Middle Age Vegan: Devilish Potatoes

If you had told me three years ago that I would be a vegan today I would have laughed – heartily. I was doing my best to live sensible middle aged life and had cut down on meat and lightened up on cheese, but give it all up; not a chance. Then life made the decision for me. Because of a health issue I needed to follow a diet with no red meat, very light dairy, and only a puny egg or two. Little did I know where this would take me. Devilish Potatoes “Hey Deb I thought you were vegan. Why are you eating devilled eggs?” Someone actually asked me that when I brought this month’s recipe to a potluck dinner. The little devilish potatoes really look at first glance, like devilled eggs and they taste just great. The secret is the cashew cream. Get to know cashew cream and you will see many ways it can be used, in savories and in sweet dishes. I wasn’t able to get hold of kala manak black salt but regular salt worked just fine. I am also not the type of cook who would have a pastry bag handy, but squeezing the filling out of the corner of a little plastic kitchen bag worked out quite well, if I do say so. I don’t usually like fiddly recipes, but I think this one is really worth it a tiny bit of extra effort.

Middle-Age Vegan Deb Calderon, Cuisine Consultant

photo and recipe courtesy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Post Punk Kitchen

Devilish Potatoes Recipe

This recipe comes from the wonderful Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Post Punk Kitchen. I get a lot of innovative recipes at that site.

• 1 1/2 lbs small thin-skinned potatoes, like yukon gold (about 10)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth (or water)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon kala manak black salt (or 3/4 teaspoon regular salt)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• A big pinch black pepper
• For garnish: Sweet paprika & Fresh dill

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice potatoes across the waist and place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Rub potatoes to coat, and place cut-side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. In the meantime, drain the cashews and place them in the blender with vegetable broth and turmeric. Blend until completely smooth, scraping the sides of the food processor with a spatula occasionally to make sure you get everything. This could 1 to 5 minutes depending on the strength of your blender. When potatoes are tender, remove from the oven. When cool enough to handle, but still hot, scoop the centers out with a melon baller or rounded teaspoon, leaving about 1/4 inch lining of potato inside. Place the scooped out potato into a mixing bowl and mash until smooth. It’s important that they’re still warm so that they mash well. Add the cashew cream mixture, salt, lemon juice and black pepper, and continue to mash until well incorporated. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes so that the mixture stiffens up. Once cool, scoop into pastry bag fit with a medium sized serrated tip (I use Wilton 4B) and fill potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika and top with a little sprig of thyme. Keep chilled until ready to serve! These taste best at room temp, I think. Enjoy!