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In this post – a delicious potato poblano taco recipe

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Sharing one of my family’s favorite dinners: potato poblano tacos! 

Now I know you have likely never had a potato poblano taco… but let me tell you, they are delicious!

Potato Poblano Tacos  

Ingredients

• yellow potatoes (one large yellow potato per person), washed and diced into small cubes we use a vegetable chopper to dice the potatoes so they are all the same size
• 1 poblano pepper (one poblano makes enough for 10 tacos)
• 1/2 a yellow onion, minced
• Guacamole
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• Cotija cheese, grated for garnish
• cilantro, for garnish
• taco tortillas, use either corn or flour tortillas
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat.  Then add the diced potatoes, and cook until they are crispy brown on the outside and soft on the inside. 
2. Next, heat up a cast iron skillet or grill pan on high heat.  Then place the whole poblano directly onto the grill pan, and cook until the skin blackens on that side, and then flip until every side of the pepper is completely charred.  Remove from heat, and then allow to cool before removing the skin of the pepper. The skin should easily peel off with your fingers. If skin does not peel off easily, then you didn’t cook it long enough.  Once skin is removed, dice into small pieces.
3. Next, add the yellow onion to the potatoes and sauté the onion until translucent.  You may need to add a bit more olive oil to the potatoes so that the onion has oil to cook in. Remove from heat when translucent. Salt to taste. Place potatoes/onions in a separate bowl. 
4. Wipe out the potato frying pan and then place back on low heat. Heat each tortilla on the frying pan for 10 seconds. You do not need to put oil in the pan, just keep an eye on the pan and tortilla!
5. Assembly, place a scoop of potatoes and onions on the bottom, then a layer of poblanos, then guacamole, then Cotija cheese and finally cilantro for garnish. Enjoy!

Here are some bonus tips for successful tacos:

-make sure you taste test the poblano pepper before you go ahead and put a ton on your tacos – sometimes they are spicy!

-Having trouble finding poblanos at the grocery store? Sometimes they are sold as pasilla peppers – they are the same thing! 

-We use this vegetable chopper to chop the onions and potatoes – this helps them cook more evenly.

– Heating the tortilla before filling it tremendously helps with the tortilla strength and you are less likely to have ripped tortillas.

-We love to use this lime salt in our Mexican dishes. 

-We got these awesome taco trays at Pottery Barn but they are now sold out.  I highly recommend getting some though – it made it so much easier to eat tacos.  There are some here and here. 

I hope you try making these tacos – they are so good! 

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Now, I’m sure you have all had gnocchi.  But the question is, have you had Parisienne gnocchi? I bet you haven’t!  Parisienne gnocchi is actually very different from the regular ol’ Italian gnocchi that we’re all familiar with.

Parisienne Gnocchi

Parisienne gnocchi is not chewy like Italian gnocchi. It is light and airy. Why? Because the dough is made from a choux pastry dough and not from a pasta type dough.

I much prefer these gnocchi to the Italian gnocchi. Hands down.  The first time I had them was with a friend… we were at a French restaurant and she ordered them for me. She had spent several years in France and obviously knew about them.  She would order things for me at the restaurant – this one was a big hit!

The next time I had them as at Bouchon Bistro in Las Vegas.  I knew I couldn’t go back to Vegas every time I had a hankering so instead I learned how to make them! (Although, there is a Bouchon Bistro in Yountville… much closer!)

Makes 8 servings – printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 12 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp chopped chervil (French parsley)
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped tarragon
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere
• 5 to 6 large eggs
• seasonal vegetables to sauté – I used mini peppers and mushrooms this time.

Directions

1. Combine water, butter, and 1 tsp salt into medium saucepan and bring to a simmer.
2. Reduce the heat to medium, then add all of the flour at once (be careful, it might bubble at you).  Then, stirring rapidly, mix until the dough pulls way from the sides of the pan and the bottom of the pan is clean. The dough should be glossy and smooth.  You know you are done when steam comes from the dough. 
3. Now transfer the dough to the mixer bowl, with the paddle attachment.  Add the mustard, herbs, and 1 tbsp of salt. Mix for a few seconds to distribute ingredients evenly. Then add the cheese.
4. Now, with the mixer on a low speed, add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next one.  Then increase the speed to medium and add another 2 eggs, each one at a time. Now lift, the dough up onto a rubber spatula and let it run off. If it doesn’t move at all or is too dry, beat in the extra egg.
5. Place the dough into a large pastry bag fitted with 5/8-inch tip and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
6. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a simmer, not a boil. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and paper towels.
7. Pipe the gnocchi into the pot – squeeze the bag, then with a small knife cut off 1 inch lengths of dough and let it drop into the pot.  Once the gnocchi float to the top, let them sit for another 1-2 minutes the remove them with a skimmer and place on the paper towel baking sheet.
8. Place the gnocchi on the parchment paper lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to 1 day. Or you can freeze them. 
9. Now, to serve them you sauté them and serve with seasonal vegetables.
10. In a large pan, heat up some EVOO.  For this time, I sautéed some mini peppers and mushrooms – as that is what I had on hand. You can serve them with any seasonal vegetable though!
11. Then, add the gnocchi and let them sauté in the pan too. You want them to get a little brown and crispy on one side. Serve hot.

Adopted from epicurious

piping the choux

Poaching the gnocchi… It is helpful if someone can hold the piping bag and another person cuts the dough.

The gnocchi are resting…

Here they are sautéing in the pan with fresh mini peppers and mushrooms.

Notice the gnocchi are browned on one side- that makes them extra tasty! They get a little crunch! 

I encourage you to try this recipe – what’s nice is that you can freeze the gnocchi and save them for later. If you want to freeze them, put them in an airtight freezer bag. Then, on the day you want to use them let them thaw for several hours. Then you can sauté them once they are warmed.

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Have you ever had a potato enchilada? Likely not! Well guess what!? It’s good.  One of my favorite dishes from a local Mexican restaurant in the town I grew up used to serve them.  I tried to copy their recipe, but their sauces are made from family-secret recipes… so I naturally I couldn’t exactly replicate it. But, what I came up tastes really good! 

The insides of the enchiladas consist of potatoes, green chiles, and sautéed onions all cooked in an ancho-chile sauce (salsa). They are then covered with a tomatillo green sauce, Mexican blend cheese, and baked!

They taste really good served with black beans, Mexican rice, and topped with avocado! This is an excellent dish to serve vegetarians at a Mexican food themed party!

Potato Enchilada Recipe

makes 8 enchiladas

Ingredients

• 16 baby potatoes (see picture below). Approx 2 baby potatoes go into each enchilada
• 8 soft-taco size tortillas. You can use flour or corn tortillas
• 1 small can green chiles
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• tomatillo enchilada sauce for topping (*see comments below)
• 3 tbsp chili sauce (*see comments below)
• 3/4 cup Mexican blend cheese
• 1 sliced avocado, for garnish
• 1 can black beans to serve on the side (optional)
• 1 tsp Mexican blend spice (optional)
• grated cotija or queso fresco, shredded, for garnish (optional)
• Mexican rice, to serve on the side (optional)

Directions

1. Boil the potatoes until cooked through. Allow to cool slightly, then cut into little cubes.
2. Saute the diced onion
3. Add the diced potatoes and green chiles to the onion pan.  Add approx 3 tbsp or so of chili sauce and allow to marinate for approx 5-10 minutes. You aren’t frying the potatoes here, only adding flavor.
4. Preheat oven to 400F. Now fill the tortillas with several scoops of potato filling. Roll into an enchilada.
5. Once your enchiladas are in the pan as above, pour the enchilada sauce, making sure the enchiladas are all covered.
6. Sprinkle with Mexican blend cheese, adding more or less as you desire.
7. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is completely melted and just starting to brown.
8. Serve on plate with several pieces of sliced avocado
9. OPTIONAL: you can simmer your black beans on the stove while the enchiladas are cooking with approx 1tsp of Mexican blend spices (or taco spice).  Serve on the side. You can also serve with Mexican rice, I used Uncle Ben’s Spanish rice, but Rice-a-roni makes a nice Mexican rice too.

*Comments on the sauces: I used Frontera Grill Green chili enchilada sauce with roasted tomatillo and garlic in it. It is a really good sauce.  You can use red enchilada sauce too, but the green enchilada sauce tastes better with potatoes.  If you want to make your own enchilada sauce, this one here looks good. Now, for the filling on the potatoes, I used Frontera’s “New Mexico Red Chile” salsa.  I added a few tbsp to the potatoes and let it simmer down.  If you have ancho or arbol chiles, you can add that to the potatoes. If you don’t have the salsa, I would add some chili powder, garlic, and a dash of cayenne pepper. 

the enchilada sauce, green chiles, beans, and rice I used

I used several tbsp of this salsa to put on the potatoes and let it simmer

the potatoes I used… they are quite small!

My family gobbled this up! It was really good.  Buying the enchilada sauce made the whole process so much easier! 

Think you’ll give it a try? Tell me what you think!

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I have a delicious Spring pasta recipe for you today!  It contains pretty Spring greens and the creamy sauce is made from… avocado! (I know that sounds weird, the husband was skeptical, but then loved it!)

Spring Pasta Recipe with pears, asparagus, and avocado!

Spring Pasta Recipe – printable recipe here

Ingredients

• Angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 bunch of asparagus, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the Sauce…

• 1 avocado
• 6 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• the zest of one lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tbsp thyme

Directions

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the asparagus to the same pot and cook for 4 more minutes.  Drain.
2. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.  Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until it is smooth.
3. In another pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.  Add the shallot and cook 2-3 minutes, until soft.  Then add the peas and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until they are hot.
4. In a bowl, mix together the pasta/asparagus, peas/shallots, and the sauce.  Enjoy!  Serve with some delicious homemade pain d’epi bread!

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Ever since I went to that fabulous pumpkin festival in Germany that I keep talking about, I have been just dying for some pumpkin soup.  The pumpkin soup I had there was the BEST pumpkin soup I’ve ever had.  I have been searching for months trying to find an authentic German recipe that I think was very similar to the soup I fell in love with.  I read recipes in German and English.  I came up with my own, which is a combination of about 10 recipes I read!

*THE* pumpkin soup I’ve been dying to eat.  Guess I need to go back to Germany??

German Pumpkin Soup recipe, authentic Kürbissuppe rezept
Get the PRINTABLE recipe here


Ingredient

• 1-2 small baking pumpkins*** (see notes)
• 1 large potato, cubed largely about 1×1 inch
• 1 large onion, large cubes as well
• 2 tbsp salted butter
• 1 liter water
• 4 cube vegetable broth bouillon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 5 twists of cracker pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
• pumpkin seed oil****
• pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. Cut off both ends of the pumpkin. Then slice pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds.  If it is too tough to cut, we microwaved each half in the microwave for approx. 3 minutes until the pumpkin was cooked.  You will only need to do this if your pumpkin skin is inedible or too tough to cut.
2. Take butter and melt in pan or stock pot. Place sliced potatoes and onion inside the pan. Place lid on pan and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. 
3. In a separate pot, add the the liter of water with 4 vegetable broth bouillon cubes and bring to a boil. 
4. Add pumpkin to the potato and onion. Next, add the pumpkin pie spice, salt, and pepper. Stir together, then allow to cook for 5 minutes. 
5. The water should be boiling now.  Once it is boiling, pour into the already cooking vegetable mixture. 
6. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Purée your soup either in a normal blender or a handheld immersion blender. 
8. Stir in cream. 
9. Top with pumpkin seed oil (this really makes the dish).  Garnish with pumpkin seeds. 

***Notes on pumpkins
The Germans tend to cook with Hokkaido pumpkins, which are readily available there.  The nice thing about that pumpkin is you can eat the skin.  Here, I hadn’t found any Hokkaido pumpkins.  I did find a golden nugget squash, which appeared very similar.  It tasted about the same.  Regular baking pumpkins should be fine too.  Just remember, if it’s a “pie pumpkin”, it may be a little bit sweeter.  I have not tried this recipe with canned pumpkin.

About our specific pumpkins used in this recipe: Each pumpkin uncooked was 1 pound. We used two golden nugget squash.  The skin was very tough and we had to microwave the pumpkin halves in order to slice them.

The Hokkaido pumpkin, AKA red kuri squash

the golden nugget squash, AKA Oriental pumpkin

****Notes on Pumpkin Seed Oil 

This REALLY makes this dish in my opinion.  You NEED to get some.  Here’s where I got my Pumpkin Seed Oil and I can say it is delicious.  This is not something you can easily find here in the US.  I searched 6 grocery stores (specialty ones included) and had no luck.  It is hard to get here because it is grown and made in a very specific region in Austria.  It’s everywhere in Germany and Austria… but not here! Boo!

the amazing Pumpkin Seed Oil!

This soup isn’t like your American version of pumpkin soup. It’s WAY better. I don’t really even like pumpkin soup… but this is delicious. Especially with that pumpkin seed oil!

Authentic German Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Oh SO delicious!!

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I love all of the fresh fruits and vegetables of Summer.  I also love pizza.  One way to eat up that plethora of squash is to bake it in a pizza.

vegetable pizza

Our Basic Pizza Crust Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups of regular flour (but if you want the best, use the 00 flour)
• 1 cup of fine corn meal
• 1 tablespoon of active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons honey, optional

Directions

1. Heat the water to lukewarm. Then add the olive oil. (for really yummy dough, add the 2 tbsp honey here)
2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
3. Using your bread kneader mixing option on your mixer (we use the option on the kitchenaid), pour the yeast solution into the mixer and mix for 5 minutes.
4. Now, add all of the dry ingredients to the mixer. Mix on low until it forms a ball.  If it does not form a ball, you need to add more flour or cornmeal.
5. Once it has formed a ball, knead on low speed for 20 minutes.  I know this seems unnecessary, but it is the most critical part!
6. After, cover and let the dough sit in a warm, dry place for 1 hour. This allows the dough to rise.  If you want to make your dough ahead of time, place the dough in the fridge overnight and take it out 1 hour before cooking time.
7. Spread the dough into desired shape. This dough makes enough for two 10″ pizzas, so we separate the dough into two. This makes the shaping of the circular pizza dough a little easier!

Now choose your toppings!

Ingredients

• zucchini, thinly sliced
• yellow squash, thinly sliced
• mushrooms, sliced
• tomatoes, sliced (my tomatoes weren’t ripe yet)
• fresh basil
• Whatever other vegetable you want to put on… olives, onions, peppers. Or if you want to be less healthy… add some pepperoni or sausage.
• Pizza sauce (I like Trader Joe’s)
• Mozzarella cheese, pre-shredded is easier to use.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500F, best cooked with a pizza stone.
2. Spread the pizza sauce over the pizza
3. Sprinkle mozzarella (as much as desired)
4. Place all your ingredients on the pizza, except the basil.
5. If you use a pizza peel (as I do), sprinkle coarse cornmeal on the bottom so the pizza will easily slide off the peel onto your stone.  This is a nice trick.
6. Place in oven and cook for 8-12 minutes, until it looks done. 
7. Immediately after you take the pizza out of the oven, sprinkle the basil on top. 
8. Enjoy! 

homemade vegetable pizza Yummy! Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com Linking up with these fabulous link parties:G’day Saturdays,

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I love potatoes. I love pizza. How about… potato… pizza. Potato pizza!  I was first introduced to this type of pizza at Katie’s Pizzeria in St. Louis.  However, I have since moved.  But… I still want the pizza!  This pizza has been a few years in the making.  My husband and I have been trying to figure out how to make it taste like our original.  I don’t know if this tastes *exactly* like the original, but what we’ve come up with is really good!

Potato. Rosemary. Pizza? Huh? Now, don’t wrinkle your nose yet.  Let me share some pictures first.

Potato Rosemary Pizza

 

See, doesn’t it look good? Or if you aren’t sold, maybe another view?  Below is pizza from a different day, but it is the same thing!

Or maybe some words to sell you?  This is my FAVORITE pizza. My husband (the master chef) is the pizza maker.  Whenever he asks what type of pizza I want, I always say potato. I think he might be sick of potato pizza.  (I just asked him, he says no).

Potato Rosemary Pizza

We bake the pizza on our outdoor grill because it gets hotter than our oven (and bonus – keeps the heat outside!).  We use this pizza stone.

Okay, ready for the recipe? It’s broken down into two parts. Crust and toppings.

POTATO ROSEMARY PIZZA RECIPE: (printable recipe here)

Our Basic Pizza Crust Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups of regular flour (but if you want the best, use the 00 flour)
• 1 cup of fine corn meal
• 1 tablespoon of active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons honey, optional

Directions

1. Heat the water to lukewarm. Then add the olive oil. (for really yummy dough, add the 2 tbsp honey here)
2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
3. Using your bread kneader mixing option on your mixer (we use the option on the kitchenaid), pour the yeast solution into the mixer and mix for 5 minutes.
4. Now, add all of the dry ingredients to the mixer. Mix on low until it forms a ball.  If it does not form a ball, you need to add more flour or cornmeal.
5. Once it has formed a ball, knead on low speed for 20 minutes.  I know this seems unnecessary, but it is the most critical part!
6. After, cover and let the dough sit in a warm, dry place for 1 hour. This allows the dough to rise.  If you want to make your dough ahead of time, place the dough in the fridge overnight and take it out 1 hour before cooking time.
7. Spread the dough into desired shape. This dough makes enough for two 10″ pizzas, so we separate the dough into two. This makes the shaping of the circular pizza dough a little easier!

Potato Rosemary Pizza Toppings

 

Ingredients

• 2 small potatoes or 1 large potato (russet, yukon, fingerlings, your choice)
• 1 parsnip, thinly sliced
• 1/2 onion (usually yellow, but red is fine too)
• Extra virgin olive oil, to spread on dough.
• Mozzarella cheese, pre-shredded is easiest to use
• Parmesan reggiano cheese
• pepper to sprinkle on top
• Fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500F, best cooked with a pizza stone.
2. Cook the potato prior. (Use the microwave for fastest results. You do not want the potato to be soggy or too-baked).  Now slice the potato into *thin* slices.
3. Slice the parsnip and onion into thin slices.  You want them to be thin enough for just a crunch. (if you slice them too thick, it will be gross).
4. Sprinkle olive oil on top of your shaped dough and rub it to cover the area of where the toppings will be.
5. Place parsnips, onions, and potatoes on top. The KEY to this pizza is having potato in every single bite.
6. Sprinkle mozzarella (as much as desired), then parmesan cheese (not as much as the mozzarella).
7. Sprinkle some pepper on top.
8. If you use a pizza peel (as I do), sprinkle coarse cornmeal on the bottom so the pizza will easily slide off the peel onto your stone.  This is a nice trick.
9. Place in oven and cook for 8-12 minutes, until it looks done.
10. Immediately after you take the pizza out of the oven, sprinkle rosemary on top.
11. Enjoy!

A few things to note: 1. How thinly sliced everything is. 2. the coarse cornmeal on the pizza peel. 3. How there is potato in every bite.

One last close look… oh yum yum. I’m going to go eat some left-over pizza for dinner now.

potato rosemary pizza