Tag: Side Dish

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Caviar

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Here’s the perfect fall appetizer (or brunch dish!) to usher in the cooler weather. These crispy smashed potatoes are like fancy French fries meets loaded potatoes in the best way possible. Feel free to use any kind of fish roe here — tobiko, salmon roe, or anything similar will give these potatoes a pop of briny goodness.

Ingredients:
  • 4 ounces turkey bacon
  • 5 teaspoons avocado oil
  • 1 pound baby Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 small shallot, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped tender herbs (such as chives or dill), plus more for serving
  • 1 avocado, sliced, cut into 1″ pieces
  • 1 green onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 1.75-oz. jar salmon caviar, or similar
  1. Cook bacon and 2 teaspoon avocado oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bacon is browned and crisp, 8–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
  2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in cold water to cover; season generously with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer potatoes until a knife slides easily through the flesh, 20–25 minutes. Drain and let cool 5 minutes, then slice in half.
  3. Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Spread out potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or a potato masher, gently smash potatoes to about ½” thick. Let cool another 5 minutes.
  4. Drizzle remaining 3 teaspoon avocado oil and remaining over potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Roast until potatoes are golden brown and crisp, 40–50 minutes.
  5. While the potatoes are roasting, mix sour cream, lemon juice, chopped herbs, and shallot in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Arrange potatoes on a platter or divide among plates. Top each with avocado, seasoned sour cream, some turkey bacon, green onion, caviar, and more herbs. 

Cauliflower Mash

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This cauliflower mash may not be the most beautiful, but it’s flavorful, creamy, and convincing enough to convert even the most ardent mashed potato fan into a cauliflower believer. Best of all, you can make it ahead of time and reheat when you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients:
  • 1 cauliflower, cored and broken into florets
  • 5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  1. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  2. Spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet along with the garlic. Toss with the avocado oil, garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Roast for 35 minutes. Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic out of their peels.
  3. Once cooled, place the cauliflower and garlic in a blender and add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, nutritional yeast, black pepper, and coconut milk and blend until smooth.
  4. To serve, gently reheat cauliflower mash on the stove in a saucepan on low.

Chickpea Salad with Red Peppers and Chorizo

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Here’s the easiest end-of-summer appetizer (or side dish or lunch or whatever you want it to be, really) on earth. It’s smoky, it’s sweet, it’s piquant, and it’s (mostly) healthy. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole here, but the key is letting it sit for at least half an hour so that the flavors meld.

Ingredients:
  • 3 ounces dry-cured Spanish chorizo, casing removed, thinly sliced into half-moons (about 1/2 cup) 
  • 2 14-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/4 cup drained jarred roasted red bell peppers, chopped
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped white onion
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or pineapple vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
  1. Stir together chorizo, chickpeas, roasted bell peppers, onion, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and black pepper in a large serving bowl until well combined. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste; stir in parsley. Let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and serve cold or at room temperature.

Korean-Style Seafood and Green Onion Pancakes

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These are not the most beautiful seafood and green onion pancakes, but they are the most versatile. Adapted from a J. Kenji Lopez-Alt recipe, these savory pancakes can be made with nearly any combination of seafood, including canned tuna or salmon, making it easy for a quick weeknight dinner. Serve them warm or serve them room temperature, but be sure to serve them with the tasty dipping sauce.

Ingredients:

For the dipping sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice or black vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 green onion, sliced
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

For the pancakes:

  • 8 ounces mixed seafood (I recommend canned tuna, oysters, mussels, or surimi)
  • 6 green onions, split lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 4 ounces (about 3/4 cup) flour
  • 1 ounce cornstarch or potato starch
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) cold water
  • 1 egg
  • Avocado oil, for pan-frying
  1. Make the dipping sauce: combine all the ingredients and stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
  2. Make the pancakes: combine the seafood, green onions, flour, cornstarch, sugar, water and egg in a large mixing bowl. Stir rapidly with a spoon just until no dry flour remains (do not over mix). The batter should be thin enough to flow when you tilt the bowl.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the bottom of a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add just enough batter that you can spread it into a thin pancake with the back of a spoon (you should be able to make 2 10-inch pancakes or several smaller pancakes). Let the pancake cook without moving until the bottom of the pancake is set, about 2 minutes.
  4. Continue to cook, swirling the pancake around to encourage even browning until the first side is browned, about 5 minutes. Use a spatula to carefully flip the pancake. Continue cooking until the second side is also browned, about 4 minutes longer.
  5. Slide the pancake out onto a cutting board. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for remaining batter. Cut into wedges with a knife or pizza slicer and serve with the dipping sauce.

Arroz Rojo (Mexican Rice)

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This arroz rojo recipe couldn’t be easier to make, and it tastes like it came straight from the restaurant. Use the best-quality tomatoes you can get for this quintessential side dish, as it makes all the difference.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 1 cup long-grain rice
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Place stock, tomatoes, 1 clove garlic, and onion in a blender and puree until smooth. Set tomato puree aside.
  2. Heat oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add remaining garlic and rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato puree, season with salt and pepper, and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, until rice is tender and has absorbed all liquid, 25-30 minutes. Gently fluff rice with a fork and serve.