Vegetables Archives - Good Food St. Louis

A Healthier Fry

When I was a kid I ate potatoes every day in one form or another: baked, fried, mashed, scalloped or slaked in mayonnaise. Now I’ve greatly reduced my spud intake.

When I have a hankering for French fries I make Roasted Turmeric Potatoes, which are far healthier than the fries you get from a drive-thru window.

If you’re eating your fries at a fast-food place, you might note what’s in them. McDonald’s French fries have 19 ingredients (many of them unpronounceable); Five Guys with Fries has only three. Interestingly, the fries that McDonald sells in the UK contain only 5 ingredients. But I digress.

Years ago, I brought home a good supply of turmeric from this Istanbul street market and have used it generously. But it’s all gone now, so I buy locally.

Oh, the Goodness

Yes, I’ve become a big fan of the yellow, powdery spice, what nutritionists call the “super food.” If you and your family like French fries, it’s worth making a healthier and tastier version at home. The “fries” in this recipe are roasted and benefit from the spice long esteemed for its healing properties.

Incredibly Healthy

Turmeric also gives a pleasant color to foods—but an unpleasant stain if dropped on clothing. Happily, it acts as an anti-inflammatory, combats Alzheimer’s disease, and aids in digestion, joint health, and cholesterol control.

“Incredibly healthy,” is the way nutritionist Jonny Bowden describes turmeric, his favorite spice. Turmeric can be added to scrambled egg or egg salad, tossed with roasted veggies, sprinkled on popcorn, added to rice, curries, stir-fry, veggie burgers, and soups.

Oven-baked French fries with turmeric.

Roasted Turmeric Potatoes

(Serves 2, but can be expanded easily to serve more.)

Ingredients:

1 pound golden potatoes
2 tablespoons coconut oil, or olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated
a knob of ginger (about 1.5″ in size), peeled and grated—I use far less
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475F degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the potatoes vertically into eight wedges each (halve the potatoes vertically, halve those, and halve again). Or simply cut them in equal size cubes.

Toss in a bowl with coconut oil, grated garlic, grated ginger, chopped parsley, turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper. (You might want to use a glass or metal bowl, since turmeric stains easily.)

Spread mixture on prepared baking sheet, in single layer and bake 30 to 40 minutes, tossing potatoes with halfway through. Serve warm, adding additional salt, if needed. (Adapted from foodloveswriting)

Tomato Time

If you have a few extra tomatoes lingering about, by all means consider this Tomato Pie. The savory, summertime dish is a cousin of an Italian pizza, but with a few different ingredients.

Roma, Heirloom, or Beefsteak tomatoes are best to use since they have less moisture than other varieties. But most any tomato works. Just make sure they’re firm. Too ripe makes for moisture and that makes for a soggy crust.

As Easy as Pie

Peggy Carnahan baked this one shown in the photo above and considered the dish to be blog worthy. There are many variations of the old pie, but this one adapted from Southern Living is especially attractive, tasty, and easy to make, she says.

What’s more, Peggy shortened the time by using a frozen pie shell.

It all starts with some good tomatoes.

Tomato Pies come in many varieties

Tomato Pie
Ingredients:
Single pie crust, baked
2 1/4 lbs. thinly sliced tomatoes
1 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt, divided
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 Tbs. canola oil
1/2 cup assorted chopped herbs, (chives, basil, parsley)
1/2 cup freshly grated cheese (Gruyere or Mozzarella)
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tomatoes in a single layer on paper towels. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt and let stand 10 minutes.
Sauté onions in oil over medium heat, seasoned with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper, until tender.
Pat tomatoes dry with paper towel. Layer tomatoes, onions and herbs in prepared crust, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper.
Stir together mayonnaise and cheeses, Spread atop pie.
Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until lightly browned. Shield edges as needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is know not to put it in a fruit salad.” ~Brian O’Driscoll