Comfort in Potatoes

        By the middle of winter, tasty fresh vegetables are in short supply and my taste buds long for the crisp snap of a ripe green bean or the sweet candy like flavor of a cherry tomato. The month of February brings many dinners consisting of root vegetables to my dining room table. I love winter shares of vegetables at my favorite CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), the root cellars have an earthy smell that to me is so inviting. The carrots, squashes and potatoes wait in hiding, longing to be discovered. In my many years of trying to eat only vegetables that are locally in season or vegetables that have been preserved for use over the non-growing season, one thing I have learned is there is always comfort in potatoes.

          My favorite winter potato recipes is as follows

Roasted Pesto Potatoes

v  Medium Potatoes of choice (I use whatever is left in the root cellar although Yukon Gold are the tastiest but quite expensive in the winter) I usually cook 5-6 depending on size

v  Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil

v  Coarse Salt

v  Coarse Pepper

v  2 Tablespoons Butter

v  2 to 4 Tablespoons Pesto (I recommend a favorite, Sauces’ n Love Vegan Pesto which is made locally in Lynn, MA and it is amazing)

 

Preheat oven to 400°, if a convection setting is available select convection roast, this will circulate the hot air to evenly crisp the outer parts of potatoes.

Wash all potatoes thoroughly, a brush is very helpful. Cut them up into uniform pieces, this will help the potatoes cook evenly.

Place them into a shallow baking dish and season with salt and pepper. If using recommended pesto make sure to mix super well before using, the oil separates from the pesto and needs to be mixed back in. Once mixed, add two tablespoons to potatoes and stir, if desired add one to two more tablespoons. Stir again to coat the potatoes evenly.

 

 

They should look like these

 

Place backing dish into the oven and set timer for 30 minutes. (This is potentially enough time to do many thing such as laundry, readings for class the next day, or maybe hanging around the oven and watching as the potatoes start transforming into crispy little presents with insides of warm buttery goodness)  

Once timer rings, remove baking dish and add the two tablespoons of butter, if you are Vegan this can be step can be omitted. Place back into oven.

Set timer for 15 to 20 minutes (This is the hardest step because they already look and smell wonderful but the extra time will make a huge difference.

Remove from oven when brown and toasty.

Transfer to serving bowl

 

 

 

They should now look like these

 

 

 

*Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash and Turnip can all be substituted (all available local in the winter months)

Happy Eating