Is it wrong of me to compose two posts in a row which use potatoes as the principle constituent of the dish in question? It's the Jersey Royal season, so it's hard for me to not eat them constantly. Embrace seasonality and fill your belly with as many of these velvety spuds as you can, I tell you!
You know those indecisive days, the ones where you crave a selection of foods for dinner? Yesterday was one of those days. A bag of creamy jerseys sat on my countertop and sacks of leafy spinach were hidden away in my fridge, plus I was determined to use some of the Daiya I smuggled back from the states. Oh, and there had to be cumin involved, but curry wasn't going to fit the bill. I quite fancied some corn too.
I had to let my itch for ice cream go. No one's that good.
Recipe Notes
Perfect if you're having guests around, try making these in individual oven proof dishes to maintain the layers when serving. If you can find some then I recommend topping them with a mix of Daiya cheeses, not just for visual effect, but for taste. Sadly Daiya isn't yet available in the UK, but any meltable mozzarella substitute should work. I imagine a mix of that and the orange tofutti slices, despite sounding a bit naff, would be pretty awesome (they taste somewhat similar to the Daiya cheddar style shreds and melt well).
Anyhow, if you're looking for recipes with new potatoes and spinach, you're in the right place.
Southwestern Style New Potatoes on a Bed of Lightly Salted Spinach
- Directions/Method
- If you're planning to melt some extra cheese on top, preheat the oven to 200° (or stick the grill on- that's broiler to Americans I think). Otherwise there's no need to turn the oven on.
- Boil the potatoes until done, drain, and then cut them into bite sized chunks.
- While the potatoes are boiling, place the spinach in a large saucepan with a tablespoon or two of water. To ensure ensure all the spinach leaves are coated with water, stir occasionally. If you don't have that large of a pan, just add the spinach in a handful at a time each time the preceeding addition cooks down. Once the spinach is just cooked and wilted, remove from the heat and press as much water out as you can.
- Heat a bit of oil in a large pan or wok on a fairly high heat and fry the onion for a couple of minutes, until transparent and lightly browned. Add the corn, oregano, cumin, half of the salt, plus the garlic, and fry another minute or two. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice and liquid smoke.
- To put the dish together, layer the spinach on the bottom of an oven proof dish (only if you're using cheese; otherwise layer this baby up on your dinner plates) and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Top this with the new potatoes and a few healthy dollops of that creamy vegan butter sub before spooning that corn and onion mix on top (the spring onions, too, if you're not laying some cheez down first). If you're using the vegan cheese then chuck a few handfuls of that on, along with your spring onions. Bake for just ten minutes or so, enough time for the cheese to melt.