Tecnicolor Couch Potato

Introduction

I am posting this from the slowest Best Western connection I could find in Jena, in the middle of Germany. Yeah I know all about Ireland, but here in Germany they don’t fuck around with their potatoes either! I wish I hadn’t spent the last week consuming all things potato, though; this is going to be a long trip... The challenge I faced this time around was the dish number limit, which more than once put the brakes on my over-eagerness and allowed me to balance the menu, not just for texture and flavor but also color. Yes, you read right, color! My theme this time around was to focus each dish around a central color. Although it was the flavors I was most happy with, color did give my point and shoot something vibrant to capture. With no further ado, I humbly present to you my entry for ICSA XXXIX, battle Potato.

Potato-cress Vichyssoise shooters

There are a lot of potato based soups out there, but few as refreshing as a Vichyssoise. I replaced the traditional leeks with peppery water cress. Beware, folks will ask for more!

Ingredients 2 Cups of Chicken Broth 1 Cup Heavy Cream A large bunch of cress, chopped (approx. 4 cups) ½ an onion, finely diced 1 large Russett potato, cubed A dash of nutmeg and S&P to taste

Simmer the stock, cream and potatoes, until the potatoes are tender (10-15 minutes). Add the cress and cook another 3 minutes.

Let the soup cool a little and then blend for 30 seconds, until you have a smooth texture. Add salt pepper and nutmeg and refrigerate O/N.

Taste the soup before serving and adjust for salt. The taste was refreshing and creamy and the texture was velvety, definitely worth the little effort this recipe calls for.

Duck Samosa

Duck Samosa The inspiration for this dish was trying to combine a Costa Rican enchilada with a traditional samosa, to create a light but spicy appetizer. Oh, and then I put duck breast in it.

Ingredients 3 small Yukon Gold potatoes ¼ cup of peas ¼ cup Cilantro ½ a duck breast The juice from one lemon 2 Puff pastry sheets 1 egg

Spices ¼ tsp fenugreek ¼ tsp cumin ¼ tsp cracked black pepper 3 cardamom pods (pods removed and seeds crushed) ¼ tsp garam masala ½ tsp turmeric 1 clove of garlic minced

Prick the skin of the duck breast and roast at 400 for 15 minutes (you can also pan roast the breast if you wish.) In the meantime peel and boil the potatoes. Once tender, dice and cool to RT. Let the duck rest a few minutes and dice the same size as the potatoes.

Fold all the ingredients together plus a couple of tablespoons of the duck fat and adjust for salt.

Cut each pastry sheet diagonally in half. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling on each half.

Seal the pastry around the filling like you would a turnover or a regular samosa. Don’t try any pyramid of Giza shit, because the puff pastry is likely to collapse. Beat the egg and give each packet an egg wash. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with a side of mango or tamarind chutney and maybe a squeeze of lemon.

Autopsy. This is the part I am supposed to tell you how it tasted, but really? Duck, potato and puff pastry, do you need me to tell you how decadent this was?

Gnocchi al filetto di San Marzano

There are a lot of gnocchi recipes out there. Some use eggs and other such binders to make the dough easier to handle. You owe it to yourself to try the real thing at some point. This is how to do it.

Ingredients 10 Red new potatoes (about 1 Lb) ¾ Cups of flour Salt A little olive oil 5 canned San Marzano Tomatoes with some of the juice ½ small onion, finely chopped Parmigiano Reggiano for serving

Boil the potatoes in salted water until very tender and gently remove the skins. Mash the potatoes until there aren’t any more lumps. Slowly add the flour, until you have a ball of dough that is still a little tacky.

Work the dough until it’s no longer tacky (add just a little more flour if you need to) but don’t overwork it. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Again, thanks to GWS Hall Monitor for the awesome gift!

Slice the San Marzano tomatoes in thin strips and add to a pan containing olive oil and onion. Cook the tomato sauce down while we finish the gnocchi.

Make the dough into a long snake, about1/2 inch thick. Cut off the gnocchi at 1 inch intervals. Using the back of a fork, gently roll each gnocco to get the traditional shape (this helps holding the sauce)

Keep doing this until you run out of dough. Drop the gnocchi into a salted pot of boiling water and boil for a few minutes, just until the gnocchi rise to the surface.

Dress the gnocchi with the tomato sauce and dust with parmesan cheese. Add a few drops of Truffle oil to the plate before serving. These gnocchi were soft and tender without falling apart. Perfect, if I may say so myself.

Peruvian blue crusted Branzino, with anchovy and Romano croquettes

Branzino, as well as sea bass in general, benefits from roasting techniques that seal in the flavor and moisture. This is why you most likely have seen this fish being exhumed from a pile of coarse salt moist and fragrant, while you enjoy the gentle breeze of the Mediterranean sea. Branzino is also a fish that can hold up to strong flavors, like rosemary and bay. This makes it a perfect match with potatoes, especially Peruvian blues, with their nutty, buttery flavor.

Ingredients 1 whole Branzino, gutted, scaled and cleaned 4-5 small Peruvian blue potatoes, sliced paper thin on a mandolin A Rosemary branch 3 Bay leaves 1 large leek, washed thoroughly and thinly sliced

Generously salt and pepper the fish inside and out. Place the rosemary and bay leaves in the cavity and wrap the fish in layers of the blue potatoes (which should be almost see-thru) and place on a bed of leeks. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy.

Ingredients for Croquettes 2 Idaho potatoes ½ Cup Romano cheese, grated 3 Anchovy filets, minced 1/3 cup Heavy cream ½ tsp baking powder 1 egg, beaten 1 Cup of cracker crumbs Peanut oil for frying

Peel, dice and boil the taters, until tender. Vigorously mash the potatoes, adding the next four ingredients, until you have an airy but solid mixture you can roll in your hands.

Roll the potatoes into a ping pong sized balls. (Let me ask you this. Why is it that surgeons refer to the size of a tumor by comparing it to fruit and vegetables , while chefs use sport equipment similes?) Dip into the egg wash and coat in the crumb mix.

Shallow fry the croquettes in peanut oil until golden brown. You will notice them expanding a little.

Plate the fish and filet it table side. Feel free to serve different dipping sauces for the croquettes, like lime aioli or a chimichurri sauce.

This entrée was phenomenal. It even garnered an ecstatic review from my lovely, but taciturn in matters of food, wife. The fish was incredibly seasoned and moist, and the potatoes crispy and nutty. A truly perfect combination.

Coconut-potato Nipples of Venus

Coconut-potato Nipples of Venus I truly wanted to avoid sweet potatoes in this competition, so the potato dessert options left were experimental to say the least. This is the one I was most happy with. The texture was akin to a macaroon with a crunchy white chocolate covering. Not bad indeed.

Ingredients 2-3 medium Vivaldi potatoes ¼ can sweetened condensed milk ½ cup finely shredded coconut 1 tsp vanilla extract White chocolate for coating Caramel chips for decorating

Peel, boil, mash the potatoes. Add the condensed milk, vanilla extract and coconut and work the mixture until its uniform. Form eight golf-sized balls (here we go again!) and allow them to chill in the fridge for an hour.

Chop the white chocolate and microwave until melted.

Dip each ball into the chocolate to evenly coat. Place onto a sheet of wax paper, and while the chocolate is still warm decorate each ball with a caramel chip. Allow to set in the fridge. Trim any chocolate that has pooled during the cooling process.

Et Voila, wonderful, sexy po-TATAS!!! I know it looks like Venus is overdue for a mammogram, but my dipping skills are improving I promise you!