Side Dish | 8.ate@eight

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March 29, 2014 · 4:36 pm

recipe goodness :: really crisp roasted sweet potatoes with gochujang

It’s been a long time since I’ve put pen to paper, but it’s about time the blog hiatus comes to an end. The other night, with no particularly inspired meal plan in my mind, I made something blog-worthy. The kind of dish that syncs beautifully with one central ingredient and several well-chosen partners.

I had a sweet potato from the farmers’ market that had been sitting on the shelf for several weeks and was starting to stare back at me with a few eyes. I remembered a ridiculously good crispy roasted potato recipe {courtesy of Nigella Lawson} I had made for New Year’s Eve and wondered if I could apply the same technique to a more tender sweet potato with similar results. Granted those were roasted in duck fat, but the secret sauce was really in the technique. It’s good to be back sharing — enjoy!

Crisp Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Gochujang
1 large sweet potato, scrubbed
olive oil for drizzling
1 teaspoon coarse gray salt
1 teaspoon Izak N. 37 (or a blend of sweet chili pepper, cumin, garlic powder)
Gochujang for serving

Scrub the potato and slice it into 1/4-inch thick circles. Because this guy was a fatty, I quartered each round.
Preheat dry baking sheet in 450 degree oven
Parboil the potatoes for about 5 minutes to warm them up and start breaking down the starch — this will help them start crisping as soon as they hit the hot oven.
Once tender enough that a paring knife would easily pierce the potato {about 5 minutes}, drain the goods and throw them back into the empty pot. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, coarse gray salt and one of my favorite sweet chili spices, Izak N.37 from La Boîte {or mix equal amounts 1/3 tsp each of sweet chili pepper, cumin, garlic powder}.
And now the fun part. Put the lid of the pot on and hold tightly, shaking vigorously to take out all work week frustrations. The process of doing this roughs up the surface, which will allow for more surface area to release the moisture trapped in a potato and also creates more edges that will get good and crisp during roasting. Win, win.
Once everything is nice and beat up, pull the preheated sheet pan out of the oven and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of oil and swirl around to coat the pan.
Toss the coated potatoes on the pan {be careful as the oil may splatter} and throw in the oven for 10 minutes.
Rotate the pan 180 degrees after 10 minutes and roast for another 10 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven and use tongs or a spatula to flip each potato over to roast the other side. Toss the pan back in the oven for another 10 minutes {less if getting too dark too or more if desired darkness is taking longer}.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with a nice flake salt — I love Jacobsen Salt — and serve with a side of Korean Gochujang {a tangy flavor combination of vinegar and fermented chile paste} or your favorite dipping condiment.

Some Like it Hot:
Homemade Spicy Pickled Carrots
Homemade Spicy Carrot Kimchi! & Apple Chutney!
Spicy Tomato-Meyer Lemon Stewed Chick Peas
Some Like it HOT Pollo alla Diavola
Lime-Red Chili Grilled Swordfish

1 Comment

Filed under @home {recipes to love}

Tagged as Easy, gochujang, Recipe, roasted potato, Seasonal, Side Dish, Sweet Potato

June 21, 2011 · 8:46 am

recipe goodness :: the ultimate summer slaw

The ultimate slaw

Creamy cole slaw {you know, the kind you see at delis} is a dish that sneaks its way into one too many BBQs. It’s soggy. It’s flat. It’s so easy to improve on. The thing about cabbage is you can feed A LOT of people with one shredded head and very cheaply too. So if you get a little creative, you can actually create a spectacular side on a budget. I love using red cabbage — it’s purple for pete’s sake and you can’t get much cooler than that! I also love using thinly sliced radishes for a peppery bite and running a few carrots through the food processor sideways so you get thin rectangles and not just shredded carrots. So much color, so many textures and a mix of crunchy, vibrant, flavorful goodness. Two important notes: 1) I highly recommend making this with a food processor — it comes together in a matter of minutes with all the chopping that needs to be done; and 2) make this 24 hours in advance if you can — it softens the cabbage a bit and really lets the flavors come together. Plus it’s one less thing you have to worry about on party day.

The Ultimate Summer Slaw

1 cup mayo
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2-3 jalapenos or red chilies
1 head of red cabbage, chopped thinly
1 bunch of radishes, sliced
2 carrots, quartered then sliced lengthwise
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except cabbage, radishes and carrots in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Shred cabbage in food processor by cutting the head into quarters and feeding through the tube using the shredding attachment. Add to a very large bowl.
Wash radishes and remove tops and roots. Feed through food processor tube using the slicing attachment to get 1/8-inch thick slices. Add to the cabbage in the bowl.
Peel and remove tops of carrots. Depending on length of carrots, cut the length into thirds or quarters so you get 2 inch long pieces. Feed through the food processor tube horizontally with the slicing attachment so you get 2-inch long rectangular slices. Add to the cabbage and radishes.
Pour mixture from step 1 over the top and mix thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add to large zip lock bags or cover the bowl and let chill out in the fridge for 24 hours if you can to really get a great mix of flavors.