Photo by John D. Ivanko/farmsteadchef.com |
This week marks the annual seasonal potato ritual here at Inn Serendipity: We’re planting new potatoes while we eat through the remainder of last year’s spuds. This year’s potato crop includes Red Pontiacs for the early summer harvest—come July, we’ll be savoring them our favorite way: with just a dash of butter and dill. However, the bulk of our crop will be Yukon Gold, a very versatile potato that stores well. Moist and sweet inside, Yukon Golds are fabulous for baking and good for frying.
But back to those lingering spuds in the root cellar. The last Yukon Golds from the fall crop look a little forlorn and worn, shriveled and starting to sprout. They taste fine, but we find they need a dash of dressing up to get them back to their fall-harvest presentation glory.
These Herbed Potato Nests are a simple spring favorite, as their basket shape looks like something you’d see at a swanky cocktail party. Readily adaptable, these baskets can be used as a mini serving plate and filled with anything that would go well with potatoes—which, of course, is just about anything! Feel free to experiment with different herbs as well.
Some of our favorites nest fillings include:
- a dollop of homemade faux Boursin cheese
- scrambled eggs with spinach for a twist on the quiche
- browned ground beef
- chopped tomatoes with a little melted cheddar for pizza-style nests
- a dollop of barbecue sauce, ketchup, chutney or sour cream
- A sprinkle of feta cheese and a chopped olive
While the potato nests taste fine at room temperature, you can also reheat them right before serving, once you’ve added the filling. The recipe also works well baked in mini-muffin tins. Be sure to heavily oil the tins to ensure the potato doesn’t stick.
Recipe: Herbed Potato Nests
Ingredients
- 4 cups peeled, grated potatoes and squeezed dry
- 2 eggs whites, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. dill
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix potatoes, egg whites, salt and dill.
Heavily oil a 12-muffin pan, making sure to rub oil up the sides of each tin. Place about 1/4 cup of the potato mixture into each muffin pan. Press the potato mixture evenly up the sides of the muffin pan to form a little nest.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool for 5 minutes and remove from pans.
Get more potato recipes from HobbyFarms.com:
- Celeriac Mashed Potatoes
- Summer Potato Salad with Black Garlic
- Potato Ham Spanish Tortilla
- Potato Ramp Tart
- Healthy Potato-skin Bar
Savoring the good life,
