Topsy-Turvy

Topsy-Turvy: adv.: 1, in utter confusion or disorder; 2, with the top or head downward; upside down. adj.: totally disordered.

Probably ultimately from tops + terve, obsolete English, to turn upside down.

Date: 1528

Some of you might have noticed that I didn’t post in my assigned order two weeks ago; Janetta graciously stepped into the gap because I was having one of those weeks—actually, if truth be told, a number of challenging weeks in relentlessly rapid succession. Midyear grading segued seamlessly into myriad other teacherly duties and motherly chores; things came up, added up, blew up. My life was a bit of a muddle. In short, things felt topsy-turvy.

But I’m back, all is well, and I’m dedicating this post to the concept of topsy-turvyness. Let’s embrace the idea of turning things upside down—inversions are great in yoga class; why not in the kitchen? Thus, I’m giving you a recipe for a potato cake that requires you to flip it to serve it. (The technique is also used in cooking things like Chinese fried noodle cakes.) A word to the wise: flipping is certainly not rocket science, but if you have not flipped a potato cake or some such thing, doing so merits a steady hand and a bit of concentration, if not practice. (My first time flipping a potato cake, it slithered to the floor, victim of a brief lapse in my attention as I looked away oh-so-quickly to talk to my dog. I feel sure that you will suffer no such fate, having been warned.)

This potato cake works beautifully as a delicious but rather demure side dish, complementing a variety of foods; but I’m suggesting that, accorded its own garnishes, it can and should shine as a main dish in its own right. My inspiration? One of the courses Joe and I recently enjoyed as part of the very fine vegetarian tasting menu at Ten Tables in Cambridge: a potato gratin nestled on a thick pool of, I believe, Romesco sauce, and garnished with pickled red onions and some greens on the side. The combination of textures and flavors proved exciting, colorful, and very tasty. (Alas, no pictures of the plate at Ten Tables; it was far too romantically dark to get a good shot.)

Thus, I am including recipes for Romesco sauce and pickled onions, as well. You can add greens prepared any way you like. Fresh watercress (especially red, my new favorite, bought at Wilson Farm), or cooked spinach, broccoli rabe, or chard would all be nice. I’d probably go with a classic Spanish preparation of spinach sautéed in a bit of olive oil, with garlic, pine nuts, and raisins. To round out the meal, you could serve a salad, a cheese course with bread, or perhaps some crostini spread with mashed cannellini, olive oil, garlic, and herbs.

I could go on a bit more, but as things are, if not topsy-turvy, still quite busy, I'll keep this post short and sweet—and, as it were, savory. Enjoy!

Gâteau de Pommes de Terre L’Ami Louis

(L’Ami Louis’s Potato Cake)

Adapted from Patricia Wells’s Bistro Cooking. Wells notes, “this is the late Antoine Magnin’s famous potato cake” from the Paris bistro L’Ami Louis. At the bistro, the potatoes are fried in goose fat. Wells suggests poultry fat or butter; I stick to butter.

3 T unsalted butter

2 lbs baking potatoes, such as russets, peeled and very thinly sliced

Salt

1 T (1/2 oz) unsalted butter

3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

3 T coarsely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Melt the 3 T butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and season with salt. Sauté, partially covered, tossing the potatoes from time to time until most of the potatoes are partially browned on both sides, about 25 minutes. Reduce the heat, if necessary, to avoid burning the potatoes.

3. Using a large, slotted spatula, transfer the browned potato slices to a 9-inch round, nonstick, oven-proof skillet. Press the potatoes firmly and evenly into the pan. Bake, uncovered, until the potatoes are crisp and golden, about 20 minutes.

4. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and rub the butter around the edges of the pan, letting it melt down into the inside rim of the pan.

5. Now comes The Flip: Place a large plate on top of the pan and invert both skillet and plate to unmold the potato cake. (Whether the potatoes unmold into a firm cake or a looser cake will depend upon the firmness and freshness of the potatoes used.)

6. Scatter garlic and parsley on top of cake. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Romesco Sauce

Adapted from Penelope Casas’ Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain

1 large ripe tomato (or you can substitute 2 to 3 Muir Glen canned fire-roasted tomatoes, in which case you need roast only the garlic)

5 cloves garlic, peeled

1 dried sweet red pepper (such as “New Mexico” style)

½ dried red chili pepper, seeded, or ¼ t crushed red pepper

½ c water

3 T plus 1 t red wine vinegar

½ c plus 1 T olive oil

A ¼-in slice of crusty bread

10 blanched almonds

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Roast the tomato and garlic in an ungreased roasting pan at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Place the dried red pepper and chili pepper in a saucepan with the water and 3 T of the vinegar. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. (If using pepper flakes, add them later to the food processor.)

Heat 1 T of the oil in a small skillet and fry the bread until golden on both sides. Transfer to a food processor or blender. In the same oil fry the almonds until golden and add to the processor, along with the boiled red peppers (if using crushed red pepper, add here), garlic, and tomato. With the motor running, pour in gradually the remaining ½ c of oil, the remaining t of vinegar, salt, and pepper. Strain, taste for salt, place in a serving bowl, and keep at room temperature.

Sauce can be made a day in advance.

Pickled Onions

From Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

(Great in sandwiches, salads, and pastas, and as a garnish for any number of dishes.)

1 lb. red onions, peeled but left whole

1 ½ c white wine vinegar

2 bay leaves

4 marjoram or thyme branches

several small dried red chiles, optional

1 T sugar

1 t black or mixed peppercorns, bruised

Salt

Bring a teakettle of water to a boil. Slice the onions crosswise, ¼ in thick or thicker. Separate the rings and put them in a colander, then pour the boiling water over them. Mix the other ingredients plus 1 ½ c cold water and several pinches salt in a large bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the onions, submerging them in the liquid by placing a plate on top. If there isn’t enough liquid, add equal amounts of vinegar and water. The color will begin to develop in about 15 minutes. You can use the onions then or chill them first. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator. (They keep for weeks in the fridge, but will lose some of their crunch over time.)

***

What to serve for dessert? The clever among you will no doubt think, of course, of pineapple upside down cake. But no: I have one more trick up my sleeve—a pineapple dessert, yes, but an unusual, and unusually effortless, one. Joe introduced me to it; he’d had it the week before at our friend M’s house. It’s so simple that no formal recipe or measuring is really necessary. But, in the interests of giving credit where it is due, I tracked down its origins; it apparently appears in Mario Batali’s book on Spanish cuisine based on the TV show he did with Gwyneth Paltrow. Served this way, pineapple tastes like itself, only gussied up in an interesting way. It is sweet and sour, with the mysteriously dark sweetness of molasses added to the mix, and simplicity itself—and thus, good to whip up when you’re having one of those topsy-turvy weeks.

Pineapple, gussied up, for our friend Annie's New Year's Open House

Pineapple with Lime Zest and Molasses

From Mario Batali's (with Gwyneth Paltrow), Spain… A Culinary Road Trip

1 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized pieces

Grated zest of 1 lime

3 T robust molasses

Put the pineapple on a plate, sprinkle it with the zest, and drizzle with the molasses.