Visit the Colorado Table blog, where Denver Post staffers share news, views and ideas about eating in the West: blogs.denverpost .com/food.
Tucker on taters
Call me outdated, old fashioned, out of touch (you wouldn’t be the first) but I think dinner without some potatoes on the side isn’t really dinner.
Chips, fries, mashers, bakers, whatever. It’s all about the spuds.
Here’s a very simple way to make a mess of potatoes that everyone can dig into. This recipe makes enough for six people as a side dish, but if there are only two of you, make the whole batch anyway and watch them disappear.
(If there are any leftovers, warm them up tomorrow, put them in a bowl, and drop a poached egg on top.)
While you cook them, listen to the infectious rendition of.
Tiny Little Potatoes Roasted With Onions and Sage
By Tucker Shaw. Makes about 6 side servings.
Ingredients
2 pounds tiny little Colorado potatoes, red or yellow, rinsed thoroughly, scrubbed lightly and trimmed of any sprouts
1 onion, red or yellow, coarsely chopped
2-3 tablespoons light olive oil
A handful of fresh sage leaves, chopped
Coarse salt
A few spoonfuls of mascarpone cheese (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the potatoes and onions in olive oil, then place in oven-proof cast-iron skillet. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork. Add the sage during the final 10 minutes. Sprinkle on some coarse salt, and dollop mascarpone over the top if using.
Tucker Shaw,
blogs.denverpost.com/food
Passing the trash test
Canned sardines can be foul little shafts of mealy flesh. But they also can be tender, umami-dense spears of ocean goodness.
I pick up different brands now and again, and about half the time I open the tin, take a bite, and toss the whole thing in the trash. When the sardines pass the trash test, however, they tend to not just skate by, but soar over the bin. I inhale them.
I hit Costco in Superior, near Boulder, and encountered “Wild Sardines” by a company called “Wild Planet.” They came in six-packs, for $9.99.
These fat fillets of omega 3 nearly made me sing this morning, after I had tossed half the tin into a pan with eggs, stirred the mess around for a bit, and heaped it on a piece of warm toast.
Douglas Brown,
blogs.denverpost.com/food
