Potato Coins with Rosemary Cream
You open the door, and a wave of blinking lights and candles crashes over you. Colors of red, green, silver and gold erupt from every corner of the room. The smell of fir and cinnamon fight with a mélange of over applied perfumes to invade your nostrils. Over the cacophony of witty banter, you can barely make out the carols playing on the stereo. Throngs of people, drinking eggnog and mulled wine, exchange pleasantries and wishes for a happy holiday. And as you seek to find refreshment, an undeniable fear grips you… “Again, I will go hungry tonight.”
Yes, the holiday party is often times a desolate wasteland for the vegan. No sustenance can be found among the platters of meat of cheese. The salmon mold, while odd yet interesting , offers no solace. The crockpot in the corner might bear fruit, but alas, it is filled with meatballs in a peculiar glaze. The bread bowl holds promise, but it, too, offers nothing more than a tepid cream-cheese infused vegetable dip. The water chestnuts are wrapped in bacon, and the seven layer dip has three layers too many. Nourishment can only be found in a fistful of crackers and a few pieces of raw vegetables.
Yet, there is hope. Why not bring a delicious vegan appetizer to the party? It is after all the season of giving, and you can’t drink mulled wine all night long on an empty stomach. So, here is my recipe for RED POTATO COINS WITH ROSEMARY CREAM. This dish, compete with its red and green colors, screams “Holiday Buffet.” Plus, you can make it a couple days in advance. Pair these babies with my vegan cheeseball and quasi-famous vegan meatballs, and you are good to go. No more holiday parties on an empty stomach.
Ingredients
- 6-8 Baby Red Potatoes
- 1 Cup Raw Cashews
- 1 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
- ½ Tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ Tsp Onion Powder
- ½ Tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 Tbs Fresh Rosemary (minced)
- 1/3 Cup of Rice Milk
- Dash of Liquid Smoke
- Salt & Pepper to your taste
Instructions
First, soak your cashews in enough water to cover plus an inch overnight in the frig. The next day, rinse and drain them. While the cashews drain, wash your potatoes and cut them into ¼ inch thick coins. Place the potatoes in a stock pot with enough cold water to cover them plus an inch. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook the potatoes for 5 minutes. You want the potatoes to be fork-tender and able to retain their shape. Drain off the hot water and let cool.
While the potatoes cook, put your cashews, garlic, onion, thyme, nutritional yeast, and rice milk in a high speed blender or food processor. Puree the cashews until the ingredients are well incorporated and the mix is smooth and creamy. Scrape the mix into a bowl and add in the rosemary and liquid smoke. Season to your taste with salt and pepper.
**You can add all the ingredients at once into the blender, but the fresh rosemary might turn the cashew cream green.
Now for assembly. If you know what a piping bag is and own one, use it for this next step. Otherwise, scrape the cashew cream into a plastic zip-top bag. Squeeze all the air out and close it up. Then, cut off a small corner of the bag, and you can now easily squeeze the rosemary cream onto each potato coin. Garnish each potato with individual rosemary leaves, a dusting of minced rosemary, or just throw a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary on the plate: your choice.
Notes
Lengthy prep time is required to soak cashews overnight.
As I mentioned, you can make the potatoes and rosemary cream a day or two in advance. In fact, the cream is better if it sits a day in the frig. Then just assemble before you head out to your party. If you don’t tell anyone, I would almost guarantee that no one will know this dish is vegan. So go be festive, enjoy your holiday parties, and give the gift of vegan. Just steer clear of the salmon mold…it is unnatural and a bit unnerving to see fish in that condition. Longer Letter Later.
Love, Bob aka The Grassfed Carnivore
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