Irish Colcannon (Potatoes & cabbage)
adapted from The Joy of Cooking
Peel one share’s worth of potatoes and cut into 1 ½-inch chunks. Place in a large saucepan or Dutch oven and add water just to cover potatoes. Pile on top of the potatoes thinly sliced leeks (cut into half-moon shapes) and a cabbage chopped into 1-inch pieces.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle boil. Cook, covered, until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and return the potatoes and cabbage, and leeks to the pot. Mash the mixture over low heat while adding some warmed cream/half-and-half, a stick of softened butter, and salt and pepper to taste.
When the mixture is coarsely mashed, taste and adjust the seasonings and serve.
Scalloped Celeriac and Potatoes
adapted from Farmer John’s Cookbook
Traditionally, scalloped potatoes are cooked in milk or cream; here, however, the cookbook writers suggest cooking them in stock, resulting in a lighter dish. (Traditional cream works well too.)
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a baking dish. Layer peeled and sliced celeriac and potatoes in dish, seasoning every few layers with salt and pepper. At about the halfway point, evenly sprinkle a handful of grated cheese (Gruyere is good). Continue with the celeriac and potatoes until dish almost full. (Leave room at top to allow liquid to boil.)
Pour a good quality stock over the celeriac and potatoes. Dot with butter. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes more until veggies are tender. Sprinkle another liberal handful of cheese over the top layer and bake until cheese turns golden, about an additional 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Vegetable Vindaloo
adapted from Simply in Season
Dice 6 or so medium potatoes and 3 or so medium carrots. Combine with ¼ cup vinegar, cover, and marinate at room temperature for 2 hours.
In a large frying pan, heat oil and sauté onion sliced onion until brown.
If you want to make your own curry spices, combine the following in a small bowl: 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp ground cumin, 2 whole cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, ½ teaspoon pepper.
Add curry spices (your own or equivalent amount of store bought) to add onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add a little water to prevent spices from burning. Drain potatoes and carrots (discard vinegar), add to fry pan, and cook for 20-25 minutes. (Option: add 1 ½ cups thawed frozen peas and cook 5 additional minutes on low heat.)
Remove cinnamon stick. Serve hot with rice.
