Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Potatoes with Cilantro and Lemon

Recipe Source: Goldstein, Joyce. Savoring Spain & Portugal. Sunset Books, Menlo Park, 2000 p. 187

I am a potato addict. I am not ashamed of this. For the most part I have my addiction under control, but I have to confess that I find it difficult to control myself when they're on the table. There are strategies to dealing with that, of course. While potatoes are sometimes included in other dishes, I rarely serve potatoes by themselves unless I have guests to feed them to. And if you make a potato dish that is good enough, those guests will save you from overindulgence by eating the potatoes themselves.

This is that dish.

I served this at a Sunday open house recently. I did get some of the potatoes. There weren't potatoes left for seconds. This fit perfectly within my plan.

I did make a few changes to the recipe, although they are small changes. I left the potatoes unpeeled, although I'm not sure that counts as a change since the original said you could leave them unpeeled if you wanted. I almost always leave potatoes unpeeled – there's more nutritional value in the skin than in the flesh, and I like the texture better when the skin is left on. Anyway, I used a mix of new Yukon Gold potatoes and new red potatoes because that's what I had on hand and it seemed like fun. I increased the oil and the butter, which I realize is the opposite of what I would usually do. It seemed like a good idea at the time and I'm sticking by it. I also added the zest and juice of one lemon – I felt that it would add a little something to the dish, and I was very pleased with the result.

Potatoes with Cilantro and Lemon (serves 8; approx. $0.86/serving)

¾ package new Yukon Gold potatoes, halved

¾ package new red potatoes, halved

1/3 cup olive oil

1 stick butter

1 small bunch cilantro, finely chopped

Zest and juice of one lemon

Kosher salt to taste

Equipment:

• Roasting pan
• Large sauté pan

1. Preheat your oven to 400 ̊.
2. Put the potato halves in a roasting pan. Drizzle with about half the olive oil, season with some salt and roast 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. You can do this step a day or two ahead of time if need be.
3. When the time comes to cook, melt the butter with the remaining olive oil in the sauté pan.
4. Add the potatoes and fry over medium-high heat until the potatoes are crispy and golden.
5. Transfer to a serving platter.
6. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and lemon zest. Add the juice of one lemon, toss to coat and serve.

Recipe: Turkey Ragout with Red Peppers and Lemon

Recipe Source: Goldstein, Joyce. Taverna. Sunset Books, Menlo Park, 1996 p. 108

I made this for the Sunday dinner that we served the day after our Fourth of July party. It needed to be something that would keep well, because I was not going to have time on Saturday to cook for Sunday and Sunday was going to be spent excavating from Saturday. (Two parties in as many days is possibly a little much.) I chose this because it looked like it fit that bill, and it looked like a great summer dish in its own right.

I did make a few changes. The biggest change was turkey for pork. The original called for pork, but I can no longer eat pork. I don't try to stop other people from eating pork, but I refuse to serve anything I can't eat. How else do I know if it turned out right? Anyway, I used ground cumin for the cumin seeds, reduced the amount of oil called for, used olive oil instead of lard (!) and used Lemony Vegetable Broth for the broth. The dish went over very well. My friend tasted it the day I made it. She dislikes cooked red peppers and yet she really liked this dish.

Turkey Ragout with Red Peppers and Lemon (serves 6; approx. $3.19/serving)

3 tablespoons ground cumin

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

2 pounds turkey tenderloins, cut into 1" cubes

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into ½" strips

¾ cup dry white wine

¾ cup Lemony Vegetable Broth

1 lemon, sliced as thin as you can get it

Equipment:

• Large sauté pan
• Zip-top plastic bag
• Mini-prep food processor

1. Combine the cumin, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika in the mini-prep. Process to a paste.
2. Rub the turkey cubes with the paste, then place in the zip-top plastic bag and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
3. Bring the meat to room temperature.
4. Heat the oil over high heat.
5. Add the turkey and brown quickly on all sides. Use a slotted spoon to evacuate the turkey. Work in batches if you need to.
6. Add the pepper strips to the pan. Cook until softened.
7. Add the wine and broth. Deglaze the pan and return the meat and peppers to the pan.
8. Add the lemon slices and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 25 minutes.
10. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Recipe: Favas with Cilantro

Recipe Source: Goldstein, Joyce.  Savoring Spain & Portugal.  Oxmoor House, London, p. 176

I was drawing up a menu for a recent large gathering of people.  The gathering was to take place at a campground up in Maine.  I needed to make the dish something that could be served at room temperature and didn't need to be refrigerated, since facilities could best be described as "primitive."  I wanted to make something vegetarian, both to serve alongside the meat main dish and in case any vegetarians happened to show up.  This is one of the dishes that I found. 

I really didn't make a huge number of changes.  I omitted the bacon, because I wanted the dish to be vegetarian, because I didn't want to have to refrigerate the dish, and because I once promised a woman that I would not serve pork at one of these events.  (Yes, I know that turkey bacon exists, and I've heard rumors of beef bacon, but come on.)  I increased the garlic, although not by too much, and I tripled the recipe to accommodate the large number of guests we expected.  On the whole, I would say that the dish came out pretty well, and I can tell you that it will keep long enough to use it for lunches, et cetera. 

Favas with Cilantro (serves 20; approx. $0.54/serving)

3 lb frozen fava beans (or baby lima beans)

6 tablespoons olive oil

3 onions, chopped

10 tablespoons minced jarred garlic

3 cups water

3 bay leaves

1 1/2 bunches cilantro, washed and chopped

Equipment:

• Large saucepan with lid

1. Thaw the beans.
2. In the saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and saute until the onion is tender. 
4. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute.
5. Add the beans, bay leaves and enough water to barely cover. 
6. Cover and simmer about 10 - 15 minutes. 
7. Transfer to the serving vessel.  Add the cilantro and serve. 

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