Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

Last Sunday I realized that I (gulp) hadn't made a potato salad yet this summer!  What is wrong with me?  I've made all sorts of grainy/beany/vegetable-y/fruity salads this summer, but no potato salads.  I needed to take something to a potluck meeting the next day (and DH needed something portable to bring for lunch)-- potato salad would be just the thing, I thought.  So,while we were walking our new doggy resident, Pheobe (see picture below), through the winding, up-and-down path in the woods, I was devising a new potato salad in my head.  I wanted it to be a-meal-in-itself, not too high in fat, to be lemony and have some Greek components, including something with a pleasant crunch (I thought that fennel would work well here, with it's pleasant anise-like fragrance).  As soon as we got home, I set to work on it with what I had in the house, scribbling down ingredients, measurements and instructions as I went.


Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S LEMONY GREEK-INFLUENCED POTATO SALAD WITH ARTICHOKES, WHITE BEANS, OLIVES AND FENNEL 
Serves 12 (approximately)

Fennel bulbs

4 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes
1/4 cup dry white wine OR dry white vermouth
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups coarsely chopped fennel bulb
One 19 oz. can white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups sliced marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup whole pitted kalamata olives (smallish ones)
1/2 cup chopped green onion bottoms or chives
4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill weed OR 1 tablespoon dried
handful of chopped fresh Italian parsley
Lemon Salad Dressing (see below)
1 cup vegan mayonnaise (preferably reduced-fat) OR my homemade low-fat vegan mayo (hemp version here and new VEGG [yolk substitute] version here)  OR Tofu Mayonnaise
freshly-ground black pepper to taste
grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
Lemon Salad Dressing:
1/3 cup aquafaba or Oil Substitute for Salad Dressings
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 small clove garlic, crushed

Scrub the potatoes, but don't peel.  Cut into 3/4" chunks (more or less) and steam, pressure-steam or micro-steam them until just tender-- not mushy.  (Pressure-steaming or micro-steaming are the most energy-efficient [and nutrient-saving] methods, BTW.  Regular steaming is preferable to boiling because it conserves nutrition and uses less water, and.thus, less energy to heat up the water.)  Place the potatoes in a colander rinse briefly and let drain.

When well-drained, place the potatoes in a large bowl and toss with the wine and salt.  Add the fennel, beans, artichoke hearts, olives, green onions, dill and parsley, and toss gently.

Mix up the Lemon Salad Dressing and toss it with the salad.  Then fold in the mayonnaise, mixing evenly.  Taste for salt and add a liberal grinding of pepper and the zest and juice of the lemon.  Mix well.

It's best to let this sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving, so that the potatoes soak up some of the flavorful dressing.

Nutrition Facts (calculated using Reduced-Fat Vegenaise-- it would be lower in fat and calories if you use my lowfat vegan mayo, or the Tofu Mayonnaise, and slightly lower if you use the Spectrum reduced-fat mayo)

Nutrition (per serving): 417.9 calories; 28% calories from fat; 14.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 772.1mg sodium; 1648.2mg potassium; 62.0g carbohydrates; 12.6g fiber; 1.4g sugar; 49.4g net carbs; 14.8g protein; 8.7 points.

Enjoy!

I'm crazy for artichokes. I grew up in California and in May, artichoke season, my mother would often just cook a platter of artichokes for dinner and we would just eat artichokes until we were full! We dipped the "meaty" part of the leaves and hearts (after scraping the "fuzz" away with the side of a spoon) in melted butter if they were hot, or mayonnaise if they were cold-- nothing fancy. By the time we were all satisfied, each of us would have a heaping bowl of artichoke leaves, scraped clean by our teeth, beside our plate. Heaven!

Yesterday I was admiring my jar of Kirkland Artichoke Hearts (PS: they have water-packed ones, too):



I had purchased two 65 oz. jars last time I made one of my very infrequent trips to Costco. They are so good--the marinade is delicious(not overly-acidic), and there are halves and quarters, nice and plump. I was trying to figure out a dinner to use up some things, a fennel bulb among them. So I came up with the following, in which I could make use of some of those nice marinated artichoke hearts that I was craving. We loved sopping up the tart juices with crusty bread!



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S ARTICHOKE, POTATO, AND FENNEL STEW

1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
32 marinated artichoke heart quarters in oil (or 16 halves), rinsed and drained
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and diced
1/2 lb small red, white or yellow potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges
1 Tbs flour
1 spring fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 cups vegetarian "chicken-style" broth (or use my homemade broth powder)
1/2 lemon, sliced (with peel)
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a small stew pot. Add the onions and garlic and stir-fry until the onions wilt. Add the artichoke hearts, fennel and potatoes, and stir-fry briefly. Sprinkle with the flour and stir. Add the herbs, and then stir in the broth. Add the lemon slices.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lemon slices and cook 30 minutes more, or until the potatoes are tender. Taste for salt and pepper.

Serve with crusty bread.

Servings: 3

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 198.9 calories; 21% calories from fat; 5.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 127.2mg sodium; 1126.4mg potassium; 37.4g carbohydrates; 9.7g fiber; 1.8g sugar; 27.7g net carbs; 6.4g protein; 3.6 points.

Enjoy!

Not really a recipe-- just a guide!

The original of this recipe is from Susan V's wonderful blog, Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. I've been wanting to try it since it was posted, but had to go shopping first. Susan used fingerling potatoes, but I couldn't find any, so I used those little baby nugget potatoes, the yellow ones.

I changed the recipe a somewhat, mostly in the cooking method. I used 1 lb. of nugget potatoes and 1 large fennel root (you could use celery root, or even celery) which I cut into chunks. I had half a large onion in the fridge, so I diced that up. I mixed everything in a shallow pan with the 1 cup broth Susan called for, and I roasted it in a 500 degree F oven for about 20 minutes, instead of braising it like Susan did. The broth cooked off and everything was starting to brown. I stirred it up gently, sprinkled it with some coarse salt that my daughter brought me from Mexico, and some freshly-ground pepper, and put the pan under the broiler for a few minutes, just to get a bit of a charred thing going-- not too much.

It was delicious, and totally fat-free. Thanks, Susan!

Enjoy!