step.  Add to skillet and turn up heat to medium-high.  Lightly fry potatoes with the onions until cooked, stirring every 5 minutes or so.  This will take up to half an hour.  Once easily pierced with a fork, remove from heat and allow to cool 5 minutes, or refrigerate as a do-ahead.

4.  Stir together potato mixture with its oil and the chickpea batter.  Season with salt and pepper.  I used about half a teaspoon of salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, but these are the only seasonings.  Use your best judgment.

5.  Place the skillet back over medium heat and lightly coat the bottom with more oil.  Add potato batter and arrange in a neat layer.  Cover and cook until set, about 10 minutes.  The top can still be a little uncooked.

6.  Use a spatula to loosen the pancake from the bottom of the pan.  Keep going until you can shake it.  If it's really stuck, it probably isn't cooked yet.  Set a plate on top of the pancake, commit to the flip, and turn everything over.  Place the skillet back on the stove, coat with a touch more oil, and slide the tortilla back into it.  Cover again and cook another 6-8 minutes.

7.  Transfer to a serving pate and cut into wedges, with anything from sour cream dip to hot sauce as a dressing.

Difficulty rating  :)

Farfel Kugel with Swiss Chard

Savory matzoh kugels are a common side dish at Passover.  I went ahead and turned this into a stuffing/dressing casserole to have with the turkey and gravy.

I clearly did not learn my lesson from growing too much kale last year, and have compounded it by adding some absolutely gorgeous "rhubarb" Swiss chard to the garden.  I'm probably going to have to save it up in the freezer and can it.  There's room in the freezer for that now!  Not as much as I'd hoped, since I had to put half the leftover turkey and carcass in there, but I have definitely made progress.  It was to a point that I didn't know if I could wedge the next bake of challah in it.  Anyway, chopping up the equivalent of two bunches for a double batch of stuffing was no big deal.  I made broth, which was me making work for myself, but there's nothing wrong with opening a can or box of it.

I put fennel (anise) seed in this, and everyone loved the unexpected seasoning.  If that isn't your preference, you can go basic and leave it out.  What I'm not putting in the printed recipe is that I chopped up the tiny turnips I thinned out of the pot.  Wow, they were almost as strong as the horseradish while on the cutting board, but mellowed in the casserole until you couldn't taste them.

*1 bunch Swiss chard, any color
*2 ribs celery, chopped
*1 small onion (or 1/2 large), diced
1 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
*1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 10 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
*3 sheets matzoh
1 C chicken or vegetable broth
1 egg, lightly beaten

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Grese an 8x8 or small round/oval casserole with a few drops of olive oil.

2.  In a large skillet with a lid, heat 1 Tb oil over medium heat.  Chop the stems off the washed chard and cut into pieces similar to the celery.  Chop the chard leaves into strips or chunks.

3.  Cook the chard and celery stems and the onion in the oil until softened, stirring occasionally.  Season with the sage, fennel, salt, and pepper.  Keep in mind how much salt is in your broth.  You may not need to add any.  My broth was kind of peppery, so I didn't add extra.

4.  Add the chard leaves and the drained mushrooms and stir.  Cover and allow to cook down, about 5 minutes.

5.  While the greens are wilting, prepare the matzoh.  In a medium bowl, crumble them into bite-sized pieces, just larger than cornflakes.  If the broth is refrigerated, warm to at least room temperature.  Pour broth over the farfel and allow it to soak in while the vegetables finish cooking.

6.  Once the chard has cooked down, remove the skillet from the heat.  Add the softened matzoh and stir to distribute evenly.  Stir in the egg until uniform.

7.  Pour the mixture into the greased casserole.  Roast, uncovered, until the top is crispy and it is thoroughly cooked through, about 25 minutes.

Difficulty rating  :)

Asparagus with Orange-Date Vinaigrette

If I had known so many of the people at Seder were asparagus fans, I wouldn't have gone to this much trouble.  Instead of 10 minutes to make a dressing, I would have spent 5 minutes on a basic salt-pepper-olive oil roast.  Whatever.  I didn't buy anything extra for the dressing.  Really, I was looking for something to do with the extra oranges on the tree.

I would use this dressing on any salad, especially one with a tangy green like arugula or something sturdy like spinach.  It's sweet, as you would expect from oranges and dates.  You could add more vinegar to balance it if desired.

The photos are of the double recipe I made.  My oranges are also very juicy for how small they are.

1 lb asparagus
*Zest and juice of 1 small orange
*1 Tb date syrup
*2 Tb white wine vinegar
1/4 C olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4-6 pitted dates, sliced or chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Wash asparagus and trim or snap off tough bottom ends.  Arrange in an 8x8 casserole dish.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the orange zest and juice, date syrup, vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasonings and acidity levels.

3.  Pour dressing over asparagus.  Top with date slices.  Cover for the first 15 minutes if you want them lightly steamed, then remove the foil to finish.  If going for a solely roasted texture, leave uncovered and cook about 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness of the stalks.  Toss again in the dressing a little before serving.

Difficulty rating  π

Sweet Potato Casserole for Passover

I almost served this for dessert.  American sweet potato casserole is a big head-scratcher to the rest of the world.  I've never researched where it came from, but probably the South.

For this version, I wanted to come up with a recipe that was pareve, since I was making turkey.  The "cream" options were almond or coconut milk, and I jumped at the coconut option.  I've done coconut and sweet potato before, so I knew this would work.  Coconut milk doesn't taste "coconutty" until you add a considerable amount of sugar, so I'm only adding a little here.

Side note, when I went online to find which brands of coconut milk were kosher for Passover, Trader Joe's came up first.  It has no stabilizing gums or other additives, and happened to be the lowest price point I've seen in a couple of years.  I'm still not a TJ's devotée, but I'm finding more of their products that can be used by someone who cooks from scratch.

I used canned sweet potatoes, but will give instructions for baked as well.  I also made a double recipe of what I'm posting.  Even with folks coming back for a second scoop, I had a few days of leftovers.  We'll call this four generous servings.

*1 29 oz can sweet potatoes or 1-1/2 lb fresh sweet potatoes
1/2 C coconut milk, lightly beaten to break up the fat
1 Tb brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten
*2 Tb chopped walnuts, optional
8-12 large (Passover) marshmallows

1.  If making from raw potatoes, scrub and pierce in several pieces.  Roast at 400º until cooked through and soft, about 1 hour depending on size and shape.  Allow to cool and scoop out flesh.  For canned, drain.

2.  Preheat oven to 375º.  In a bowl, coarsely mash potatoes.  If desired, you can purée or whip them.  I wanted texture and left some chunks.

3.  Stir in the coconut milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and beaten egg.  Spread in an 8x8 or similar sized casserole.  Sprinkle top with the walnuts, if using.

4.  Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbling.  Remove from oven, top with marshmallows, and bake again until marshmallows are toasted.  Serve hot

Difficulty rating  π

Maror (Horseradish Spread)

I decided to make my own bitter herb dip this year for Seder instead of opening a jar.  I've been toying with the idea of growing horseradish, and figured I should actually make something with one first.

This is a super-simple recipe.  No cooking.  Two ingredients unless you prefer seasonings.  The hardest part is taking the food processor outside.  Don't remember the last non-grilling recipe I read that suggested making it outdoors.

And it actually was kind of hard to carry the processor to the patio.  I managed to ruin my left knee while scrubbing the front entry.  I was mildly sore when I finished, then two hours later couldn't stand on it.  I panicked and went to urgent care because I had to work at 4am the next day.  Exoskeleton of a knee brace later, it was 75% improved in the morning.  I bought a lighter brace to wear whenever it feels weak, but it didn't hurt after that first evening.  Better safe than sorry.  Mainly, I was upset that I wouldn't be able to scrub the kitchen floor.  I carefully scrubbed the worst patches, mopped better than usual, and went over it with a damp cloth to pick up anything I'd missed.

As for how hot to make the horseradish, there's a bit of science behind that.  Grating or processing the horseradish root releases the heat.  Adding vinegar stops that process.  For hot, run it first and add the vinegar later.  For tangy and not as hot, add some of the vinegar while it's running.  I added some of the vinegar first, along with a sprinkle of salt and sugar.  Still ended up ridiculously hot, so I'm not sure what I did wrong.  Maybe 24 hours wasn't a long enough time to rest.

There's always the option to grate the root on a box grater, but it's going to be an instant attack on the nasal passages.  I might try it with some of the root as an experiment.

I wish canning the condiment was an option, but cooking the root destroys all the flavor and heat.  That's why prepared horseradish is in the refrigerated deli case.

4 oz horseradish root
*2 Tb to 1/4 C apple cider or white vinegar
salt and/or sugar as desired
beet juice for red, sweet horseradish

1.  Wash and peel root.  I got the smallest one, and it was almost a pound.  I cut off a portion and put the rest in the fridge to make another batch later.

2.  Chop root in pieces and place in food processor.  Either open all the windows or take it outside.

3.  Add 2 Tb vinegar to processor.  Shut it and process until finely chopped.  This is when I had no idea I would end up hosing down the patio after.  Hold onto the processor.  The root is a lot tougher than ginger, the last fibrous thing I ran through it.  Once broken down, scrape sides and add vinegar as needed for desired consistency and potency.  Add any salt, sugar, or beet juice you choose to flavor it.  Pulse a few times to distribute.

4.  Store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.  The flavor will mellow as it sits, so it's best to make it at least a day ahead.

Makes about 1/2 C

Difficulty rating  π

Thanksgiving-Style Seder

I picked up a 12 pound turkey after Thanksgiving and sank it in the bottom corner of the chest freezer to camp out until now.  Turkey is a common choice for Seder, and I decided to go a little farther with a Thanksgiving theme.  Minus the pumpkin pie, which I couldn't figure out how to make without gelatin.  Also, I still had a Passover cake taking up an unfortunate amount of space in the chest freezer since last year.  Those things are good at room temperature for six months, so I knew freezing it for a year wouldn't be a big deal.  It actually defrosted wonderfully soft and moist; even I wouldn't have known the difference.

I haven't roasted a turkey in a very long time.  I can't even remember the last time I made a whole chicken.  I forgot where I put the roasting pan and panicked that I may have gotten rid of it.  It has been that long.  What I decided to do was cook the turkey in the morning, carve it, and refrigerate it until we were starting Seder.  That way, the oven would be free the hour before to make all the casseroles at the same temperature.  It worked perfectly.  I will do that from now on whenever a meat requires resting and carving.  Why stress yourself doing it after the guests arrive, when the taste is not affected.

With turkey, you need stuffing, in this case a savory farfel kugel.  The gravy was all the pan drippings boiled with a potato starch slurry for thickener.  It turned out to be cheaper to buy kosher chicken trimmings and make my own broth, as klp boxed broth is way overpriced and basically a chicken-flavored salt lick.  I have a personal rule not to serve my homemade pressure-canned food to guests, but cranberry sauce is high acid water-bathed and safe.  I would have loved to make the sweet potato casserole with the canned potatoes; commercially canned is the safer option.  At some point, I will trust my skills and the process enough, but I'm still new at this.

I'm from the school that you don't have green beans during Passover.  I've loosened up on some of the kitnyot to follow modern trends, but that's a biggie.  Instead, I came up with an asparagus dish that I couldn't find online, so maybe I actually invented it.

I forgot how many casserole dishes you end up using when you make a Thanksgiving dinner.  No wonder I have so many of them.  I keep thinking I'll get rid of a couple, then something like this happens.

What really surprised me was how little I spent at the grocery store on a dinner party for eight and specialty items.  Some of the klp was leftover from last year with a sufficient expiration date.  Some things I had been picking up gradually along the way as part of my pantry stock.  All together, I probably spent a lot for the week's food, but over the course of an entire year.  The fresh items and what I didn't already have were $40 for Seder and $80 to fill out the other 23 meals of the holiday, plus snacks and treats.  Darn eggs.  As usual, I bought more than I'll eat in a week, but I'd rather that than scramble for meal ideas.

*Roast turkey & gravy

*Cranberry Sauce

*Farfel Stuffing with Red Chard

*Sweet potato casserole

Asparagus with Orange-Date Vinaigrette 

*Passover cake with sliced strawberries and whipped cream 

Chicken with Artichoke and Tomato

The artichokes are getting ready to bloom, and I still have one bag left from last year's harvest.  Oops.

I was thinking of a sauce to have with roasted chicken and pasta, and decided to flavor some oil with the vegetables roasted alongside the chicken.  A little garlic and herbs later, we have a lovely Mediterranean baked dinner.

*4 chicken thighs
*8 oz artichoke hearts, drained if canned or thawed if frozen
1 lb Roma tomatoes
*8-10 cloves garlic, peeled
*about 12 kalamata or green olives, pitted preferred
1/4 C olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning or 1/4 tsp each dried rosemary, parsley, marjoram and oregano
salt and pepper to taste
crumbled feta for garnish
*linguine or farfalle for serving, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Arrange chicken evenly in a 9x13 casserole or a 12" round.

2.  Cut any large artichoke pieces in half.  Core the tomatoes and cut into quarters, or smaller wedges if the tomatoes are huge.  Arrange in the casserole with the peeled garlic and olives.

3.  Drizzle the oil evenly over the ingredients.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs.  Roast until the chicken is 160º, about 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let rest until it stops bubbling.  Be careful, the level of the liquid will be higher than when you put it in the oven.

4.  If having with pasta, start boiling the water at the 30 minute mark.  It should be done by the time the casserole has finished resting.

5.  Serve hot, with plenty of pan juices used as the sauce.

Difficulty rating  π

Passover Cleaning: The Kitchen

It's the home stretch.  Guest list is finalized, majority of the house cleared of chometz and cleaned.  The last thing on the list is the kitchen.  Once that's prepped for Passover, no more leavened foods are allowed.

The least disruptive part of it is rearranging the pantry.  I take everything out, wash the shelf liners and the shelves, and put it back so that anything I can use is on the bottom shelf.  Everything above that is sealed behind a wrapping paper curtain when I start cooking Seder.  This is when I see if I really do know everything I have put into the pantry.

Next, I empty the chest freezer and defrost it overnight.  It's a tight fit, but I can get everything in the kitchen freezer because half of the chest freezer doesn't actually have to be frozen.  It's flours, nuts, chocolate chips, and the like that can be room temperature for a couple of months before they start to turn.  I make an effort starting in February to decrease the amount in it just to make it through this event.

Cleaning out the fridge is slightly harder because I'm always terrified I'll break one of the glass shelves.  What I set aside as chometz, which is mostly condiments, goes in the mini fridge that I only turn on for Passover and if I need it for a party.

Once I'm done using it for regular cooking, I clean the oven.  To properly kasher it, you should run the self-cleaning cycle if available.  I didn't want to risk blowing the element this year and gave it a good ammonia cleaning.  I really need to do that more often.  I know I said I was going to do it monthly, but I haven't yet this year.

The stove gets what I consider a "quarterly" level of cleaning, which is what I'm on today.  Because, doesn't everybody dismantle their stove at 6am?  I take it apart to scrub with baking soda, and soak the burner grates in ammonia for half the day to remove any burnt-on grease.  I double checked that I'm not cooking any chometz on it for the rest of this week.

Technically, you can't kasher a toaster oven for Passover, but I give it a very good cleaning, run the broiler setting for ten minutes, and call it done.  I only use it for matzoh pizzas, if at all, during the holiday.

The microwave gets a thorough cleaning, inside and out, which will happen probably Friday after I'm done using it for a non-Passover freezer meal.

I take everything off the counters, scrub them with dish soap, then Comet, and finally pour boiling water over the cleaned surfaces.  Afterwards, the sink gets the same treatment.

The last thing to clean is the floor.  It gets a hands and knees scrubbing.  Stupid, white floor.

You may notice that I don't swap out dishes, pots, and utensils.  While I appreciate the concept of keeping a division in a kosher kitchen to avoid mistakes, it isn't something I observe.  I wash everything very well, every day of the year, and consider that good enough for Passover.  There is no leavening in my stored cookware, because nothing dirty goes back in the drawers and cabinets.

Pesto Tofu, Vegetables, and Brown Rice

No, really, hear me out.  I was going to do a stir-fry originally, but that would have involved buying a new bottle of teriyaki sauce.  Things evolved, sales on cabbage happened, and I ended up making this.

This recipe works equally well with chicken, but I had tofu on the meal plan.  Pesto drowns out everything, so it doesn't really matter what the protein is.

What struck me when it was on the plate was how inexpensive the meal was.  It looks fancy, but only cost me a few dollars on the day for four servings.  Getting every ingredient from scratch, you're looking at about $9, or $2.25 per serving, and half of that cost is the pesto.  It fills the plate and the cabbage roasts into something that feels hearty.

*1 C brown rice
1 small cabbage
3-4 large carrots
olive oil as needed
salt, white pepper, and granulated garlic to taste
*1 block extra firm tofu
*1 C pesto
lemon wedges for serving, optional

1.  First, start making the rice according to package directions.  Brown rice takes a minimum of half an hour, usually 45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easier cleanup and less sticking.

2.  Peel off the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut in quarters, and remove the toughest parts of the core.  Peel the carrots, trim off the top and bottom, and cut into large chunks, about 2" long and halved.  The goal is for them to roast in the same amount of time as the cabbage.  Rub with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and arrange on the baking sheet in an even layer.  Sprinkle with salt, white pepper, and granulated garlic to taste and roast until softened and the edges of the cabbage are browned, about 30-40 minutes.

3.  Drain the tofu, cut into 8 rectangles, and pat dry.  I tried getting all fancy with the pesto by putting a tablespoon on each piece, then gave up and added it all to the pan.  Warm in a skillet over medium heat, adding a little more oil if your pesto is on the dry side.  Turn over to heat both sides.

4.  Plate with a scoop of rice, one wedge of cabbage, several pieces of carrots, and two pieces of tofu per serving.  Drizzle with some of the warmed pan pesto and serve hot.

Difficulty rating  :)

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I'm always glad when I Google an idea and find a recipe from a familiar source.  Preppy Kitchen made these, and the recipe looked like what I wanted to make.

Yes, it's awfully close to Passover to be making a dozen biscuits.  In a few days, I'm going to move the turkey to the fridge and defrost the chest freezer.  The biscuits I don't have with the steak are going to be breakfast with some Lil' Smokies as the protein.  Passover eggs are going to be the most precious ingredient this holiday.

This is the first jar of home-canned sweet potatoes I've opened.  I still have a few par-steamed ones in the freezer, but I wanted to try the recipe with these.  Drained, they mashed into a cup of purée in seconds.  It was fantastic!  I'm going to be looking for recipes to use sweet potato purée now.  Because I was using powdered buttermilk, I saved the water from the jar and topped it off to be what the recipe called for.  Taking into account the extra water in the canned potatoes, I just made 1-3/4 cup total for the two ingredients.

The only issue I'm having with the original recipe is the yield.  These were 12 huge biscuits.  I usually make a biscuit or scone recipe with 2 C flour for 12, so I'm going to say you should get 18 out of a 3-cup batch.  I could have made sandwiches on these.

3 C flour
2 Tb sugar
1 Tb baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 C cold butter, cut into cubes
*1 C sweet potato purée (about 1 15 oz can potatoes, drained)
3/4 C buttermilk

1.  Preheat oven to 425º.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

2.  In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in the butter to make flakes.  You can use a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers.  I like the finger option.  It's soothing to squish the butter into the flakes, and you can catch any hiding chunks.  Just don't work it too long, or the warmth of your hands will melt the butter.

3.  Stir together sweet potato and buttermilk, then add to the flour.  Stir just until it comes together into a shaggy dough and picks up all the dry flour from the bottom of the bowl.

4.  Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead lightly until uniform, maybe 10 strokes.  Don't overwork, or the biscuits will be tough.

5.  Pat into a sheet 1" thick.  You can use a 2" round cookie cutter, or do what I did and pat it into a rectangle on the baking sheet and score it into squares.  If using a cookie cutter, assemble the scraps and keep cutting out biscuits until all the dough is used.  For scoring, separate the squares slightly, so they will barely touch once they expand in the oven.

6.  Bake about 20 minutes, until the bottoms are just starting to brown and the tops are firm.  I did think the recipe might be a little heavy on the butter, but once the biscuits cooled it was the right amount that I didn't need to add more at serving.  Maybe I'll cut back by 2 Tb next time.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  You can store these at room temperature for up to two days, in the fridge for about five, or freeze for longer storage.

Makes 18 biscuits 

Difficulty rating  π