I know, the title twice-baked potatoes seems all too familiar. We have favorite double or twice-baked foods: twice-baked potatoes, New York style cheesecake, Zwieback (zwei in German meaning two, and back[en] meaning to cook, similar to American Melba toast), Italian Biscotti, and even biscuits a word which comes from the “French derived from Latin bescuit—words bis (twice) and coquere (to cook).” Many ways of being twice-cooked.
My version of a twofold cooking process is similar, although the potatoes are made two ways (mashed and roasted) and partnered for a final dish. Believe me, the end result is unctuous and simple to achieve. Even better, it was a result of using partial left-overs.
East Village -Alphabet City
With the profusion of inexpensive food in America, large portions remain the staple in most restaurants and are well known as shocking and horrifying to any foreign visitor to this country. I remember living in the mid 1980’s in the gritty East Village (nicknamed the Haight-Ashbury of the east coast) when it was being rapidly gentrified for the newly named ‘yuppies,’ young and wealthy, upwardly-mobile professionals issuing from Reaganomics. Drug pushers, homeless people, squatters and punks were slowly ousted as a new culture of wine bars, restaurants, clubs, and artist studios, took hold creating a street life where contrast and contradictions were rapidly erased. At that time, the interior redesign of the famed 14th Street Palladium by architect Arata Isosaki became a must for disco fans, one of the many emblems of gentrification.
(Images left to right) Graffiti filled subway cars, East Village street, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andre Charles, Keith Haring and the famous murals at the Ukrainian diner Veselka
A new breed of street-as-gallery art spaces seeped into Alphabet City, hosting works by young avant garde artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat (a protégé of Andy Warhol), Andre Charles, and Keith Haring, all who were part of the new graffiti and tagging art movement. Their work reflected the decay and turmoil of New York, and focused on the “dichotomies such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience.” Embracing this new art scene, my roommate Michael and I also experienced the influx of Sushi restaurants in the neighborhood, and we became regular patrons at a local Avenue A bar because the food was inexpensive. They were also “America sized” and we nicknamed them TRUCKER Sushi; this was my first Asian super-sized food.
Retrospectively, those days of over-generous portions seem tame in comparison to today’s meal and beverage sizes that have increased to meet customer expectations. Dinner plates now measure 12 inches and the serving of ridiculous fast-food triple paddy hamburgers, over-large portions of bottomless fries, and supersize-me soft drinks remains a mindset that is out of control. America’s invention in the mid 1940s of the doggie bag is part of this obsession and quantities never get smaller with the exception of those served in fine-dining restaurants.
All this is to say that at home we have always tried to cook what we need to eat, but occasionally there are left overs. Case in point, when I needed to use potatoes that were beginning to soften, I decided to roast them and knew that there would be far too many for a dinner for two. Debating what to do, I was challenged to come up with two recipes, one that used the left overs in the simplest way, another that was more inventive. To use the roasted potatoes in a Spanish omelet seemed too easy, and overtly traditional, thus I came up with the unconventional idea by creating a dish with two different types of potatoes. The idea seemed tempting and had a je ne sais quoi that intrigued me. The following ingredients, cooking methods, and sequencing are easy to replicate and are included below.
(left to right) Roasted potatoes, panko bread crumbs, grated parmesan and chopped fresh basil leaves
Roasted Potatoes
There are many ways to roast potatoes. The basic cooking technique that I use is to cut the potatoes into smaller pieces (half-inch sizes) without much thought about their final shape. Alternativley you may slice them to the thickness of your choice. When cut, I toss the potatoes in a shallow bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Kosher salt. Then they go on a baking pan and into a preheated 400 Fahrenheit oven. Toss occasionally and monitor until they turn nicely golden (15 to 20 minutes depending on the size).
I have prepared this recipe twice and favor both potato shapes. However, for a more robust texture I prefer cut potatoes but for an aesthetic showcase piece—without losing flavor, the sliced potatoes are very attractive and are featured in the photographs below.
Mashed potatoes
While the roasted potatoes are cooking, I prepared the mashed potatoes according to the package’s instructions, but added additional milk to make them slightly more liquid than usual. For either dish, you can fold chopped basil directly into the mashed potatoes or simply sprinkle it on top prior to laying the roasted potatoes over the mashed potatoes.
(left to right) mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes in the form of a flower, final dish with red and yellow sweet peppers
Assembly
When both potato types are ready (mashed potatoes and roasted potatoes), it is times to assemble the dish. I like to use individual ramekins to create a more personalized dish for each plate. I butter or spray the bottom of the ramekin, sprinkling them with panko bread crumbs (or normal bread crumbs), add grated Parmesan and chopped basil leaves. I then fill with the mashed potatoes until just shy of the rim of the baking dish. This will allow room to vertically set the roasted potatoes at the dish’s periphery overlapping them slightly to create the illusion of flower petals. Finally, I add some crumbled feta or any cheese that you have on hand. Bake no longer than 5-7 minutes as the dish is already cooked. Timing is simply to reheat the dish thoroughly and melt the cheese.
While the dish is baking, dice a quarter of a red and yellow pepper and saute in a little butter or olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium low heat until the vegetables are slightly caramelized but still have a crunch to them. In Italian one would say Al dente! When the peppers are cooked to your taste, and ramekin dish removed from the oven, simply spoon the peppers in the center of the dish and add a basil leaf, dill, or fennel leaf. The remaining uncooked portion of the peppers may be used the next days in a salad—leftovers seem to be the gift that keeps giving.
Choose your protein and complement the dish with a simple tomato salad and you have created an easy, flavorful, and inexpensive meal. The images below include left over pork loin and onion confit but any meat or salad combine to make the dish a home staple. In a true hurry and have young hungry children waiting? Use crushed potato chips on top of mashed potatoes! Be inventive, use what’s in your pantry or left overs from the fridge, and most of all have fun. Bon Appetit!