Potato Skin Bruschetta

There is an Italian restaurant nearby that serves up some pretty awesome bruschetta.  A few things I've noticed about it:

• The tomatoes are peeled and of good quality (not mealy or freakishly red like those at Taco Bell- seriously, what's up with that?)
• They're not skimpy with the fresha pepper.
• They are skimpy with the fresh basil, and even if you ask for more they still won't bring much.  

With these notes in mind, I set out to create some bruschetta, but having no decent bread in the house (or even at our little town store) I decided to give it a bit of a twist.  Potato Skin Bruschetta.  And it was awesome.

When my Grandma was still around (and what I wouldn't give to have her back again) we shared a little secret.  After family meals were over she would take whatever potato skins were left on the plates and roast them up with a little garlic and a whole lot of butter.  There was often hardly any potato left on the skins.  Potatoless skins, you might call them.  They were awesome, too.  But you want a little potato left on these.  1/4" border will help them to keep their shape.  On to the recipe.

Potato Skin Bruschetta
Yield: 1 serving 

For the Bruschetta:
4 Roma Tomatoes
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 2)
4-6 basil leaves, julienned (you can guess how much I used)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Other ingredients:
1 Russet Potato
2 tbsp Pinenuts
Garlic oil/ butter/ earth balance (your choice- I used garlic oil)

Preheat oven to 400F and bring a large pot of water to boil.  Pierce potato several times with a fork and roast for about an hour.  Meanwhile, remove stems from tomatoes and use a paring knife to cut an X across their bottoms.  Place in boiling water for 1 minute, then remove.  When they are cool enough to handle their skins should be easy to peel off.  Scoop out their seeds and membranes using a small spoon or your fingers, and chop.  Add to a bowl and mix with rest of bruschetta ingredients.  Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.  Briefly toast your pine nuts in a small frying pan with no oil, medium heat just until fragrant and set aside.  When potato is finished, remove from oven and let cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes, until cool enough to handle.  Increase oven temperature to 475.  Scoop out flesh from potato, leaving 1/4" border intact, reserve flesh for later use.  Brush both inside and outside with butter or oil of choice.  Place flesh side down and roast for 6 minutes, then turn over and roast another 6 minutes until edges are golden.  Top with chilled bruschetta and pine nuts and serve immediately.  

Balsamic Pasta Salad with Bocconcini and Roasted Asparagus

I'll never forget the first time I took my husband to Whole Foods.  "This place is miraculous" were his exact words.  And it really is.  It's nothing like the grocery stores we've become accustomed to- at which people rush around in an angry frenzy, all of them wishing they were somewhere else.  It's a place where people come to admire the fruits of mother nature- a museum for people who love food, if you will.  And if Whole Foods is a museum, then the salad bar is where the crown jewels are held- and priced accordingly.  So rather than spend a week's worth of diapers on one meal, I've taken to tasting and then recreating their offerings at home.  And this balsamic pasta salad, in my opinion, blows theirs straight out of the water. 

Words cannot express how much I love balsamic vinegar, and this salad is such a perfect vessel for it.  It's also great to make ahead of time, as the flavors only intensify, especially in the asparagus, which soaks it up so beautifully while still holding its shape.  Heaven.


Balsamic Pasta Salad with Bocconcini and Roasted AsparagusYield: 4-6 servings
(Can be made vegan by substituting nutritional yeast for parmesan and omitting bocconcini)

12 oz multicolored rotini
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup capers 
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup sundried or slow-roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup sliced red onions
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan
1 cup bocconcini
salt and pepper, to taste


Preheat oven to 350.  Drizzle asparagus with 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, until fork tender.  Bring large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to instructions on package.  Whisk together remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic.  Add all ingredients to pasta and gently toss with dressing.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

So you hate asparagus...

Do you like pesto?  Good!  I think I've got just the thing for you.  This recipe came about through what can only be described as serendipity.  I had forgotten that I had asparagus roasting in the oven and when I finally went to check on them they were as soft as the bananas my sons like to mash into our carpet.  But I had my heart set on asparagus, and I was not going to be defeated.

Don't you just love a mistake gone right?