Broccoli Rising and Come to Papa
We say potatoes. The Irish say práta. The Japanese say imo. The French, bless their poetic hearts, say pommes de terre — apples of the Earth. The Spanish say papa. So for Father’s Day, “Let the sky rain potatoes!”
Getting pelted by potatoes sounds painful, but the line is delivered by an ecstatic Falstaff in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. He’s actually talking about sweet potatoes, which were relatively new to England in Shakespeare’s day. People considered them aphrodisiacs, turn-ons. Now more people get turned on by Yukon golds, russets, Idaho® potatoes (yes, they’re actually copyrighted), fingerlings and the other 200 varieties of potato. Most Americans eat 125 pounds of potatoes each year.
I’m not one of them. But my husband is. He loves potatoes. He’s in the right place. Sure, Florida grows oranges and mangoes and such, but we also grow potatoes, lots of them. I respect that, and I respect potatoes for the way they stretch a budget, offer versatility, and add substance and satiety (that’s the happy full-belly feeling) to dishes. They can be bit players in soups and stews like this one from The Veggie Queen Jill Nussinow, or stars in dishes like Bubble and Squeak or that summer must-have, potato salad. You can’t make potato salad without them.
Chef Taffy Elrod includes a classic potato salad recipe in The Juneteenth Cookbook: Recipes and Activities for Kids and Families to Celebrate, This potato salad is easy, quick, and portable, perfect for a Juneteenth celebration. Make it with your kids for a Juneteenth cookout. Watch my Broccoli Rising chat with Taffy here:
What’s in your family’s potato salad recipe? Is it tangy with vinegar? Creamy with mayonnaise? Mustard? Paprika? Celery? Pickles? Dill? Peel your potatoes or leave them skin-on?
While there’s something about potato salad that feels all-American, the whole world loves potatoes:
There’s German potato salad,
Spanish potato salad, confusingly called ensalada rusa (Russian salad),
even Japanese potato salad.
And then there’s French potato salad. Hell, even I’ll eat a potato if it’s dressed with a chic Dijon vinaigrette.
Remember how I said potatoes don’t mind being a bit player? I riff on David Tanis’s French potato salad recipe and build it into a vegan Salade Niçoise. It’s a dazzle of flavors and colors with all the beachy vibe of the Riviera minus the traditional anchovy, tuna, and egg.
Nice for a Pride picnic. Or a Father’s Day picnic. Or a Juneteenth picnic. With so much to celebrate, let the sky rain potatoes.
Vegan Salade Niçoise
1 to 1-1/2 pounds new potatoes or regular potatoes, sliced into 2-inch cubes
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 pound green beans, rinsed, trimmed and, if you’re feeling fancy, Frenched*
1/4 cup kalamata or Niçoise olives
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons balsamic or sherry vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups fresh tender greens, such as lamb’s lettuce, spinach or arugula
1 teaspoon tarragon leaves, minced **
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Fill a good-sized saucepan about halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Carefully add your potatoes trying to avoid splashes. Make sure there’s enough water to cover. Bring back to boil, then cover, reduce heat to medium-high and let the potatoes simmer until you can pierce easily with a fork or knife — about 15 minutes.
As the potatoes cook, make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon and vinegar to combine. Continue whisking as you slowly pour in olive oil.
As soon as the potatoes are tender, drain well, blot dry, and then toss them in about half of the vinaigrette so they soak up the flavors. Season generously with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Set aside to cool. Or, you can cover and refrigerate overnight.
In a separate pot, boil a generous amount of water, then add green beans. Cook uncovered just so they’re al dente and still bright green, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain beans, blot dry, and allow t cool slightly.
To assemble, mound your favorite fresh summer greens in a bowl or on a platter. Spoon potatoes top, leaving room for
green beans, ducks
inky Niçoise olives
sweet, ripe grape tomatoes
Top with a spoonful of briny capers. Gild with the remaining dressing finish with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt like Maldon, a good grind of black pepper and chopped tarragon. Serve it up with a chilled rosé.
*Frenching green beans means slicing them horizontally, so they’re extra slender and their inner beans are exposed. I’ve heard you can do this by laying them horizontally in a food processor feed tube and running them through the slicer blade, but I just use a chef’s knife.
**The tarragon in my garden was toast. I substituted a teaspoon ground fennel seeds — worked like a charm.
Broccoli Confidential subscribers, I’ve got not one but two exclusive potato recipes for you. Both give potatoes a solo turn, both have Latin flavor and flair. They’re some punchy papas.
Giving potatoes a few minutes boiling time before roasting or grilling means potatoes get crispy on the outside, but stay fluffy on the inside. Then roast them in the oven or make them on the grill (dads love that).