Thursday, January 27, 2011

Potato Fritters, Indian style

This is sooo delicious. I’m sure it’s not especially good for you, but luckily the Stuff My Kids Will Eat Kitchen does not have the scientific instruments that would allow us to confirm that.

We served these fritters as a starter for family favorite chana masala, which bubbled on the stove while I cooked the fritters. The extra potato-ends (too small for fritters) got diced and added to the main dish. The fritters made with white potatoes were OK, but the sweet potatoes were divine. I didn't add the serrano chiles called for in the recipe.

We served store-bought coriander chutney for dipping. I think this would also be good with mango chutney, or the mint chutney suggested in the cookbook - or just eaten plain like French fries, as my kids enjoyed it.

Speaking of French fries, one of my favorite things about exploring the simpler dishes of other cuisines is learning how much they have in common across cultures. The seasonings change, but comfort food is comfort food (and everyone likes a fried potato.)



Potato Fritters Appetizer
Adapted from “Vegetarian for All Seasons,” Williams-Sonoma
1 cup chickpea flour (also called besan or gram flour)
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1 Tblsp. peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
Oil for frying
1 Tblsp. garam masala
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp. baking powder
2 green onions, minced (note: I substituted finely-diced yellow onion)
(optional) 1 serrano chile, minced
2 Tblsp. minced fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large sweet potato
1 large baking potato


In a bowl, combine the flour, stock, 1 tblsp. oil, garam masala, turmeric and baking powder. Stir until well mixed. Stir in the green onions, chile, and cilantro. The batter should be thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. The slices can be as much as ¼ inch thick and will still cook through, but taste-test your first batch for doneness.

The original recipe calls for deep frying in an inch of oil, but I'm a hot oil wimp, so I used a large (12”) non-stick skillet and generous dollop of oil, adding more oil every batch or two of fritters.  Heat the oil to medium-high or high temperature. Working one batch at a time, dip slices into the batter to coat and place immediately into hot pan. Fry a single layer at a time, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to paper towels to drain. While cooking the next batch, you can keep the fritters in a warm oven.

When all potatoes have been cooked, serve with the chutney.


February is Cheap Eats Month
Headlines say to expect high grocery prices during the next few months. I thought it would be fun to devote a month to cheap eats. They say food doesn’t have to be costly to be fresh and delicious. (Will the Kids agree? Will they notice any difference?)

What’s your favorite inexpensive main dish? How do you stretch your weekly purchases across a week of menus? Add your comments, favorites or requests below.


Friday, January 21, 2011

Breakfast for Dinner: Stovetop Frittata

Breakfast for dinner – am I the only one who does this? (Don’t break it to me if I am.) For us, Thursday tends to be the night. Everyone’s tired from a week of work, the house has given up all pretense of the almost-clean it achieved the weekend before, and anything easy sounds good.

Last week I made this stovetop frittata, and French toast. I confess that the kids were not as interested in the egg dish as they were in the syrup-delivery dish. 


 
Frittata is a basic whatever-you-have-in-the-house dish. Add diced meat and cook the eggs sunnyside on top, and you have a skillet hash.


Stovetop Frittata with Spinach and Broccoli (vegetarian)

- 1 medium package hashbrown-cut potatoes, browned and kept warm (I used frozen, because we had some on hand, but any type of potato, browned, will do. Cut it into small enough pieces and it will cook quickly.)
- oil or spray oil for cooking
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
- ½ red or green bell pepper, diced
- About ¾c to 1 cup of frozen spinach, cooked about halfway done, drained and dried between paper towels. You want enough to make it green, but not enough to overwhelm the flavor
- About ¾ cup broccoli, cooked about halfway done
- Grated cheese, whatever you have on hand (mild chedder, Colby, etc.) You’ll just need enough to flavor the top of the frittata, about 1/4  cup. Low fat is fine (non-fat is an abomination.)
- 2 small or 1 large roma tomato
- 6 eggs (Egg beaters would also be fine, or a mix of both)
- (optional) meat substitute. I added about 2 oz. Gimme Lean Sausage, mostly for the flavor.
- (optional) seasonings of your choice, if you don’t use something like sausage substitute. I'd use marjoram and thyme. (I just realized that I use marjoram about 5 times a week. Not sure if other people love it the way I do, so suit yourself on this step.)
- Salt and pepper

In a large skillet (I used a 10” cast iron) sauté onion, garlic, and bell pepper until softened. Add the cooked, warm potatoes and stir. Add the well-drained spinach and broccoli. Stir together and add seasonings. Cover and allow flavors to blend for 2 or 3 minutes until mixture is bubbly and warm.

In a small bowl or mixing cup, slightly whisk the eggs, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Lower the heat to low or medium low, so that the mixture stays warm but bottom does not get too brown. Smooth the top of the mixture in the pan and pour the eggs on top. Cover and allow to cook for about 2 minutes, checking for doneness. (Note, if the eggs are not cooking through, stir eggs into the mixture, cover the pan, and wait another minute or two for eggs to set. biting into raw eggs = gross!)

When eggs are nearly done, add the sliced roma tomatoes in an attractive pattern on top and sprinkle cheese over that. Cover and cook until cheese melts.

Serves 4 with leftovers

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Roasted Beet and Potato Borscht


Friends sometimes say that my kids are easy in the variety of things they will eat. And I’ve kind of brushed that off – after all, James doesn’t eat meat, which is not especially easy, and Milo ate no fruits or vegetables at all except broccoli, apples and bananas, for years.

But then there was soup night potluck. When we brought out the borscht ,and James told the neighbor kids, eagerly, “Borscht! This is soo good!” and filled his bowl, and they looked on in faint stupefaction before turning to their hamburgers. Purple soup, who can blame them? Maybe my kids are a little odd. 

But if you get past the purple, this really is one fine and delicious dish.


Borscht isn’t a family dish for either of us, so we’ve tried a few different recipes along the way. My grandmother made a borscht that was more like a cabbage and tomato soup. The version Tom made for soup fest has a lot of beet flavor, no cabbage, and vegetables that are roasted adding richness. That, and the beets, also make the soup kind of sweet. Not sweet like dessert, but sweet like roasted onions and beets. 

Also on the menu was creamy squash bisque and chicken and kale soup. Look at these colors!


Add a little crusty bread and a peach cobbler made with the last of the frozen Michigan peaches, and you have the perfect winter potluck.

Roasted Beet and Potato Borscht
6 medium red beets, scrubbed and peeled.
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 shallot (can substitute onion)
1 onion
½ tsp thyme
2 Tblsp. Olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
5 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Garnish: sour cream, parsley or chives
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Serves 4
Cut 5 of the beets into medium dice. Coarsely grate the other beet and put aside.
Toss diced beets and diced potatoes, shallot and onion with the oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheets. Sprinkle with thyme. Roast about 45 minutes.

Bring broth to a simmer in a large saucepan or stockpot. Add the vegetables. Mash about half of the soup with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Add the vinegar, salt, pepper, and the grated beet. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add additional broth or water if needed. Taste and add more vinegar if needed.

Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream topped by the parsley or chives.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Three Things 2010

A few years ago my stand mixer changed my life. Then the electric tea kettle came into my world and became my favorite kitchen thing. (Thanks, mom, on both counts.) 2010 was a year of humbler updates. Thirteen years post-wedding-shower, I finally got around to acquiring or replacing a few of the little gadgets that make cooking more fun. (and by the way, I love it that department stores have a section called "gadgets.")


First we praise the pizza cutter, which Santa left in my stocking for Christmas last year. It is both practical and lovely with its chrome accents. No household with pizza lovers or bakers of homemade pizza should be without one of these. 

Second, a kitchen workhorse was updated when I replaced my old silicone spatulas. They did their work well but their wooden handles were starting to – ugh - mildew under the silicone. I’m not sure these metal-handled spatulas were the best choice for the stovetop because the metal tends to get hot, but for cookie and cake making, they are the bomb.

Third, just in time for the November/December cookie-making season, I finally broke down and replaced my dull grater with a proper microplane zester. It’s so easy and fun that I want to find more lemon and orange recipes just so I can get it out and play with it.

What was new in your kitchen last year?