One of my favorite pastimes is finding new recipes and tinkering with them to make them my own. I thought it might be fun to share one now and then on m-pyre. And after all, is there a better holiday to talk food on the blog than Thanksgiving? Here's one of my favorite recipes that was inspired by the incomparable Heidi Swanson, and it's perfect for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Heidi is a fantastic writer, thinker, photographer, forager, activist, and cook. Her cookbook Super Natural Cooking is one of my favorites - and I admittedly have a lot of cookbooks and a lot of favorites - but the soup on the cover is the perfect spring/summer soup, one that I made for Marjorie before packing up my tiny one-bedroom apartment and flying the NM coop. Heidi is a fantastically creative cook whose food exemplifies what I care about when it comes to eating: do it as local as possible, as organic as possible, and do it to celebrate the true flavors of your ingredients rather than masking them with unnatural additives. The key for me is to use the best, freshest ingredients as possible. It's as simple as that.
For these potatoes, I started with a Heidi recipe and tweaked it for my tastes over time and many yummy dinners. So only start with my recipe - keep tweaking until it suits you!
These potatoes are to-die-for creamy and so packed full of flavor and nutrients you forget there's not even butter in them. I'm a total kale and chard nerd, too, so I love the punch of green.
- 3 pounds potatoes, cut into large chunks (I like using a mix of small red and brown potatoes rather than only large gold ones. Peel or unpeel to suit your tastes - if unpeeled the dish will be extra-rustic, and of course better for you, too.)
- Sea salt
- 4ish tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4ish cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch kale, large stems stripped and discarded, leaves chopped (wash them a few times over - dirt can hide easily in greens like these)
- 1/2+ cup warm cream
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3-5 shallots, depending on their size and your taste, thinly sliced
- Parmesan for garnish if it's lying around
Heat most of the olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, chopped kale, a big pinch of salt, and saute just until tender - about a minute. Set aside.
Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork. Slowly stir in the cream a few big splashes at a time. Keep adding cream until you get a thick, creamy texture. Season with salt and pepper.
Dump the kale on top of the potatoes and give a quick stir (if you stir too much the potatoes will turn greenish, so just kind of lightly blend it in). Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with remaining olive oil and parmesan.
Yum!PS: Next time I'll take a photo of the dish, but I was unprepared this morning!
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