Bright beet and potato fritters and a little photography news

I fell in love with Donna Hay’s beet, sweet potato and potato fritters in Issue 38 because of the beautiful color and unusual texture of the fritters (enhanced, of course, by the wonderful way they were photographed). The fritters are formed by (according to Donna’s method) running a zester over the length of the potatoes and beets to cut them into thin strands. A rather laborious process to say the least, but I found an easy shortcut that I am so in love with I’m thinking about new dishes solely for an excuse to apply it: the Benriner turning slicer.

This low-tech but amazing gadget slices vegetables into a single long strand (or other shapes) in seconds. I sound like a commercial, but really, it’s quite nifty. I opted to leave out the sweet potato, as I am not a huge fan of them, and instead used half beet and half potato. I had all 300 grams dissected in a minute, and beautiful deep red and pink (the beet colors the potato) fritters not long thereafter. This is such a beautiful and clever approach that it gives me all sorts of inspiration: a breakfast version with a poached egg on top. A rendition with onion. A version with celery root and potato.

The fritters are seasoned with sumac salt, a mix of sea salt and ground sumac. Sumac is a middle eastern spice that I was not previously familiar with. It has a pleasant lemony taste that is a nice counterpoint to the beet and potato. It’s really not necessary, though, simple sea salt and pepper would work well too, and perhaps a sprinkling of chive on the top.

(excerpt from Joshi Camera Magazine)

On a completely different topic, I want to share some exciting news: this month, I am featured in Joshi Camera magazine, a Japanese photography magazine for girls. The article is about 25 female photographers. I am very proud to be one of the four Americans selected for this edition. I received my copy late last week and was so pleased to see how beautiful the magazine is and what wonderful company I am in. I have a two page spread right at the beginning of the article. The other Americans are Amy Sandoval, whose child photography I enjoy, Paula Swift, and Brenda Acuncius.

(excerpt from Joshi Camera Magazine)

I’m posting the cover and my two pages here, but if you live near a Japanese bookstore have a look at the others. The photography is really wonderful. (p.s. if anyone speaks Japanese and can let me know what they wrote here, I would love to know! I assume it's a translation of the questionnaire I responded to but I would never know!).

(excerpt from Joshi Camera Magazine)

Beet and potato fritters with sumac salt (adapted from Donna Hay issue 38)
Serves 8

For the fritters
150 g beet, peeled
150 g (floury) potato, peeled
¼ cup rice flour
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Vegetable oil for shallow frying

Sumac salt (or chopped chive)
¼ cup sea salt flakes
1 tablespoon ground sumac

Combine sea salt and sumac to make sumac salt. Set aside.

Run a zester over potato and beet to create long strands, or, indulge in the Benriner turning slicer. Combine sliced beet and potatoes with egg, flour, salt and pepper (mix well).

Heat ¼ inch oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Spoon ½ cupfuls of beet and potato mixture into frying pan, flattening slightly and frying for ~1 minute on each side until golden and crispy. Remove from pan, drain on paper towel and sprinkle with sumac salt or chive and additional salt and pepper to taste.

Fresh from the earth: Jerusalem artichoke soup

Ok, so we are all just about fed up with winter and the endless supply of root vegetables we’ve been living off for the past few months. I can’t wait until a trip to the farmer’s market reveals the first peak into the new season.

In the meantime, however, it is what it is, and rather than complain, I thought I’d truly embrace the earth’s winter feast by trying La Tartine Gourmande’s recent recipe for Jerusalem artichoke soup. La Tartine Gourmande is one of my very favorite blogs. Bea is a wonderful writer, photographer and enthusiastic cook (and by the way, not only does she publish her recipes in English but she also translates them into French as well). As far as I can tell, everything she touches becomes more beautiful and delicious, and I figured her soup recipe, which is decadently topped with, among other things, a drizzle of truffle oil, would be a safe bet.

Of course, no self-respecting food blogger would be content just to leave a recipe well enough alone. Although I’m sure her soup is divine exactly as written, I just couldn't resist fiddling to suit my own preferences. So I made some substitutions: thyme for rosemary, celeriac for fennel, and some additions: garlic in the soup, and sautéed mushrooms for the topping. The result: magnifique! So good, in fact, that R & I ate the entire portion between the two of us in one decadent lunch and then were driven to make the entire thing again a couple days later because we just couldn’t get enough.

Jerusalem artichokes (or sunchokes), if you are not familiar with them, are not at all artichokes, but rather the tuber of a flower in the aster family (related to the sunflower). They are readily available in farmer’s markets (or at Whole Foods) at his time of year. Why they are called artichokes (or sunchokes), I have no idea – but probably the same reason that the Patagonian toothfish sells better when called Chilean sea bass. If you haven’t had them, they are like a cross between a potato (the shape and the heartiness), a parsnip (the texture and less starchiness) and an artichoke (a hint of the artichoke’s sweetness and delicate flavor). The soup, with Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac, celery, potato, garlic, truffle oil, and mushrooms sings of the earth’s bounty, and reminds us of all the things that are good about the winter. For Bea’s unadulterated version, see here.

Jerusalem artichoke soup (adapted from La Tartine Gourmande)
(serves two for lunch, double for dinner or to have leftovers)

1 lb Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and diced
2 shallots, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
10 coriander seeds
2 sprigs thyme
1 large potato (3 oz), peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
½ large bulb celeriac, peeled and diced
3 cups good vegetable broth (or water)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp crème fraîche
Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the garnish:

~1 oz mixed mushrooms per bowl (about 5 ounces total), lightly brushed clean and sliced thickly
minced garlic to your taste (1-2 cloves)
Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
White truffle flavored olive oil
Fleur de sel

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot (such as a dutch oven). Add the shallot and garlic and cook with the coriander seeds and thyme on medium heat for a few minutes, until shallots and garlic are golden.

Add the root vegetables and celery and cook on medium heat for about 8 minutes

Add the broth (or water) and bring to a boil. Season with a few generous pinches Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and simmer for about 20 min, until the vegetables are fork-tender.

While broth and vegetables are simmering, heat one tablespoon olive oil in a small sauté pan and sauté ~1 teaspoon garlic for ~30 seconds. Add mushrooms and ~1 tablespoon chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste, and sauté for another minute or two.

Remove the dutch oven from the heat and use a stick blender to purée (or puree in your food processor).

Add the cream and adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve soup topped with a couple tablespoons of the mushroom mixture, and a drizzle of truffle oil, a couple pinches of chopped Italian parsley, and a pinch of fleur de sel.

Potato, quinoa, and cumin hash browns

I decided to check out the new Chow foodie site. It was recently bought by CNET it is chock full of great content: I wish I created it myself! It has some terrific recipes in addition to cookbook and product reviews and instructional videos / content. My eye fell on a recipe for potato, quinoa and cumin hash browns which looked interesting and unusual. I happened to catch it just before a planned brunch for this weekend -- what a great time to try it out! I did everything up until the frying the day before and then just took the potatoes out of the refrigerator and cut and fried them morning of. This made what is a somewhat lengthy process (due to the 3 hours required to chill the potatoes before frying) more manageable. The hash browns turned out scrumptious and the toasted cumin added just the right twist to the old classic. I found the fact that they pre-baked and chilled the potatoes interesting – I assume that was to get them to hold a nice, compact, square shape, which they did.

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins, plus chilling time (~3 hours additional)
Active Time: 50 mins
Makes: 12 hash browns

1 cup quinoa
3 tablespoons cumin, toasted
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/2 pounds peeled Idaho potatoes
1 bunch chives, chopped

Heat oven to 400°F. Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, coarsely grind together the quinoa, cumin, and salt; set aside.

Using a food processor with the grating attachment, grate the potatoes. Remove the grated potatoes from the processor and place them in a mixing bowl. (Alternatively, you can use a box grater.)

Let the grated potatoes rest for 5 minutes. Squeeze the liquid from the potatoes, one handful at a time, and place them in a separate, clean mixing bowl.

Add the ground quinoa, cumin, and salt mixture to the squeezed potatoes, and mix with your hands until well incorporated. Oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive oil and place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom, cut to fit exactly.

Pour the potato mixture into the oiled pan and pack it down (make sure to keep it a consistent thickness). Brush the top of the mixture with some more olive oil, and cover with another piece of parchment paper placed directly on the potatoes.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely, about 3 hours.

After 3 hours, remove from the refrigerator and slide a thin, sharp knife around the perimeter of the potatoes to loosen them from the pan. Flip the potatoes onto a cutting board. Trim off any crisp edges and cut into 12 equal pieces.

Fill a frying pan with 1/2 inch of a neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or peanut) and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot (about 350°F), fry the hash browns until crisp and golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Drain the finished hash browns on paper towels, season with salt, garnish with chopped chives, and serve.