Category: Sides

Servings: 4
A favorite side dish, red potatoes with chile powder, is made everywhere in Mexico it the country’s especially sweet red potatoes. The dish takes on a terracotta cast from the chile powder. Be generous and put extra chile in the skillet because the mixture should be a little spicy when served with simple vegetables. Sprinkle with fresh lime juice just before serving. Papas con Cebollas y Chile makes an omelet filling fit for Aztec gods.

Ingredients
4 medium-size red potatoes, cut into quarters
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large white onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Chile powder to taste, depending on the type of chile
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 grinds of black pepper
3 chopped epazote leaves (optional)
1 lime

Directions
1. Bring salted water to a boil in a pot and cook the potatoes for 20 minutes, or until they are tender. Drain. Cool enough to handle and peel. Cut each quarter into a few thick slices.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the potatoes and onion. Turn with a spatula until the vegetables are pale gold. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic turns golden. Add the chile powder, salt, pepper, and epazote. Cook, stirring to coat the potatoes and lightly toast the chile powder. Sprinkle with lime juice just before serving.

Servings: 4
Source: Fine Cooking 7/2000 pg 47
By par-cooking your potatoes before they go on the grill, they’ll have a soft, almost cakey texture on the inside when they’re done, but they’ll still have that terrific grilled flavor. However you choose to season the potatoes (see the sidebar at left), be sure to include some kind of fat and salt. Serves four as a side dish.

Ingredients
1 lb potatoes
Your choice of seasonings (see below)

Directions
Wash and cut the potatoes. I like to cut red- and yellow-skinned potatoes into 3/8-inch slices, as they par-cook a little more evenly, but wedges or quarters certainly work too. For Idaho “”fries,”” cut small Idahoes into six wedges, lengthwise. Cover the potatoes with cold water and 1 Tbsp salt per pound of potatoes in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower to a gentle simmer (you don’t want them to break up), and cook until they’re almost but not quite fully cooked, 4 to 6 min.

The potatoes will still be a little hard in the center, but the outer edges will look opaque. Drain in a large colander and rinse with cold water until they’re cool; handle them gently. Spread them out on clean dishtowels and let them sit at room temperature (for up to an hour) until you’re ready to grill them.

Light a charcoal grill and allow the fire to reach a medium-hot temperature (the top of the coals should be 5 to 6 inches from the grill grate, and you’ll be able to hold your hand over the fire for no more than 3 to 4 seconds when it’s medium hot).

Alternatively, heat the entire surface of a gas grill until it reaches medium hot. Toss the potato pieces with the desired seasoning, making sure that all the pieces are coated well. Put the potatoes, cut side down, on the grill grate in one layer, directly over the coals. Cook for 3 to 6 min. or just until deep golden brown and crisp. With tongs, turn the pieces over (to the other side, if you’re using slices, to the other cut side if you’re using wedges, and to the skin side if you’re using halves). Cook until that side is deep golden brown and crisp, another 3 to 6 min. Remove and serve immediately.

Seasoning potatoes for the grill

Use the seasoning mixes below to flavor 1 pound of potatoes before they go on the grill (12 to 14 baby potatoes, 6 medium red- or yellow-skinned potatoes, 2 large red- or yellow-skinned potatoes, or 2 small ldahoes make a pound). Cut baby potatoes in half, others into 3/8-inch slices or wedges or quarters. If par-cooking potatoes (see technique #1, p. 45), season them after simmering and cooling but before they go on the grill.

Extra-Virgin Olive oil & Fresh Herbs: Toss the potatoes with enough olive oil to coat well (2 to 3 Tbs.) and season with coarse salt, freshly ground pepper or a few hot red pepper flakes, and 2 to 3 tsp chopped hardy herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, or sage.

Mustard, Mayonnaise, & Herbs: Combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard and 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary. Coat the potatoes with this mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Mustard & Olive Oil. Combine 3 Tbsp olive oil with 1 ‘/2 Tbsp savory mustard and toss together with potatoes. Or replace the mustard with 1 Tbsp black olive tapenade or sun-dried-tomato pesto. Season well with salt and pepper.

Spicy “”Dipping”” Oil: Dip small potato halves or wedges in hot chile oil (use about ‘/4 cup) and then into a combination of fine sea salt and sugar (about 1 1/2 tsp each).

Dry Spice Rub: Coat the potatoes well with 2 to 3 Tbsp olive oil and then sprinkle your favorite dried spice rub over all the cut edges. Be sure to include a lot of salt in the spice rub. A good rub recipe: combine about 1/2 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander, paprika, chili powder, allspice, freshly ground black pepper, and dried thyme with about 1 1/2 tsp salt and a little sugar, if you like.

Servings: 4
Source: Fine Cooking 8/2001 pg 65
To make the vinaigrette ahead, char the peppers under a broiler flame instead of a grill fire and be sure to whisk the vinaigrette just before serving. Any leftover dressing is good with all sorts of grilled or steamed vegetables and with arugula, too. Try a combination of red and yellow peppers. Serves four as a first course; yields 1 cup vinaigrette.

Ingredients
2 sm or 1 lg red bell pepper (enough to yield 1 cup roasted)
1 sm clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
Pinch cayenne
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil; more for preparing the leeks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 med leeks, root end intact (dark green parts removed), halved lengthwise, and washed
2 oz goat cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil

Directions
To make the vinaigrette Prepare a grill fire. Slice off the tops and bottoms of the peppers and make an incision down the length of each pepper. Flatten each into one long piece; remove the ribs and seeds. Char the peppers skin side down over a medium-hot fire until the skins are blackened and blistered. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with plastic, and let steam. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skins. Put the flesh in a food processor, along with the garlic, vinegar, and cayenne; purse until smooth. With the motor running, pour the olive oil through the feed tube in a slow, thin stream. Adjust the seasonings and thin with a bit of water if needed (it will be fairly thick).

To prepare the leeks Simmer the leeks in well-salted water until tender, 3 to 5 min. Arrange on a platter and let cool to room temperature. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill the leeks over a medium-hot fire until charred, 3 to 4 min. per side. While they’re still warm, drizzle them with the vinaigrette, crumble the goat cheese over the top, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Source: Gourmet
February 2001
Glazed turnips make a nice side dish for roasted meats or poultry.

Ingredients
2 lb sm to med (2-inch) turnips
About 1 1/2 cup plus 3 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Garnish: chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Peel turnips, then halve horizontally and quarter halves. Arrange turnips in 1 layer in a 12-inch heavy skillet and add enough water (about 1 1/2 cups) to reach halfway up turnips. Add butter, sugar, and salt and boil over moderately high heat, covered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Boil turnips, uncovered, stirring, until tender and water has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Sauté turnips over moderately high heat, stirring, until golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Add 3 tablespoons water and stir to coat turnips with glaze.

Servings: 6-8
I like to leave eggplant unpeeled, as the purple skins make for a pretty gratin, but since eggplant skin can get a little tough, I’ve included a suggestion on how to partially peel eggplant, culled from Ayla Algar’s terrific cookbook, Classical Turkish Cooking (HarperCollins). For a change of pace, try this gratin in four individual dishes, rather than one large one.
Serves six to eight as a side dish; four as a main dish.

Ingredients
FOR THE EGGPLANT:
2 lb. eggplant
2-1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
FOR THE ONIONS:
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions (14 oz. total), thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced

TO ASSEMBLE THE GRATIN:
1-1/4 lb. ripe red tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
6 oz. (1 cup) crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs mixed thoroughly with 1 tsp. olive oil and 1/3 cup chopped toasted pine nuts

Directions
To cut and cook the eggplant — Trim the ends from the eggplant and, using a vegetable peeler, peel off 1/2-inch strips of skin along the length of the eggplant every 1/2 inch or so. (Or leave the eggplant unpeeled, if you like.) Cut the eggplant crosswise into 3/8-inch slices and cut the widest slices in half.

Heat the oven to 450°F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment. Lightly brush the parchment with olive oil. Arrange the eggplant slices in one layer on the parchment, brush them with the remaining oil, and season with the 1/2 tsp. salt. Roast until the slices are lightly browned and somewhat shrunken, 25 min., rotating the pans once after 12 min. Let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.

To cook the onions — In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring frequently, until limp and golden brown, about 20 min. Reduce the heat to medium-low if they’re browning too quickly. Add the garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant, 1 to 2 min. Spread the onions and garlic evenly in the bottom of an oiled 2-qt. shallow gratin dish (preferably oval). Let cool.

To assemble the gratin — Put the tomato slices on a shallow plate to drain for a few minutes and then discard the collected juices. Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the mint over the onions. Starting at one end of the baking dish, lay a row of slightly overlapping tomato slices across the width of the dish; sprinkle with some of the mint and some of the feta. Next, lay a row of eggplant slices against the tomatoes (overlapping the first row by two-thirds). Sprinkle again with mint and feta. Repeat with alternating rows of tomato and eggplant slices, seasoning each as you go, and occasionally pushing the rows back. Tuck the quartered kalamata olives randomly between tomato and eggplant slices.

When the gratin is full, sprinkle the vegetables with about 1/2 tsp. salt and any remaining mint and feta. Season lightly with pepper, drizzle with the olive oil, and cover with the breadcrumb and pine nut mixture. Cook until well-browned all over and the juices have bubbled for a while and reduced considerably, 65 to 70 min. Let cool for at least 15 min. before serving.