Late to the Party – Veganomicon’s Lemony Potatoes

Last night @isitvegan came home with a package from Amazon. Turns out he ordered a new cook book when he placed his pre-order for the latest arrival in this epically long series he reads. Just so happens that I had today off, which was perfect timing for thumbing through a new hardback vegan cookbook. The excitement!

Impressed at recipes on almost every page…Vanilla-Yogurt Pound Cake, Autumn Root Salad with warm Maple Dressing, Autumn Latkes….Please tell me you’ve made some of these things already.

Of course, I realize that I am terribly late for this party. Where have I been since 2007? I have no idea.

After a few Twitter consultations, @isitvegan gave me the lowdown on the best recipes to try. Tonight we had Chickpea Cutlets, Lemony Potatoes, and Haricots Verts along with a Miso-Tahini dressing, and Cranberry-Chile Dipping Sauce.

The chickpea cutlets are a great addition to the home made veggie patty. The flavor was great, with lemon and sage. They were brown and crispy on the outside but still warm on the inside. They were great by themselves but even more delicious with some miso-tahini sauce.

I decided to try the Cranberry-Chile Dipping Sauce mostly because its autumn and I can get as many bags of cranberries as my heart desires right now. I thought this would make a great accompaniment to the cutlets. Turns out it was a fantastic sauce to drizzle on our steamed green beans. I think this sauce will be a big hit at Thanksgiving.

Miso-Tahini Dressing is something I make fairly regularly around here. Combining miso, tahini sauce, lemon juice and some hot water makes a strangely addicting dressing that is perfect for broccoli, potatoes, and other veggies. Sometimes I add some nutritional yeast just for fun, too. I liked that Veganomicon made a point to put this recipe in their salad section.

Now lets talk about the star of this meal shall we. Do you know what you’re having for dinner tomorrow night? Neither do I. But I suggest whatever you cook centers around this fabulous and easy dish. Potatoes that are soft and garlicy with a dark flavorful sauce that is punched up with lemon…these potatoes are where its at.

Lemony Potatoes from Veganomicon

2 1/2 lbs Russet potatoes (medium to small potatoes work best)
1/3 C olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 C vegetable broth
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1 tsp tomato paste
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the potatoes, slice in half lengthwise, and slice each half into wedges no more then 3/4″ thick.

In a large, deep baking pan or casserole dish (at least 10 17-inches or bigger), combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, vegetable broth, oregano, salt, and tomato paste. Add the peeled, sliced potatoes. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and toss the potatoes to cover with the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with foil (or use lid of casserole dish), place in the oven, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the potatoes are almost done. Several times during the baking process, remove the pan from the oven, uncover, stir the potatoes, place the cover back, and return the pan to the oven.

Uncover the pan one last time, stir the potatoes again, and bake, uncovered, for an additional 15-20 minutes, until most of the sauce has evaporated and some of the potatoes have just started to brown on their edges. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and/or more dried oregano before serving.

Notes: I did not peel the potatoes (lazy) and only stirred them once. I did uncover the baking dish and let them finish in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minuets at the end.