Roasted potatoes w/garlic-cumin aioli

I love breakfast potatoes. (Though I’ve told the story before, I’ll remind you again that I’ve even sleep-talked about them.) Hash browns, O’Briens, home fries—any non-mashed spud served in the A.M. is a winner with me.

That said, they certainly don’t have to be served only in the morning. Inspired by a dinner at La Bodega, a KC tapas restaurant at which I have only had the pleasure to eat once (so far), I cooked up the roasted potatoes from Vegan Brunch and topped them with a made-up-on-the-spot aioli tinged with cumin and garlic. The restaurant meal was so good that even I, a mayo-hater, fell in love, and my homemade version totally lived up to the original.

For the potatoes:
2 1/2 lbs. yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste

For the aioli:
6 Tbsp Vegenaise
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic paste (or 1 garlic clove, minced)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste



Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line an 11x17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease with cooking spray). Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Place on the baking sheet and drizzle with the oil. Use your hands to toss and coat the potatoes in the oil, then sprinkle with salt.



Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove and flip the taters with a spatula (no need to be perfect, just get most of them turned over).



Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes, till lightly but thoroughly browned outside. Season with black pepper and additional salt to taste.



Meanwhile, make the aioli.



In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Easy! Add a teaspoon or two of water to thin it out if you want.



Serve the potatoes hot, drizzled with the aioli. The spice and zing of the sauce plays perfectly off the earthy potatoes. Now that’s what I call breakfast (or lunch, or dinner)!



Yield: 6 servings. Per serving: 270 calories, 13.8g fat (1g sat), 29.7g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 4.7g protein.

If you like this, you might also like…
Roasted potato wraps w/black bean hummus
Chickpea lentil slow-cooker stew
Curried tempeh-mango salad

Roasted potato wraps w/black bean hummus

I'd had this recipe from the Whole Foods site, for black bean "hummus," bookmarked for quite awhile. When I came across this other recipe in Vegetarian Times, for potato tacos, the hummus immediately came to mind. I put my own spin on the "tacos," but the hummus recipe was excellent already. I knew those two would marry perfectly, and they did! Without further ado, I present to you the happy couple.

For the wraps:
2 large potatoes, scrubbed, peeled if desired
1T olive oil
1 tsp salt
1T canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2T chopped cilantro
2 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
4 whole wheat flour tortillas, warmed
Salsa, for serving

For the hummus:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2T olive oil
2T warm water
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup cilantro
Salt to taste

First, you’ll want to get your potatoes going. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Chop the potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle on the olive oil, sprinkle on the salt, and toss to combine. (I lined my baking sheet with foil, but I actually don’t recommend it; there was a lot of “stickage,” despite the oil.)



Roast for 20-25 minutes. Take them out every 6-8 minutes and stir them around so that they brown on all sides. Set aside when done.

While those are cooking, make the hummus. Combine all ingredients except cilantro and salt in a food processor. I threw in a couple slices of pickled jalapeño too; you can improvise however you want.



Pulse a few times to combine, then process until smooth. Scrape down the sides and add the cilantro.



Pulse 10-15 times to combine. Scrape down the sides again and give it a taste. Season with salt to taste, and process one more time, for about 10 seconds. Transfer the hummus to a bowl. Have some tortilla chips handy so you can snack on it as you’re preparing the wraps.



Heat the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and green pepper and cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and cayenne and cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.



Add the potatoes and toss to coat and heat through. Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.



Now for the assembly: place a tortilla on a plate and spread on a big glop of the hummus.



Pile 1/4 of the potato mixture on top. (You can also add any taco-type fillings you like, be it lettuce, [soy] cheese, chopped tomatoes, etc.)



Fold in the sides of the tortilla, roll it up, and place seam side-down on the plate. Spoon salsa generously on top.



If you've never had potatoes in Mexican food, you are missing out! These wraps are irresistible, and they made a great lunch the rest of the week.



Yield: 4 wraps. Per wrap (without hummus): 219 calories, 9g fat (1g sat), 36g carbs, 11g fiber, 8g protein.
Per 1/4 cup hummus: 127 calories, 7.5g fat (.5g sat), 10.5g carbs, 3.8g fiber, 5.3g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Black bean-avocado enchiladas
Chilaquiles casserole

Chickpea lentil slow-cooker stew

"Now you post a slow-cooker recipe?" I know, it’s late April (already, jeez) and the days are finally sunny and warmer again. But in KC we’re still waking up to some 40-degree mornings, so this isn’t completely out of place. I rarely use my slow cooker, which is really a shame. The problem is that since I work 9-5, in general I can only make recipes that cook for 8-10 hours, as opposed to shorter durations. Besides this limitation, I also don’t tend to plan far enough ahead to prep the night before. But when I spotted this recipe in a Whole Foods email newsletter, it sounded too perfect to pass up. Chickpeas and lentils with Indian flavors? It was made for me, I tell you. I removed the olives, added more spices, and bulked it up with potatoes and diced tomatoes to make it even better.

2T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 poblano peppers, diced
1T garlic paste (or 4 cloves garlic, minced)
2 tsp ginger paste (or minced fresh ginger)
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup red lentils (masoor dal)
14-oz. can diced tomatoes w/green chiles
28-oz. can tomato purée
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro, optional

The night before...
As you chop your vegetables, get some basmati rice going. (It's not a required accompaniment, since it is more of a stew than a curry, but I liked having some rice to go with it.) Let cool and refrigerate when done. Sauté the onion in the oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and sauté for another 2 minutes or so. Add the garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, and turmeric...



...and stir to combine. Add the potato and sesame seeds, stir again to combine, and remove from the heat. Let cool, then transfer to a container and refrigerate.



Go ahead and set out your lentils and cans of chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato purée, and vegetable broth so it’s all ready to go the next morning. If you don’t have canned broth, dissolve a veggie bouillon cube in 2 cups hot water, let cool, then refrigerate.



The morning of...
Mist the bowl of your slow cooker with cooking spray, or use a slow cooker liner for easy cleanup. Combine the vegetable mixture, chickpeas, lentils, tomatoes, tomato purée, and vegetable broth in the bowl. Cover and set to cook on low. If your slow cooker has settings like mine that allow you to select the number of hours you want, you can set it for either 8 or 10, depending on when you want to eat.



8-10 hours later...
When you get home from work (or get back from doing whatever you did all day), stir the yogurt into the stew. Cook on low for 15 more minutes as you reheat your rice. The yogurt adds just the slightest hint of creaminess.



Season with salt to taste, then ladle the stew into a bowl, top with a bit of rice, sprinkle with cilantro if you’ve got it, and serve.



The lentils dissolve almost completely, acting as a natural thickener. The tender chickpeas and potatoes play off each other perfectly against the mild sweetness of the tomato, and the sesame seeds add a nice, unexpected little crunch. It was hearty and filling—a delicious meal to come home to (and to eat for lunch all week).



Yield: 8 servings. Per serving: 311 calories, 7.4g fat (1.1g sat), 52.8g carbs, 9.2g fiber, 12.3g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Creamy chickpea soup
Three-bean vegan chili
White bean garlic soup