Posts Tagged potatoes

Spanish omelette 2

December 4, 2013 at 11:29 am · Filed under general veggie dish ·Tagged , ,

While we were visiting my parents, Yusuke whipped up this very lovely iteration of his Spanish omelette recipe (aka tortilla espanola or tortilla de patata). The veggies were:

  • Potatoes (pre-cooked a bit in the microwave)
  • Bell peppers (green and red)
  • White onions

The veggies were sauteed first. Next came the eggs poured in, which had been beaten with a bit of soy milk.

Yusuke prepared other delicious meals during our sojourn, but this dish was particularly blog-worthy in its crispy golden veggie goodness.

Spanish omelette

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Stone stew

March 1, 2013 at 9:11 pm · Filed under stew ·Tagged , , , , ,

stone-stew2

I finally remembered to snap a pic of our dinner.

This is sort of stone stew—that is, I dumped in everything that was left in our fridge because I didn’t have enough to make more than one dish that would go well with the others.

I began by cooking lentils and later added quinoa in a veggie stock broth. I also added some garlic for good measure.

After the grain alternatives began to soften, I added sliced white onions, green beans, and chopped potatoes.

I sprinkled in additional seasoning around this point as well: dried parsley, sea salt, and black pepper.

After everything was pretty well cooked, I added the final delicate ingredients: fresh tomatoes and avocados (both chopped into decent-sized chunks).

Yes, avocado is kind of a wacky addition, but it was getting really soft; I had to use it up! It actually was quite tasty in the stew and added nice texture. Plus it contributed some protein and good fat to our one-pot meal.

stone-stew1

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Beet stir fry

August 28, 2012 at 5:23 am · Filed under general soup, stir fry ·Tagged , , ,

I’ve been in beet heaven of late with our CSA baskets. Again, though, sometimes they are more of a radish texture and light orange in colour. Regardless, they are très délicieux. Here, Yusuke combined the beets and greens in a lovely stir fry with abura-age (deep fried tofu sheets. Pronunciation, sort of: ahboorah-ahgay).

He first sauteed the beets in sesame oil and cooked them a fair bit (about 80%). Then he added the age and the beet leaves and stems. The seasoning was: 1 tbsp of mirin, a bit of dashi, and 1 tbsp soy sauce.

The abura-age and beets made the dish subtly sweet.

On the side, we had soup with a Better than Bouillon brand veggie stock (thanks, Mom!): about 2 tsp in 1.5 or so litres of water and a pinch of black pepper. The veggies were:

  • Baby potatoes
  • Fresh sweet carrots
  • Glistening red/purple onions
  • Green leaves of onions

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Thai-ish stir fry

March 8, 2012 at 6:32 am · Filed under stir fry ·Tagged , ,

First step: boil snap peas with sea salt for about 2 minutes and then drain.

Next it was the potatoes‘ turn to be cut into strips and soaked in water for a few minutes.

In a frying pan, he sauteed ginger and fresh garlic in a bit of oil. He then added the potatoes, followed by the snap peas, and finally defrosted frozen shrimp.

He then turned off the heat and added 1/2 tsp of nam pla and a tiny bit of maple syrup. The sweetness very nicely balanced the salty taste.

The unique flavour of nam pla (Thai fish sauce) comes from fermentation, which brings out a richer taste in the food to which it is added—the famous concept of umami.

I must note, though, that nam pla made our apartment stink, especially in combination with the fresh garlic. However, the smell disappears as soon as the sauce is heated and mixes with other flavours. The food itself was delicious, with no trace of fishiness.

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Shocking pink tonjiru

October 30, 2011 at 6:55 pm · Filed under miso soup ·Tagged , , , , ,

Tonjiru with beets #1

We’ve been blessed in our weekly csa basket with beets. It’s amazing how such rough little buggers become so magically sweet and tender. We’ve also frequently used the greens as a substitute for spinach. Very tasty.

Tonjiru is a popular type of miso soup characterized by pork and root vegetables, usually potatoes, carrots, daikon, etc. and onions. It’s definitely one of Yusuke’s favourites.

He decided to put our beet bounty to good use by making tonjiru with a twist. The iteration above includes daikon, carrots, white onions, and of course beets. The pink effect is somewhat startling, but it’s incredibly tasty. He also used chicken instead of pork.

The second batch included carrots and leeks in addition to chicken and beets.

He typically begins the soup by sauteing the onions, followed by the other veggies, before adding water, miso paste, and dashi.

Tonjiru with beets #2

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Cucumber vichyssoise

September 18, 2011 at 5:55 am · Filed under general soup ·Tagged , ,

This lovely soup is a type of vichyssoise, with a puréed potato-base as the distinguishing feature.

Yusuke started by heating a saucepan and then sautéeing garlic in olive oil. He then added thinly sliced white onions and potatoes that had been cut into small pieces. When the onions started to change colour, he added 1 cup of water with chicken (or vegetable) bouillon powder, and salt & pepper.

He let everything cook for a while and set the pot aside to cool.

Stage two began with a giant cucumber that was chopped into pieces and liquefied in the blender.

Next, he added 1 cup of soy milk, 3/4 cup of plain yogurt, and lots of chopped fresh dill.

He then added cooked potato mixture to the blender and let it whirl until smooth.

To serve, he added a drizzle of olive oil and more fresh dill. Magnifique.

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Leek and potato pottage

July 5, 2011 at 1:58 am · Filed under general soup ·Tagged , ,

This delightful pottage was inspired by a fantastic meal that we had in Ireland.

The recipe that Yusuke found to work from advised not using the green part of the leeks, but that would be a terrible waste!

First, he chopped up the leeks into tiny pieces. He separated out the white parts and sautéed them in a bit of butter until soft. (N.B. olive oil would also work.)

Next, he added a few splashes of white wine and let it simmer for a while.

After a few minutes, he added the green leeks and white potatoes that were cut into tiny cubes. In addition, he threw in:

  • chicken broth
  • sea salt
  • black pepper
  • five bay leaves (thyme would also work)
  • basil

He let everything simmer until the potatoes were soft.

Next, the pot went into the fridge until it was cool, and then the contents transferred to the blender.

Once smooth, the mixture went back on stove over low heat. 1/2 cup of soymilk was stirred in. Last, the soup was seasoned with salt and pepper.

Gorgeous.

We also enjoyed grilled asparagus with balsamic vinegar alongside the pottage.

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New Year’s Soba

January 1, 2011 at 5:06 pm · Filed under pasta & noodles ·Tagged , , , , , ,

We had a nice, quiet family New Year’s Eve, made special by traditional New Year’s soba (thin buckwheat noodles).

Yusuke put together his usual soba sauce:

  • soy sauce
  • mirin
  • sake
  • sugar
  • dashi
  • water

The “toppings” were boiled daikon, spinach, and carrots, along with raw white mushrooms. We also had some leftover teriyaki chicken that my mom had prepared. Finally, we had fortuitously procured a nagaimo from a nifty Japanese grocery store in Denver.

“Nagaimo” is literally translated as “thin potato.” I watched a video once about how they are grown; their long shape and tendency to grow straight down makes them quite labour-intensive to harvest. It’s very rare to come across them in Montreal, and they’re usually from China. But we’ve found Japanese-grown specimens a few times in Colorado. Nagaimo is frequently eaten raw. When grated, it becomes incredibly sticky (ネバネバ !) and can be poured over or mixed with noodles or rice. In this state, it’s called tororo. It can also be eaten with things like tuna (check out a description mid-way down this page) or veggies.

The soba-eating procedure is to pour broth in a bowl, add noodles, pile in veggies, mix everything up, and slurp.

Apparently the long, thin shape of soba is lucky for long life, and of course, a happy new year.

Bonne Année, あけましておめでとうございます, Athbhliain faoi mhaise dhuit.

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Kare soba

December 27, 2010 at 10:39 pm · Filed under pasta & noodles ·Tagged , , , , ,

This dish wasn’t as healthy as our typical fare, but it was very filling, warming, and satisfying.

Yusuke said that this dish could be drawn right off a soba shop menu. カレー南蛮 (kare nanban) is a typical Japanese noodle dish that usually has udon (thick noodles), chicken or duck, and a curry-based broth. It often calls for katakuriko (potato starch), too.

Fun facts: Apparently the “なん” (“nan”) part of the name refers to the word for south, a reference to the fact the dish originated from the Portuguese from the Meiji era. According to Yusuke’s reference (dictionary? encyclopedia? I forget.), it was originally pronounced なんば (nanba), but it later become なんばん (nanban). Yup.　

For the main body of the stew, in our version, Yusuke boiled firm tofu, carrots, potatoes, and white onions and then added packaged Japanese curry cubes (soooo convenient).

Lacking udon, we used regular soba—thin buckwheat noodles. They only take about 5 minutes to cook in boiling water.

The cooked noodles were stirred into the curry stew and the soba sauce was added:

  • dashi powder
  • soy sauce
  • sugar
  • tiny chunks of daikon (cooked in the sauce)

Last came the garnish of chopped green onions.

See Google image search for more examples of カレー南蛮 here and here.

As I wrote in a previous post, curry (カレ or “kare”) dishes are extremely popular in Japan: there’s even a wikipedia article on the subject, naturally. The pre-made cubes vary in spiciness, and I think we usually have a medium one. The curry is not hot at all in the way it would be in Indian cuisine, but there’s a sweetness mixed with the spice that I find lick-the-bowl addictive.

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Soy supreme: natto tofu

December 6, 2010 at 6:11 am · Filed under miso soup, tofu ·Tagged , , , ,

This dish is waaaay Japanese. Only those who can appreciate soft subtle tastes need apply.

First, Yusuke thinly sliced white onions and soaked them in water to lessen their strong taste. Next, he prepared a sauce with 1 tsp mirin, 1 tbsp soy sauce, a pinch of dashi, and the tiny packet of “mustard” that comes in a package of natto.

He mixed the sauce into natto and then piled it over blocks of silken tofu, which were also topped with the drained raw onions.

Yum, yummy.

Alas, the tofu was firmer than we prefer due to a recent tofu tragedy. We used to buy “president’s choice/ménu bleu” silken tofu, a store brand at Provigo (aka Atlantic Superstore aka Loblaws). But they haven’t had it for weeks and weeks. We even tried another store, but now hope has faded. Sniff. Japanese-style tofu is incredibly hard to come by in this part of the world…

We also had an unusual miso soup with this meal, with green peppers, potatoes, and cherry tomatoes. Yusuke used a bit of chicken broth, salt, and sugar (a tiny bit) instead of dashi powder.

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