Smashed Potatoes

From RecipeTinEats

Ingredients:

1.5 lb small potatoes or 2 - 2.5 lb medium potatoes

1 tbsp salt (for boiling)

2 tbsp butter , melted

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 tsp salt (for sprinkling)

1/4 tsp black pepper

Finely chopped parsley, optional garnish

Directions:

Cook potatoes: Bring a pot of water to the boil, add 1 tbsp salt. Cook potatoes until soft - small ones should take around 20 to 25 minutes, medium ones might take 30 minutes. It's ok if the skin splits. Alternatively, steam or microwave them.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Drain the potatoes and let them dry in the colander for 5 minutes or so.

Smash! Place on the tray then use a large fork or potato masher to squish them, keeping them in one piece. Thin = crisper. Thicker = fluffier insides. (Both good!) More nubbly surface = better crunch!

Steam dry again: Leave on the tray to steam dry for 5 minutes or so - makes them crispier!

Drizzle with butter, then olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 45 minutes (small potatoes) to 55 minutes (medium) or until deep golden and crispy. Do not flip!

Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley if desired.

Medieval Armored Turnips

From The Imperfect Diet

Ingredients:

5 or 6 small turnips 

1 ½ cups (6 ounces) mozzarella or provolone

½ cup (4 ounces) Parmesan

4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) butter, melted, plus additional soft butter for the dish

2 teaspoons Poudre Douce (recipe to follow)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, peel turnips then boil them until tender, about 20 minutes, and allow them to cool.  Meanwhile, grate or slice the cheese very thinly, and grate the parmesan.  Slice the cooled turnips about 1/8 inch thick. Coat the bottom of a deep 9 x 9 or 9 inch round baking dish with butter.  Arrange the ingredients inlayers that are as thin as possible, first the cheese, then turnips, then butter then spice, repeat the layers until all ingredients are used.  Top with more cheese, bake until the cheese is just melted around 15 minutes.

Poudre Douce

 Mix the following together:

4 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp grains of paradise [substitute black pepper if needed]

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of galangal [similar to ground ginger, can omit if needed]

1 cup sugar

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients: 

1 block cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayo

1 pint sour cream

1 package frozen spinach, thawed & drained

1 small jar of artichoke hearts, chopped

1 package Knorr leek or onion dry soup mix.

Directions:
Combine all. Serve with chunks of bread, pita chips, or crackers.

Note: the dip is best if made a day - or at least a few hours - before serving

Sourdough Bread

100 grams active sourdough starter

200 grams water

300 grams bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix sourdough starter and water in a bowl. Add in flour and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms and all flour is incorporated. Cover with a damp towel or a lid just set on top, not sealed. Rest dough for 30 minutes. 

"Turn" dough by using your hands or a rubber spatula by grabbing from underneath the dough and pulling up and over the top of the dough. Turn bowl a quarter turn and do it again. Do this about 8 times. 

Let dough rest 30 minutes and turn again. Repeat by letting rest and turning 1 or 2 more times until you have a smooth dough. 

At this point, cover bowl with the lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days. 

When you're ready to bake, prepare your proofing vessel (I use a round 8 inch atorage container) by lining with parchment paper.  Remove dough from the bowl and place on a floured counter. Do one more turn by pulling from bottom and stretching up over the top. You're trying to build up some surface tension on the bottom of the loaf. It should be nice and smooth. Flip uour dough over and tuck the edges under to create a nice smooth top. Place dough in parchment paper lined vessel, lightly cover and allow to rise until when you press a finger in it, the dent remains. This can take several hours since sourdough does not rise as fast as commercial yeast. 

At least  30 minutes before you want to bake, place a heavy dutch oven in a cold oven and preheat to 450 degrees. You want it to be good and hot. 

Lift the dough out of the container and place on counter. Make a slash across the loaf about 1/2 inch deep. Use the parchment paper to lift into the hot dutch oven and spray with 5 or 6 sprays of water. Cover and bake for 25 to 30 minutes with the lid on. Remove from oven and lift with parchment and place back on the oven shelf for an additional 5 to 10 minutes until it is as brown as you like it and an instant read thermometer reads 200 degrees in the center of the loaf. 

Allow to cool before slicing for best texture, or just hack it up and eat it slathered with butter. 

This recipe can easily be doubled or quadrupled. Bread freezes nicely in a ziplock bag, but you will lose the delicious crunchy crust. 

How to maintain sourdough starter:

If you keep it at room temperature it needs to be fed every 24 to 48 hours. Feed by mixing in water and flour approximately of the same amount as the starter. Make sure your container is large enough for it to double in size.

If you keep it refrigerated, it needs to be fed every 2 weeks. I remove it from the fridge, pour half into a separate jar, feed them both then leave one out on the counter with the lid just sitting on top to bake with and cover the 2nd jar and put back in fridge. Starter is active when it is bubbly and has doubled in size.