All Entries in the "Potato" Category
Smoked Fish Hash
The Richmond News came to the Gilmore United Church a few weeks ago to interview the Richmond Community Kitchen for their newly launched community guide. That community guide is called Welcome to Richmond. In their first edition of December 2009, they choose to highlight the Richmond Community Kitchen for their cover story! We were all so excited.
In the cover story, the monthly community guide talked about the role of the RCK in supporting the diverse multi-cultural community that you find in Richmond. We felt that food and cooking is one element that brings people from various culture together. Being a SAHM, I personally had formed lasting friendships through the RCK. I encourage those of you who lives in Richmond to come join us to learn about food and of each others culture.
There are a total of six community kitchens in Richmond. So there is at least one near where you stay if you live in Richmond. If you want more details, check out this link.
On that day of the interview, we did a series of recipes for breakfast and brunch. While the interview was done at the Gilmore Church, this series is documented with the South Arm Community Kitchen. We do sometimes rotate the same recipes with several kitchens.
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As requested by some members of the cooking club to do a session on breakfast and brunch item, Minoo came up with four very nutritious recipes to share. Minoo also shared some important breakfast basics with the members. We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A healthy morning meal will fuel the kids up in time for school or a day of play at the child care. We simply need to refuel our body in the morning after going without food for 8 to 12 hours during sleep. That’s why the morning meal is called break fast. Skipping breakfast can made kids feel tired, restless and irritable, moody and lack of energy.
Breakfast also can help keep kids’ weight in check. It kick-starts the body’s metabolism, the process which converts fuel in food to energy which starts the burning of calories. People who skips breakfast is likely to get famished before lunchtime and snack on high-calorie foods or overeat at lunch which cause overweight issue.
Choosing breakfast foods that are rich in whole grains, fiber, and protein while low in added sugar may boost kids attention span, concentration, and memory. Breakfast that boosts brain power is what kids need to improve their learning in school.
With all the benefits of a good breakfast in mind, here is the first breakfast/brunch recipe.
This Smoked Fish Hash has a smoky flavour that kids will love. It is simple and straight forward diner classic. When top with some eggs and Baked Stuffed Tomatoes, it makes a hearty breakfast.
For a variation, you may make a Corned Beef Hash by substituting the smoked fish with corned beef, diced and omitting the rinsing and poaching process.
Mustard and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes Skewers
For those who made their guesses on previous post regarding Frank and Ken’s age, here is the answer. Frank is 80+ and Ken is 90, can you believe it. They are just amazing seniors with an active lifestyle.
Back to the kitchen, Helmut with the help of Stella made this Mustard and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes on skewers. Stella offers her help as the kitchen is short of a member that day.
This extremely simple, but oh-so-delicious potato side dish makes a great pick-up appetizer when threaded onto wooden skewers.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lbs. small new potatoes, halved (or quartered if large)
- 24 wooden skewers, optional
This recipe serves 4 to 6 as a side dish, or 8 to 12 as an appetizer.
Peruvian Cuisine: Potatoes Huancaina Style (Papas a La Huancaina)
The second dish which Erika shared with us is called Potatoes Huancaina Style (Papas a La Huancaina). It has a few similar ingredients as in the Chicken in Aji Sauce recipe. You can kill two birds with one stone for these dishes, i.e. prepare 2 dishes with common ingredients which helps to reduce preparation time.
The Potatoes Huancaina Style is relatively salty because we use feta cheese. You can reduce the saltiness by using a mixture of ricotta or cottage cheese with feta cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 to 5 aji amarillo fresco or fresh yellow aji peppers
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 3/4 cups (400g) farmers cheese (ricotta, cottage, or feta)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 hardboiled eggs
- 4 Spanish olives, pitted and cut in halves or quarters
- 2.2 lbs (1 kg) yellow flesh potatoes, boiled, peeled and sliced (use white potatoes if not available)
- lettuce for plating
- salt and pepper to taste
For this recipe, Erika used the Aji peppers in whole in a jar. Under normal circumstances, canned peppers tend to be hotter than fresh ones. Erika shared with us tips on how to reduce the heat of the peppers, especially if you are serving the dish for children. For those who cant find the aji peppers, you can replace it with sweet yellow peppers.
Peruvian Cuisine: Chicken in Aji Sauce (Aji De Gallina)
Erika Pereyra is a relatively new member of the South Arm Community Kitchen. We were glad that she’s sharing some of her favourite Peruvian dishes in the South Arm Community Kitchen. Erika shared with us that Peruvian cuisine has lots of influences from Spanish cuisine. One can also find a lot of Japanese and Chinese restaurants in Peru.
I bet you will never guess that Peruvian Cuisine has one of the most diverse in the world and is at the same level of cuisines of the Chinese, Indian, French and Spanish. Lima, the capital of Peru, is referred to as the “gastronomic capital of the Americas”.
The video above on Peruvian Cuisine is a bit long but I find it interesting that the country of Peru is so rich in gastronomic heritage. Did you know too that Peru is home to about 2000 types of potatoes? Peru accounts for 40% of all potato varieties in the world.
The first dish which Erika shared with us is called Chicken in Aji Sauce (Aji De Gallina). Aji is a kind of pepper, also known as Peruvian hot pepper.
The above are two types of Aji pepper which Erika introduced to us, one in the form of paste while another is whole. Erika told us that we can find Peruvian groceries in Killarney Market at 49th Ave East Vancouver. For the Chicken in Aji Sauce, we used Aji paste. More on following page. Click here to continue reading
Wrinkled Potatoes (Papas Arrugadas)
This is another potato recipe from the Culinaria Spain book. I found the name quite interesting and decided to give it a try. It is also the season of nugget potatoes and it’s just the right potato for this recipe.
As the name suggests, the potatoes turned out looking wrinkled. It has a slightly salty taste on the skin and creamy soft inside. Arkensen enjoyed this and asked me to make it again for him. This is an easy and fast side dish to make, ready in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 lbs/1 kg small quick-cooking potatoes
- 1-2 tbsp coarse sea salt
Potato Omelet (Tortilla De Patatas)
Potato Omelet (Tortilla De Patatas) is a common savoury breakfast in Spain. It is usually eaten as a second breakfast around 10 to 11 am. We had this in BraCafe while we were in Barcelona.
I made this Potato Omelet for Ben’s lunch as he is a light eater while he is at work. This is great as it can be eaten warm or cold. This will be a great lunch box item when the kids are back to school next week.
I got this recipe from the Culinaria Spain book as mentioned in this post.
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup/150 ml olive oil
- 2 1/4 lbs/1 kg large potatoes (about 4 large russet potatoes), peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 tsp salt (I used 1.5 tsp only)
- 6 eggs
The hardest part in this recipe is to turn over the omelet. Chick on more for the instructions. More on following page. Click here to continue reading
Mash Potatoes
Minoo made Mash Potatoes as a side to go along with the Cheesy Fish and Spinach Casserole. Everyone has their own way of flavouring Mash Potatoes and Minoo’s recipe is flavoured with shallots and garlic.
Minoo’s Mash Potatoes is creamy and fragrant and a little garlicky. It is garnished with green onions. You may substitute the garnish with chives instead. This recipe serves 6.
Ingredients
- 6 medium potatoes
- 4 medium shallots, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- green onion or chives, chopped for garnishing
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons butter or oil
- pinch of nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- milk
