Lemony Greek Potatoes

Eeeeeee!  Last night I made a new recipe from The Food Network magazine, and it was so fantastic!  It's a great end-of-winter dish, and finally something new with potatoes.  Note that the vinaigrette that the potatoes are tossed in is so yummy I would be perfectly happy using it as dressing for a green salad.  Make it and see what you think!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

3 T. freshly-squeezed lemon juice

1 small shallot, quartered (use regular onion of the same size in a pinch)

1 clove garlic, peeled

2 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves only

1/4 c. fresh parsley leaves, plus 1 T. chopped fresh parsley for serving

salt and freshly-ground black pepper

3 lbs. large russet potatoes, cut lengthwise into wedges

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425 degress F.

Put the olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, oregano, and 1/4 c. fresh parsley into a food processor.  Add a rounded 1/2 t. salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.  Purée until mostly smooth.

Toss the potatoes with 1/2 c. of the prepared vinaigrette in a large bowl until wedges are coated.  Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Reserve the remaining vinaigrette.

Roast the potatoes until tender and golden, turning occasionally, 45 - 60 minutes.

Transfer the potatoes to a platter and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette.  Season with salt and garnish with the chopped parsley.

Serves 6.

Irish Chocolate Potato Cake

Here's a confection for your St. Patrick's Day celebration.  Scott made this yesterday with a caramel drizzle, and it's DEE-licious.  Since the cake contains dark chocolate, potatoes, and almonds, I like to think of it as sort of "healthy" for cake.  (Disregarding, of course, the 1/2 lb. of butter and 1 lb. of sugar!)

The cake recipe came from www.europeancuisines.com, and the icing came from a decade-old issue of Vegetarian Times.  We served it after a "St. Patrick's Eve" meal of vegetable and tofu pot pie (recipe here) and boiled cabbage for an Irish-feeling meal.

Ingredients:
1 c. cooked potato (see below for specific instructions on the potatoes)
1 1/2 T. AP flour
1 1/2 T. cocoa

2 1/2 c. AP flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

2 rounded t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 lb. butter or vegan margarine (I like to use Earth Balance vegan margarine.), at room temperature

2 1/3 c. (1 lb.) granulated sugar

4 eggs

9 rounded T. finely-grated chocolate

5 rounded T. ground almonds

2/3 c. plant-based milk

1 batch caramel icing (recipe below)

Method:
Be sure to prepare the potatoes in advance and allow them to cool COMPLETELY.  Do not add them to the batter if they are even slightly warm.  If you do, the result will be a heavy cake that may fail to rise or rise only partway.  To prepare the potatoes, peel and chunk 2 medium potatoes and boil until soft when pierced with a fork.  Drain them completely, and dry them briefly over low heat.  Remove from heat.  When completely cool, mash well with a potato masher or ricer.

Mix 1/2 T. flour with the cocoa in a small bowl.  Prepare a tube pan (like a Bundt pan) by spraying it well with non-stick spray.  Be sure to cover every crevice and fluting.  Now add the flour/cocoa mixture to the pan and shake it around until every surface is coated.  Failure to proper cover every crevice and surface may result in a cake that does not unmold properly, so take the time to do this part correctly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift the 2.5 c. flour once by itself.  Sift it a second time with the cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks and set the yolks aside.  In a small mixing bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff but not dry.  Set the whites aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks, one at a time, to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.  Stir the grated chocolate and ground almonds into the butter mixture.  Add the potatoes and stir again.  Add the flour, alternating with the plant-based milk, beating gently after each addition.

When the flour and milk are fully incorporated, fold the whipped egg whites carefully into the cake batter.  Spoon the completed batter into the prepared cake pan.  Tap gently once on the counter to settle.

Bake for 1.5 - 2 hours.  With a wooden skewer, start testing for doneness at 1.5 hours and periodically after that until the skewer inserted through the tallest part of the cake comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes in the pan.  Invert on a baking rack and remove from pan to cool completely.  Drizzle with caramel icing (or the icing of your choice), and serve.

Caramel Drizzle Icing

Ingredients:
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. plant-based milk
2 T. vegan margarine
1/4 t. salt
1 t. almond extract
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Method:
Combine brown sugar, plant-based milk, margarine, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to low and cook until mixture is slightly thick, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat.  Stir in almond extract and gradually beat in powdered sugar.  Stir until smooth and creamy.  Let icing cool slightly, and pour over cake.  Icing sets as it cools.