Recipe: Curried Potatoes, Parsnips, and Wild Ramps
Based on Penzeys Spices' Spiced Potato Salad recipe, modified to a) be vegan, and b) use ingredients from our first CSA delivery! Did I mention we got our first CSA delivery! Squee!
No picture because I was too busy rushing to go to the potluck to take one. Le sigh.
I was wrong! There is a picture! Sort of. Way in the background.
Curried Potatoes, Parsnips, and Wild Ramps
2 lbs small red potatoes
1 parsnip (optional)
1 small bunch wild ramps*
1 TB brown mustard seed**
2 tsp curry powder or to taste
1 tsp garam masala or to taste
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 TB chopped, fresh cilantro
1/4 c. water
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1. Scrub potatoes and dig eyes out. Peel parsnip and chop into 2" chunks. Boil potatoes with skins on and parsnips until you can pierce potatoes with a fork, about 18-25 minutes depending on size. Meanwhile, mince white part and stems of wild ramps. Keep leaves separate and slice into strips. Mince cilantro. Drain potatoes, dump back into hot pan to "steam dry."
2. Add oil to very large skillet/pan. When hot, add brown mustard seed. Stir constantly until it begins to pop. Lower the heat. Add white parts and stems from wild ramps. Sautee, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
3. Add curry powder, garam masala, ginger, cilantro, and leaves of wild ramps. Stir everything together until coated. Note that the flavor and strength of curry powder and garam masala vary considerably depending on what you have, so you may want to increase this.
4. Add water, sugar, and salt. Cook about 1 minute to thicken.
5. Add potatoes, gently fold with other ingredients until potatoes are thoroughly colored and warmed through. Drizzle lightly with fake*** (or real!) butter.
Serve at whatever temperature pleases you.
* wild ramps substituted for onions and garlic. This could be reversed pretty easily, but I'd add some spinach or other green, too--the leaves did good things for the appearance and flavor.
** the only place we found this was at Penzeys, no doubt their fiendish intention.
*** It was annoyingly difficult to find a butterlike substance that did not involve milk products. Quite strange; I'd generally assumed that most margarines wouldn't, but that...really wasn't the case.
Notes: The most common question about this was, "So what the hell are wild ramps, anyway?" The answer is, "Tasty." Notes to self: This isn't very spicy. Next time, I think I'll double the garam masala and curry powder. Also, I don't like cilantro, so although it wasn't offensive in this dish, I might as well not have put it in. I'm sure it would only have gotten better.
No picture because I was too busy rushing to go to the potluck to take one. Le sigh.
I was wrong! There is a picture! Sort of. Way in the background.
Curried Potatoes, Parsnips, and Wild Ramps
2 lbs small red potatoes
1 parsnip (optional)
1 small bunch wild ramps*
1 TB brown mustard seed**
2 tsp curry powder or to taste
1 tsp garam masala or to taste
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 TB chopped, fresh cilantro
1/4 c. water
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1. Scrub potatoes and dig eyes out. Peel parsnip and chop into 2" chunks. Boil potatoes with skins on and parsnips until you can pierce potatoes with a fork, about 18-25 minutes depending on size. Meanwhile, mince white part and stems of wild ramps. Keep leaves separate and slice into strips. Mince cilantro. Drain potatoes, dump back into hot pan to "steam dry."
2. Add oil to very large skillet/pan. When hot, add brown mustard seed. Stir constantly until it begins to pop. Lower the heat. Add white parts and stems from wild ramps. Sautee, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
3. Add curry powder, garam masala, ginger, cilantro, and leaves of wild ramps. Stir everything together until coated. Note that the flavor and strength of curry powder and garam masala vary considerably depending on what you have, so you may want to increase this.
4. Add water, sugar, and salt. Cook about 1 minute to thicken.
5. Add potatoes, gently fold with other ingredients until potatoes are thoroughly colored and warmed through. Drizzle lightly with fake*** (or real!) butter.
Serve at whatever temperature pleases you.
* wild ramps substituted for onions and garlic. This could be reversed pretty easily, but I'd add some spinach or other green, too--the leaves did good things for the appearance and flavor.
** the only place we found this was at Penzeys, no doubt their fiendish intention.
*** It was annoyingly difficult to find a butterlike substance that did not involve milk products. Quite strange; I'd generally assumed that most margarines wouldn't, but that...really wasn't the case.
Notes: The most common question about this was, "So what the hell are wild ramps, anyway?" The answer is, "Tasty." Notes to self: This isn't very spicy. Next time, I think I'll double the garam masala and curry powder. Also, I don't like cilantro, so although it wasn't offensive in this dish, I might as well not have put it in. I'm sure it would only have gotten better.