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Chives
Chives are related to the onion and the leek and it has delicate, hollow stalks that resemble grass blades and taste like a mild onion. If you grow your own chives, the pretty lavender flower that it produces are also edible. Chives are available year-round in most grocery stores.
Selection & Storage
Choose chives with a uniform green color and show no sign of yellowing, browning or wilting. Chives can be kept in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week. They are best when used immediately... great to have them growing in a personal herb garden.
Preparation
Rinse chives and dry on a paper towel. Snip with scissors to desired lengths. Do not chop chives or they will become bruised. To experience the best flavor of chives, add to the dish just before serving.
Russet Potatoes
Commonly known as the Idaho potato, the russet potato has low moisture but high starch content, which results in a lovely, floury texture when baked. The russet potato is long, slightly rounded, with a course brown skin with many eyes. The russet potato is available year-round
Selection & Storage
Select russet potatoes with no soft spots, cracks, or withering. If the "eyes" have sprouted or if the skin has a greenish tinge, DO NOT buy it. Greenish skin means the potato was exposed to bright light too long.
Store in a cool (50 degrees F to 55 F), dark place for up to two weeks.
Preparation
Scrub each russet potato well with a vegetable brush in a bowl and pan full of water with a few drops of a vegetable wash.
Baked Potatoes
Dry excess moisture off and prick each potato with a fork several times. Bake at 425 degrees F for 40 to 55 minutes, until tender when a sharp pointed knife is inserted.
For the best results in baking potatoes, do not wrap them in aluminum foil, or the end results will be a steamed-wet potato flesh.
Mashed Potatoes
If you are making mashed potatoes, use baked russets to achieve the richest possible texture for the dish.
Shallots
Shallots are a member of the onion family but are shaped more like cloves of garlic, with a head composed of multiple cloves. Each clove is covered with a thin, papery skin. The flesh is tinged with purple or green between the layers. Fresh green shallots are sold in the spring, but I haven't seen them or used them in a recipe yet. Dried shallots (with moist flesh) are available year-round in your local grocery store. I have found the least expensive places to purchase them is at Oriental Markets and Trader Joe's.
Selection & Storage
Choose dry shallots that are smooth, compact, plump and firm. They should not yield to pressure. If you see any green sproutings, do not purchase. If possible, buy loose, not boxed, shallots, so you have a better idea of their freshness.
Store dried shallots in a cool (50 degree F to 55 degree F), dark, well-ventilated place for up to a month.
Preparation & Cooking Tips
Simply slice off the top, remove the thin papery skin and slice, dice, or mince as you would an onion. Use wherever you want a subtle hint of onion and garlic. Shallots go with just about everything!
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Vegan Appetizers
Vegan Potato Pancakes
For a quick hors d'oeuvres, an appetizer, or a light lunch, these potato pancakes are a taste treat that are a real taste pleaser.
Ingredients
1 pound organic russet potatoes
1 medium organic carrot
1 large shallot
2 tablespoons extra firm boxed tofu
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon dried or fresh chives
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons unbleached organic white flour
1/4 cup olive oil
Vegan Sour Cream
Tools
- Bamix Wand Mixer
- Bamix large beaker
- large mixing bowl
- metal grater
- 3 clean kitchen towels
- potato peeler
- measuring spoons
- 2 large cast iron fry pans
- knife
- wire cooling racks
- cookie sheets
Servings
Makes 8 to 12 1/4 cup pancakes.
Preparation
Oven
Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.
Potato
Peel and grate the russet potatoes.
Place grated potatoes in a clean kitchen towel and twist to release all excess potato liquid.
Put drained potatoes into a large bowl.
Carrot
Peel and grate the carrot.
Place grated carrot in clean kitchen towel and twist to release any excess carrot moisture.
Put grated carrots in the bowl with the potatoes.
Shallot
Peel and grate the shallot.
Place the grated shallot in a clean kitchen towel and twist to release any shallot liquid or moisture.
Put grated shallot into the bowl with the grated potato and carrot.
Tofu Egg Replacement Mixture
In a beaker with a Bamix Wand Mixer, blend 2 tablespoons extra firm boxed (aseptic) tofu with 2 tablespoons water. This will create a creamy mixture equivalent to what yolks in an egg would provide.
Pour the tofu mixture into the bowl with the grated potatoes, carrot and shallot.
Mix the contents until the tofu coats all the grated contents in the bowl.
Flour
Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of unbleached organic white flour, sea salt, and chives over the grated contents in the bowl.
Stir until all the grated vegetables are evenly coated.
Pan Fry the Potato Pancakes (Latkes)
In a large cast iron fry pan, add two tablespoons olive oil and turn heat to medium.
Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup lightly packed for each pancake.
Turn the contents out into the fry pan and mash down to create a uniform circle. It's best to keep each one on the thin side.
Cook 4 pancakes at a time over medium heat.
Cook till browned and crisp on the bottom... about 4 minutes.
Add a 1/4 teaspoon olive oil as needed to each pancake area to prevent sticking.
Turn the pancake over and press down on each one with a wide spatula to flatten each one.
Cook second side until browned and crisp and cook through... about another 4 minutes.
Keep Cooked Pancakes Hot
Place each cooked potato pancake on a cookie sheet fitted with a wired cookie cooling rack and return to the preheated oven until all pancakes are cooked.
Presentation
These little treats will look like this most of the time, so don't spend a lot of time plating this delicacy. They are eaten in seconds and one recipe is enough for 4 hungry guests.
I didn't have vegan sour cream or applesauce today, so I sliced up an apple. For a more formal appetizer, I would use a teaspoon of vegan sour cream on the edge of the pancake and a large scoop of organic apple sauce with each plated potato pancake.
This is also great with freshly picked organic apples that have been peeled, sliced and sautéed in a tablespoon of olive oil.
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