Pommes Anna & Quinoa Salad
We all know the French are stunning cooks - but how? Two things: simplicity and variety. They keep their dishes super simple and regularly vary what they eat. In this dish I combine those two concepts, using a base of ‘Pommes Anna’, a french dish of layered potato slices cooked in butter, with a hearty salad on top. I’m sure I don’t need to do any convincing on this one.
Song suggestions:
Loco In Acapulco - Four Tops
Lights Up - Harry Styles
Note: this recipe can also be done with sweet potatoes. If choosing to do so, swap the butter for olive oil and keep the rest of the procedure the same. It may take a little less olive oil than stated to bake the sweet potato.
Ingredients:
4 white potatoes (size reference below)
1.5 tbsp butter
2 large handfuls of salad
4 tbsp quinoa
1/2 tin haricot beans
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 small tin sweetcorn
1 large handful cherry tomatoes
The juice of 1/2 lime
Recipe:
Peel the potatoes. Slice them really thinly - not so thin they’re super flimsy and might rip, but you should still be able to bend them/almost see through them (1-2 mm’s thick should do it).
In a lined, circular baking tray, lay the potatoes in a circular fashion, starting from the outside and working inwards (video below).
Place the butter in the microwave for a couple seconds to melt. Using a brush, brush the melted butter on top of the potatoes once finished. Any leftover butter, drizzle over the top and spread evenly using your brush.
Baking time will depend on the number of layers you will have chosen to do, but normally for about 3 layers of potatoes it will take 20/25 minutes at 180°C. Stick a knife in it to check whether they’re done - they should be really soft.
Whilst the potatoes bake, prepare your salad: cook the quinoa, finely dice the pepper and the cherry tomatoes, and rinse the beans and sweetcorn clean from their cans. Mix everything together and toss with a generous squeeze of lime juice.
Top tips for cooking quinoa: you can tell it’s done once there are little tails shooting out everywhere. Drain and run under cold water. Drain again if necessary. Fluff up using a fork.
Once the potatoes are cooked, tip them out gently onto a plate or serving board. Add a serving of salad to the top and set the rest aside in a bowl for anyone that might want to reach for some more as they eat.
A Bite Out of Life
In previous food stories throughout this blog, I’ve spoken about the importance of sharing food - now what happens when good company meets good food? A night to remember - one as part of my final year university house, from our themed house nights. We’ve already seen Polish night here. This night saw Portuguese night! Here’s a little insight into how it looked and went…
enjoy food, enjoy life.
