Potato Soup

I almost did not end up doing this recipe, the directions had me so baffled.  First, I need to boil diced potatoes...okay, got that part.  Then, next sentence, I am told to put them through a sieve.  Okay, so what you want me to do is drain the potatoes...got it.  Next sentence - add back to water the potatoes were cooked in.  What?!  In my head I had the image of me straining my potatoes in a colander.  This is by no means odd, we strain things all the time.  We do not, however, immediately re-add back to the cooking water.  What's the point of straining it in the first place?  I feel like there are a set of instructions that never quite made it to the page.

After I stared at the recipe long enough to make my brain hurt I flipped past it in disgust.  But then the desire to make a potato soup kept nagging at me.  I kept rereading that recipe over and over, stymied at those instructions.  Then I went searching around for other potato soup recipes on the great interweb and I found the word that made it all make sense - mashed.  Maria Luisa, you do not want me to sieve, you want me to rice!  I, however, did none of it.  Maria Luisa has not been privy to our conversations regarding my preference for chunky soup.  On this, and only this, will she be forgiven.  Therefore, I skipped the sieving.  However, if you would like something creamier, then by all means mash, sieve, or rice away.

I would also like to note that Maria Luisa does not add any suggestion regarding the fat content of the milk to be used.  Of course she also makes the usage of milk optional so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  For this recipe you boil the potatoes, bacon, and onions in just a bit of water. Once the core of your soup is cooked you then increase the liquid content with either more water, milk, or broth.  She also tells you to add the liquid preheated.  Maria Maria Maria, Mamma Mia Maria...you are killing me.  How am I supposed to hold my head high and declare Italians to be the best cooks when you have somehow managed to publish your nonsense with a major publishing house?  My head hangs in shame as I type up my version of your wackiness.

Oh wait....I should actually get back to my commentary on the milk before moving on.  The milk selection really depends on what consistency you wish the "broth" to be.  Milk with a lower fat content (skim, 1%, or 2%) will be more watery.  If you want something a bit thicker choose whole milk.  Or, the other option is to split between whole milk and cream.  You need 2 1/2 cups of milk, so if you want something creamy but not heavy, I suggest 3/4 cup cream and the rest whole milk.

Now for the recipe...

Potato Soup

Zuppa di Patate

Ingredients:

3 slices of bacon - finely chopped

2 lbs. potatoes - peeled and diced

1 lg onion - finely sliced

2 c. water

2 1/2 c. broth or milk - warmed [I went with 1% milk]

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large sauce pot, place bacon, onion, potatoes, and water.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  

Add in the hot milk and salt and pepper to taste.  Over a low heat, bring back up to a boil.  This will likely take at least 30 minutes.

This soup is about as basic as it gets, but it is great on a cold day when all you want is something simple and hot.  Cooking time could take over an hour, depending on how long it takes for the soup to get back up to its second boil.  Honestly though, if you are hungry and you just want this soup to be done, turn the heat up on the stovetop and it will cook faster.  Every bit of the recipe, at that point, is already cooked.  The only reason you do a slow boil is to increase the flavor meld.  Just turn the heat to high and be done with it.

Broccoli and Potato Pie

Another Saturday.  Another get together with friends.  Another excuse to bust out with a new recipe.

I have always enjoyed my mother's scachatta recipes and were some of my favorite parts of our family picnics growing up.  If you have never experienced the greatness that is scachatta, imagine a calzone cut into strips.  It's pretty basic but makes for excellent party food.  The fillings are typically spinach or broccoli and potatoes along with a serious helping of garlic.  You could also make it sausage or pepperoni to satisfy the meat lovers.  Add a little shredded mozzarella and you have yourself your contribution to the food table.  The fact that the filling can be whatever you wish it to be makes throwing one together with just the current contents of your fridge or a quick trip to the grocers even more appealing.  Of course, it's super annoying when you call your mother for an exact recipe and her response is... "Well I usually do whatever I'm in the mood for.  A little spinach and potato or broccoli and potato.  Sometimes I use sausage.  But make sure you add a lot of garlic." Thanks mom.

My whining aside, knowing that there is no super secret family recipe for scachatta left me room to do as I pleased.  I probably would have done as I pleased anyway, but now it was a justified maneuver instead of cooking rebellion.

I decided that my personal scachatta go to should be broccoli and potatoes with diced tomatoes.  The goal for including the tomatoes was to alleviate the desire for any side marinara sauce.  I also decided to go with phyllo dough instead of pizza dough.  I wanted to have something a bit lighter since this would be just one item on a table full of party food.  You can eat one or two slices of this pie along with everything else people brought and hopefully not feel so guilty at the end of the night.

Broccoli and Potato Pie

Ingredients:

1 whole broccoli crown - chopped
2 large yellow potatoes - diced
1 large tomato - peeled and diced
6 cloves garlic - minced
2 c. mozzarella - shredded
Salt and pepper to taste
1 box phyllo sheets - thawed
Butter or oil for phyllo sheets

Directions:

Chop the broccoli then peel and dice the potatoes.  In a large sauce pot, steam everything until tender - approximately 10 minutes.  Blanche the tomato for about 30 seconds.  Peel, remove seeds, and dice.  Mix everything in a large bowl with the garlic, cheese, salt, and pepper.

Take out the thawed phyllo sheets.  Brush a sheet with oil or butter and place a second sheet on top.  Repeat until you have 4 sheets layered together.  Using a pizza cutter, cut the sheet in half.

Place a healthy spoonful or two (use a serving spoon) of filling into the center for one of the sheets.  Fold the sheet over, covering the filling, and seal the edges with just a little butter, oil, or water.  Fold all of the edges back up to prevent any leakage during baking.  Brush with butter or oil.

Once all the pies have been put together, bake them in an oven preheated to 375F for approximately 25 minutes.  You want them to be a nice golden brown.

Cut into slices once they have cooled.

They really do make a great finger food for your next party. 

Curry Smashed Potatoes

Granted, I might be incurring the wrath of the food gods by writing this for all the interweb to read but, I don't get it.  If you want mashed potatoes, make mashed potatoes.  If you want roasted potatoes, roast up some potatoes.  What is with this obsession for this weird in between stage? I made some "smashed" potatoes and they were fine but I kind of feel like I threw a temper tantrum in the middle of cooking and took a stick to my roasted potato.  But whatever, it does add to the cool factor when you are putting your pretty, dinner party ready, plate together for all to see and admire.  Plus, the likelihood of me making smashed potatoes again is pretty high since I did like smashing them :)

Ingredients:

Oil
Water
Potatoes
Curry powder

[Yea...I know...but honestly, it is all based on the number of potatoes you decide to make up.  Are you feeding a dinner party's worth of people? Grab a 3 lb bag of red potatoes.  Are you feeding just yourself for the next couple of days?  Throw 6 new baby potatoes into a pot.]

Direction:

Preheat oven to 425F.

Put the potatoes into a pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook for approximately 10 minutes.  You want to potatoes to be tender so that they become smashable.

Remove the potatoes and place them on a baking sheet you have greased with a little oil.  Using your hand or a potato masher, flatten the potatoes.  If you use your hand, I'm going to state the obvious and and tell you to let them cool a bit first...we do not want any injuries here!  I used a potato masher and I did not feel as if I had the best control so I would suggest simply using your hands on this one.

Brush the potatoes with a little oil and sprinkle on curry powder.

Bake for 10 minutes, flip the potatoes, sprinkle with curry powder, and finish baking for another 10 minutes.