Orange Glazed Roasted Potatoes – from Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts

 

Lately I’ve been listening to those BFFS of the moment, Lorde and Taylor Swift. I’ve never been a Taylor fan, except when my wedding guests and I danced and screamed all through”I Knew You Were Trouble” imitating screaming goats. Oh the internet age. The older generation was so confused and just blinked at us while we screeched and stomped, praying it would stop.

Anyway, Taylor equals country music which equals twang which equals I want to tear my ears off my head whenever it assaults me. But I have to admit, her latest album is pretty much my new jam. Looks like I need a prescription for Swiftamine stat! I probably have some sort of reputation to uphold. Lorde is also on repeat, with “Yellow Flicker Beat” empowering my day and encouraging general badass-ery.

Just like I thought Lorde was freaky and Taylor was sappy, I didn’t know that they went together like potatoes and oranges ( Like that segue?) Discovering these young ingenues had actual talent and self awareness was akin to my discovery that starches soaked in fruit juices and roasted until sticky and tart are worthy of repetition.

 

 

This recipe is from Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts by Aglaia Kremezi , and is just one of many that jumped out at me upon my first flip through. When you get a new cookbook, do you also read through it from cover to cover, gasping, nodding and earmarking along? I’d like to think I’m not the only one.

I am growing quite fond of this Greek themed cookbook. First of all, I’m a fan of books where I don’t need to disregard or heavily modify half the recipes since they contain meat. Secondly, perusing this book brought me straight back into my sunny and delectable Grecian honeymoon. Sometimes all I remember is the feta. Just massive amounts of feta and also that sweltering trek up to the Apocrypha. Med Veg Feasts brought back all the gastronomical memories of copious fresh herbs, bright, zingy citrus flavors and meaty, juicy tomatoes. Packed with simple recipes and inspiring combinations, these meals will transport you, if not to sunny locales than at least to a flavor packed, earthy meal.

 

Earmarked recipes: Baked Feta with Tomato and Pepper, Zucchini Herb and Feta Fritters, Olives and Carrots with Preserved Lemon and Thyme, Cucumber Salad with Feta and Mint, Fava Beans with Coriander Garlic and Cilantro.

 

Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Orange and Mustard

– from Aglaia Kremezi’s “Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts”

Sauce

•  2/3 cup olive oil
• 4-6 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano/thyme
• 1/2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
• Good pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2- 1 cup fresh orange juice

Potatoes

• 3 pounds fingerling/baking potatoes halved and cut into large cubes
• 2 oranges, cut into thick slices
• Fresh oregano or thyme for serving

 

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Use a food processor or blender to combine all ingredients from “Sauce”. Pulse until thick.

Place potatoes and orange slices in a layer on a large roasting dish and pour the sauce on top, tossing to coat evenly.

Cover loosely with parchment and bake for 40 minutes. Take out, uncover and toss. The potatoes should be bubbly and easily pierced with a fork. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. If the pan is dry, add more orange juice and toss.

Bake, uncovered for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through with browned edges. If they lack some color, put under the broiler for 2 minutes until they are golden brown.

Sprinkle with fresh oregano or thyme and serve at once!

Salmon Salad

 

Last Wednesday was my one year anniversary of living in Seattle. One year in and already on my second apartment and second job.  “It’s all happening!”

 

I’ve never cooked fish before moving here and what better place to start than the paradise known as the Pacific Northwest? I’ve always felt that salmon occupies such extremes. Done well, it is fantastic and over done, it is traumatic. Nervous to join the ranks of the monsters who overcook salmon, I just recently gathered courage enough to make some for dinner.

A few weekends ago I attended the International Food Bloggers Conference here in Seattle and one of the highlights of the entire weekend was the Bristol Bay Salmon table at the opening reception. I ate like 5 salmon cakes, each dunked in a pool of lemon dill aioli. Buoyed and inspired, I turned to Not Without Salt’s recipe for a simple salmon  and chickpea salad as a way to test the waters.  All the fish needed was seasoning with salt and pepper, a slathering of Dijon and about 20 minutes in the oven. I could do that! Reader, I did. And I jumped for joy when it came out just as it should, moist and flaky.

This salad was so simple and perfectly fresh and flavorful. I opted to toast the chickpeas to add some crunch. Oh, I also nixed the olives since they are gross. Capers gave me enough of a Mediterranean feel.

 

 

Salmon Salad with Cumin Toasted Chickpeas

– adapted from Not Without Salt’s Salmon and Chickpea Salad

 

Place your pretty in pink salmon fillets on a tray lined with parchment. Sprinkle sea salt and black pepper on top of the salmon and spread a healthy dose of Dijon on top. Bake in the preheated (350°F) for 20 minutes or until it is done.

While it bakes, chop up 1 small red onion, a handful of capers and some cherry tomatoes. Whisk up 1/4 cup of olive oil, a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice and one minced shallot to form a quick vinaigrette. Add salt and pepper and pour over the onions, capers and tomatoes. Let sit to absorb flavors.

Heat up canola oil in a skillet. Drain 1 can of chickpeas and add to the skillet once the oil is hot. Season with salt, pepper and a few dashes of cumin. Stir every so often, letting them pop and get crispy. Should take about 7-9 minutes or so. Once they are done, lay them out on a paper towel to drain and let cool.

Once the salmon is done and cooled a bit, break it up into smaller pieces. Add some chopped fresh herbs like dill, basil or parsley along with mixed greens to the bowl with the marinating onions, capers and tomatoes. Add the cooled chickpeas and salmon. Maybe a bit of feta if you are feeling it. Toss it together and eat!

As Ashley suggested, I took the leftovers to work as a sandwich and I did not regret it.

 

 

 

Mediterranean Potato Salad

 

 

Today, whilst poking about Twitter and the general internets, I noticed that the phrase “potato salad” kept creeping up. Usually when a particular subject is bandied about online all at once, it is fairly easy to find out what the source is and why everyone is giving their 2 cents about it. I mean, you can kind of know why they care, but also, WHY do they care ya know? Who’s to say? So naturally, I had a tense few minutes reading “potato salad” all over the place in case it suddenly became a fad and I couldn’t post this recipe because, like the hipster I am, I can’t conform to mob mentality. Anyway I found out it was because some guy apparently had never made potato salad, so it being 2014, he naturally took to Kickstarter to fund this noble mission and… well just read about it for yourself here.  Out of control. I just wish I had thought it of first, since this is also my inaugural potato salad. Drat.

 

Moving on, it was the 4th of July and people everywhere are cooking out, BBQ’ing, picnicking and all around frolicking to celebrate our freedom and the colors red, white and denim. The spouse and I don’t have  huge circle of friends here in Seattle yet, and so opted for some quiet exploring, R&R and finishing Arrested Development season 4 ( for the third time) for our American celebration. Wanting to semi-particpate in the culinary delights of 7/4, we made some umami salmon burgers with avocado and some TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar. That stuff is the shit. For a side, I decided to go as traditional as I could, in that I’d make a potato salad. However, not being a fan of bland, mayo drenched dishes, I made up this one. I think its got a nice, flavor packed punch of liberty and isn’t so creamy that it makes nasty, glooping noises. You know what I mean right? This side dish has got some sun dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, oil, vinegar and capers which is a combination of ingredients that works with like, an infinite amount of things. To make it a little creamier, I added just a few dollops of greek yogurt. I think it was kick-ass. Perfect for Independence Day right?

 

As Nora Ephron said “I have made a lot of mistakes falling in love, and regretted most of them, but never the potatoes that went with them.”

 

 

Boil a bunch of small potatoes ( I used fingerlings cuz they are adorable) for about 10-15 minutes, until soft but not mushy! Chop up and combine in a bowl:  basil, flat leaf parsley, sun dried tomatoes, diced shallots and capers. Heat up some oil in a small pan and add 1 or 2 diced garlic cloves with about a tablespoon of anise seeds. Stir till the garlic just barely toasts and remove from heat.

Once your potatoes are done boiling, drain the water and submerge in cold water. When they cool down a bit, dry, chop up and add to your bowl. Pour the oil, toasted garlic and anise seeds on top of the potatoes. Stir it all up. Make a quick vinaigrette with olive oil, a dash of red wine vinegar and whatever dried herbs you have on hand. Stir up quickly and pour over your mixture. Add a healthy dose of sea salt and black pepper to taste. If you want it a bit creamy, add a couple dollops of plain greek yogurt. Enjoy!