SUMMER POTATO SALAD

Well, I did get a bit carried away discussing the health benefits of potatoes.  On to the fun part - cooking and eating.  In the winter, I rely on potatoes as part of a warm and comforting meal - in stews, mashed, roasted, baked, boiled, sauteed, braised.  In the summer, I'm looking for lighter fare.  My husband Roland has begun to dig our potatoes out - we have beautiful, tiny new potatoes and fingerlings.  I boil them until just done, then use them in a warm potato salad.  No heavy mayonnaise here - just a light vinagreitte and lots of fresh herbs.  My family can't get enough of this dish. If you don't grow potatoes, this dish is best with waxy potatoes - new potatoes or fingerlings.  They'll be the small ones in the store or farmer's market (not the standard large russetts or Idaho).  New potatoes are small and round; fingerlings are long and skinny (like fingers). The may have white, pink or even purple skins. The purple ones are amazing - purple all the way through! Buy organic if possible, and look for firm smooth potatoes with no sprouts or green spots.

The preparation is simple.  Wash the potatoes just before cooking.  Boil a large pot of water.  Place the potatoes in and keep at a moderate boil.  In the meantime, chop up a bunch of fresh herbs (more ideas in a minute).  Place them in the bottom of a large bowl.  Add some salt and pepper.  If you like, add some very thinly sliced red onion or spring onions.  Add some vinegar (I use balsamic, but sherry, wine or apple cider would also be nice).  When the potatoes are done, drain them well. Add them to the bowl and toss them into the vinegar mix.  Then take a very nice olive oil and add enough to coat the potatoes well.  Transfer to a serving dish.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

The warm potatoes absorb the dressing and are truly delicious.  I vary the herbs to give very different taste experiences.  One night I did them with lots and lots of fresh mint (homage to my years in Britain, where potatoes and mint are always paired).  Another night I used a mix of fresh tarragon and parsley and a little bit of thyme.  Next time, I think I'll try them with caraway seeds and chives (a German tribute).  And a classic salad with spring onions and lots of Italian parsley is a star for summer.

A great addition to the salad is fresh peas, cooked separately until just tender, drained and rinsed with cold water, and then added at the end.  I used fresh peas from my garden, but frozen peas or petit pois will also work. For a more complicated salad, add some blanched string beans, or some cherry tomatoes sliced in half, or some artichoke hearts, or a little bit of fresh garlic, or some lightly cooked fava beans.

By the way - for more on growing vegetables, check out Roland's blog at http://organicbountea.blogspot.com/.  He grows, I weed and cook!

Rejoice in the health benefits - and the taste benefits - with a summer potato salad!

LUSCIOUS LEEKS

December and January are pretty dismal times for the home-garden cook.  The home vegetable gardener (that would be my husband) can at least amuse himself with seed catalogs and starting seeds.  (Even as I write, onions and salads are starting to germinate).  For the cook, there are no such diversions.  When I buy vegetables from the store I realize how much more taste and nutrition are held in my very-local-organic produce.

However, all is not lost.  Struggling in our unusually cold winter, protected from deep snow only by unheated, plastic-wrap covered frames, a few brave vegetables survive.  Digging under layers of insulating leaves and then deep into the earth, I find bright orange jewels of carrots.  The collards and kales and chinese cabbages aren't doing much growing, but their green leaves provide bursts of flavor to stir fries.  And, if I can excavate them out of the near-frozen grounds, I have my stalwart leeks - fine and tall, green and white.

Leeks are wonderful vegetables.  Part of the allium family (think onion and garlic), they provide great nutritional benefit.  Lots of fiber.  Supplies us with manganese, iron, B6, folic acid, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. Stabilizes blood sugar.  Alliums have been shown to reduce LDL and raise HDL cholesterol levels (that's good), and to lower blood pressure. Studies have shown that alliums reduce the risk of prostate & colon cancers, and that a flavanoid called kaempferol (present in leeks, tea and some other veggies) lowers ovarian, lung, and pancreatic cancer risks.  Way low in calories (16 calories/serving) - although I must confess I usually counter this benefit by combining in some way with butter!

I usually combine my precious leeks with other vegetables - a slow sautee with carrots and collards (as with onions, sautee them first before adding other vegetables), or a quick stir fry with bok choy and garlic, or as part of the vegetable medley in a beef stew - but they do deserve to be highlighted.  They are famous in leek and potato soup (hot or cold), and are great in a bechamel (white) sauce laced with parsley, or braised, or in a cheese sauce, or simply sauteed in olive oil until tender and sweet.

As with many vegetables, bigger is not necessarily better.  Big leeks look great but are often woody inside.  Choose small but firm leeks (1 1/2" or less in diameter).  Take off the outer tough leaves and the very top (the really dark green part) of the leek.  The tops of the leeks often need a good washing.  If you're slicing into small pieces, wash after you've sliced.  If you're leaving them large or whole, you can slice lengthwise down the middle of the green part to open them up part-way, and rinse.  

Braised Leeks

It's nice to leave the leeks long - cut the tops off, leaving the leeks 6-7" long.  slit the green part of the leek to wash.  Blanch in boiling water for about 7-10 minutes.  Lay in a baking dish.  Add butter, a sprinkle of salt, and a small amount of water to cover the bottom.  Top with chopped parsley.  Cover loosely with aluminum foil.  Bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes.  For extra fun/flavor, uncover, sprinkle with grated swiss cheese or a mix of cheese and breadcrumbs, scatter some small pieces of butter on top, and broil for a few minutes.

Sauteed Leeks

Slice the leeks crosswise into 3/4" pieces, and wash thoroughly.  Melt olive oil and/or butter in stainless steel sautee or frying pan.  Add the leeks and let cook for a long time at medium low heat, until leeks are tender and sweet - they'll almost melt.  

The other night, for extra richness, I did a quick sauce.  After the leeks were soft, I added a couple of tablespoons of flour to the pan and coated the leek/butter mix, and let it cook for a few minutes.  Then I took the pan off the heat, added some hot milk, stirred very fast to mix, returned it back to the heat, and let it cook for a short time.  I also put in a splash or two of sherry.  Right before serving, I added a whole bunch of chopped parsley.  Divine!  (Sorry, I didn't keep track of amounts - it'll depend on the quantity of leeks that you start with.  As a rough guide, Julia Child - my bible long before her deserved bestseller success - recommends 2T butter, 3T flour, 2C milk, 1/4 t salt for a basic bechamel).

If you're looking for a gluten free/dairy free way to dress leeks up, I would recommend sauteing them slowly (as above) in olive oil.  After they're really soft, add a little rice flour or arrowroot starch, coat and heat for a few minutes.  Then add a white wine/stock mix, let simmer until thickened, and mix in the parsley at the end, as above.

For me, leeks are an essential part of winter vegetable eating.  Their taste improves after a frost. They are deeply nourishing, and their warm sweet flavor lightens a cold winter night.