warm esquites potato salad

Sometimes you combine two things and it really doesn’t work at all. Like Grape Nuts and oatmeal.  That didn’t work. But sometimes imagination and reality match up beautifully, like in this potato salad. I had volunteered to bring potato salad to a bbq potluck but I wanted something more interesting than your standard American version. Esquites is just the off-the-cob version of the Mexican street corn called elotes, which is corn that gets charred and slathered in a creamy, zesty combination  of mayo, crema, cotija, cilantro, and lime. It’s one of those dishes that makes your taste buds go crazy with textures and flavors. Perfect for tossing with some plain potatoes and turning into something delicious and interesting!

You will love this salad. So will anyone you share it with. Make it for your next BBQ! Or make it for your Easter luncheon. We had it for dinner with black beans and slaw. It’s really good warm or room temperature but it can be served cold, too.  I never find roasted potatoes to keep amazingly well for the next day, but this holds up alright because of all the yummy extras.

A note about the roasting: I love the extra flavor and texture dimension that roasted potatoes add to this salad, but you could just as easily boil the potatoes until tender and then let cool a bit. They might soak up a bit more of the dressing, but that’s nothing to complain about!

warm esquites potato salad

serves 4-6, can easily be doubled or tripled

Ingredients:

• 2.5 - 3 lbs potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into 3/4 inch chunks (I use gold or russet potatoes)

• 4 Tbsp vegetable oil, separated

• 4 ears corn, shucked

• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

• 3 scallions, chopped

• 1 garlic, minced

• 1 jalapeno, diced fine

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1/4 cup mayo

• 1/4 cup sour cream

• 1  Tbsp lime

• 1/3 cup feta or cotija, crumbled

Instructions:

1. First the potatoes: Preheat the oven to 475. Put the chopped potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Salt the water well! Potatoes absorb a lot of salt while cooking, giving them flavor; otherwise they will be bland. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for just a few minutes until the potatoes are just about fork tender but not quite. Drain. Place a large baking sheet in the oven with 1 Tbsp of oil and let it heat up.

2. Drizzle the remaining 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over the potatoes in the large pot. Cover the pot with a lid and shake the potatoes around pretty vigorously to coat the potatoes with the softened starch and the vegetable oil. This will result in very crispy edges when roasted. (Note: if you boil your potatoes too much they may fall apart at this stage so be careful!)

3. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, tipping and shaking gently to spread the heated oil.  Carefully dump the potatoes out onto the pan and spread out. Give them a sprinkle of salt, then stick the pan back in the oven.

4. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until tender, crispy and golden brown, turning over the potatoes midway.  Remove and let sit while you make the esquites.

5. For the esquites: Whisk together the mayo, sour cream, scallions, cilantro, and lime juice.

6. Carefully slice the kernals from the cob using a sharp knife.  Heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Add the corn, sprinkle with a bit of salt, stir a bit, and then let sit and cook and develop a little brown on the underside. Stir after a few minutes and let the other side brown for a few more minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder and stir for just a minute.

7. Scrape the corn into a large bowl. Add the sour cream mayo mixture and stir well to coat. 

8. Add the potatoes and toss well to combine. Salt to taste. Sprinkle with the crumbled feta.  Serve warm or at room temp.

Avocado toast with soft boiled egg

Posting this as a recipe feels a little like posting a recipe for, say, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s just so basic, just another toast variety that we eat on the regular. I never give a thought to amounts or proportions. On the other hand, there’s definitely a technique for the eggs ... and even if it is a teensy bit fussier than a simple fried egg, the final product is so aesthetically pleasing that it feels that much more of a treat. This is the number one favorite breakfast in our house.

I’ve done these eggs on a couple different stove tops and it always works so I’m going to go ahead and call it a fail-proof method. The trickiest part is peeling the shell but that just requires a little patience and gentle touch.  

I highly recommend a sprinkle of Trader Joe’s Everything But The seasoning. That stuff is bonkers. We put it on everything - eggs, avocado, vegetables, cream cheese on crackers, even in my sourdough. It’s so good.

Avocado toast with soft boiled egg

Ingredients

• your favorite bread or whatever you have on hand, sliced and toasted

• ripe avocado

• 1 egg or more depending on how many you are serving (I’ve done up to 5 eggs)

Instructions:

1. For the egg(s): In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 inch water to a simmer over medium low heat. Add the eggs, return the water to simmer, cover, and set the timer for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, remove the pan from the heat, carefully pour out the hot water, and run the eggs under cold water to cool down. Add a handful of ice cubes to the water to speed up the process.

2. Meanwhile, have your toast ready and spread with slices of avocado. Sprinkle lightly with salt (if you’re not using the TJ’s Everything But The seasoning).

3. Carefully peel the eggs. This can be a finicky business, especially because with the soft yolk inside they are still, well, soft. I try to crack up the shell all around before I begin peeling, and I always start from one of the ends. Sometimes they come out like a dream, sometimes I end up taking off chunks of egg white. It doesn’t really matter much to me.

4. Place the egg on the toast and cut open. Watch all that beautiful yolky goodness spread like a rich sauce over your toast.* Sprinkle with aforementioned seasoning. Eat and enjoy.

   *If you prefer your yolk to be on the more gelatinous and less liquid side, simmer for 30-45 seconds longer.

Roasted garlic fennel and white bean soup

I think most of the country has a few more weeks until warm weather, so I’m offering this deep hearty soup as a small comfort in the long lingering winter. This soup was everything I wanted it to be on the cold and rainy day I made it: warm and comforting, creamy smooth, flavorful and filling. The roasted garlic and fennel give it depth and the beans give it substance so that with a slice of bread and a hearty salad you’ve got a very satisfying meal. I served it with salty crisped salami which highlighted the mellow sweetness of the fennel and garlic. I don’t think kids should always be a standard of a successful dish but when they gobble down a bowl of soup and ask for leftovers the next day I think it’s safe to say it’s a keeper.

roasted garlic fennel and white bean soup

Ingredients:

• 12 cloves garlic

• 2 bulbs fennel, sliced 1/2 inch think, fronds cut off and reserved

• olive oil and butter

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped

• 1 stalk celery, chopped

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 cans (about 3.5 cups) white beans (either cannellini or Great Northern)

• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• salt and pepper to taste

• optional garnish: crisped pancetta, bacon, or salami and fennel fronds

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Coat the fennel slices and unpeeled garlic cloves in a couple glugs of olive oil. Lay out on a sheet pan and roast for 30 minutes, or until soft and just beginning to brown on the edges. Remove from oven and set aside. When cool enough to handle, roughly chop up the fennel and peel the garlic cloves (you can basically just squeeze the cloves right out of the skin.)

2. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5-8 minutes. Add the chopped fennel and garlic and cook for a minute or two more. Add the broth, beans, and bay leaf and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and blitz the soup with an immersion blender, or in batches in a standing blender. Return to the pot and stir in the cream. Salt and pepper to taste. If desired, serve with a swirl of cream, a sprinkle of crisped bacon, pancetta, or salami and the reserved fennel fronds.