Rosolje, Muursepp Style—Estonian Pink Potato Salad (Can Be Vegan)

Traditional Estonian recipes for this potato salad vary wildly. The dressing often has Dijon or hot English mustard, prepared horseradish, or sugar in it—though the Muursepp family variety never has. Use a one-to-one ratio between potatoes and beets. (In other words, it's half potatoes and half beets.)

cooked beets (canned is fine), finely diced

cooked potatoes, chilled and finely diced

sweet onion, finely diced

dill pickles, finely diced (lots!)

hard-boiled eggs, finely diced and crumbled on top (omit for vegan)

ham, finely diced (opt., omit for vegan)

pickled herring, finely diced (opt., omit for vegan)

golden delicious apples, finely diced (opt. and common, but never part of the Muursepp family traditional rosolje)

Dice all ingredients into very small, evenly sized squares. Stir into dressing.

Dressing:

Half mayonnaise and half sour cream (or can use 1/3 each of mayo, sour cream, and greek yogurt)—I use vegan mayo and cashew yogurt

Salt and pepper

Dill pickle juice (opt., but definitely part of the Muursepp family recipe)

Mashed Pocaulies (Vegan)

This is our answer to mashed potatoes while on the Elimination Diet. Mashed potatoes need butter and milk to be creamy and yummy, in my opinion, and we can have neither right now. The cauliflower mixed in makes them less pasty and more smooth. Even if you don't like cauliflower, it will not bother you in this dish.

5 lbs. red potatoes (more or less)
1 head cauliflower
2 Tbsp. ghee or tahini (according to vegan convictions)

Salt

White pepper

1) Bring two pots of water to boil, salted.

2) In the meantime, scrub and quarter red potatoes. Set aside.

3) Wash cauliflower head, cut into several medium "florettes," and set aside.

4) When water is boiling, place potatoes into one pot of boiling, salted water, and place the cauliflower into the other. Cook until tender.

5) Drain potatoes, reserving some of the starchy cooking liquid in a measuring cup for thinning. Coarsely mash the potatoes with the ghee or tahini, using a potato masher, to desired consistency.

6) Drain cauliflower and process in Cuisinart until smooth.

7) Combine the potatoes and cauliflower. Thin with reserved starchy water, if necessary. Season with salt and white pepper.

8) Serve up into a large bowl.

Crispy Potato Waffles (Vegan)

The recipe as written makes 8+ large potato waffles.

40 oz. (2 Trader Joe's bags) frozen shredded potatoes (hash browns), mostly thawed
Olive oil
SPG (or APB and sea salt), to taste
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda

1) Dump potatoes into a large bowl and spread out. Let sit at room temperature until mostly thawed.

2) Preheat waffle iron. Spray or brush with olive oil.

3) Combine dry spices with other dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

4) Place slightly thawed, shredded potatoes (hash browns) into a large mixing bowl and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Stir well to coat potatoes with oil. (I use my hands.)

5) Sprinkle dry mixture over potato mixture, stirring well as you go, to incorporate evenly.

6) Place large handful or two of potato mixture on prepared waffle iron and cook as you would regular waffles. Cover completely but don't make too thick if you want them crunchy.

7) Cook them until very brown and crunchy. It will take awhile.

8) Keep warm in oven until ready to serve.

NOTE:  You can use regular potatoes instead of frozen hash browns if you prefer. Just shred the potatoes and place them in a bowl. Cover with cold water and soak for 2-3 minutes. Drain and rinse to remove starch, then squeeze water out of potatoes by hand or by rolling in a clean flour sack dish towel, twisting gently to wring water out. Proceed with step 4, above.

Oven-Baked Crispy Fries (Vegan)

The secret to crispy fries that are baked in the oven, I've discovered, is two-fold: one, you must soak the sliced potatoes in cold water before cooking, and two, you must allow yourself enough time to cook them until they're crispy.

Ingredients:
Baking (russet) potatoes, washed and cut lengthwise into strips
Olive oil
Sea salt

Procedure:
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2) Scrub the potatoes and cut, with the skins on, into fry-sized strips, according to size preference.

3) As you cut them, put the potato slices into a bowl of cold water to soak.

4) After soaking for about ten minutes, remove the potatoes from the water and pat dry with paper towels.

5) Drizzle and brush the fries with olive oil, coating well.

6) Spread the fries onto a metal baking sheet, in a single layer, and sprinkle with sea salt so that it sticks to the oil on the potatoes.

7) Bake at 450 degrees, turning occasionally, until fries are roasted through to desired doneness. Brown and crispy will take maybe 20-25 minutes.

Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

This was another item on the passed appetizer trays at Evie's wedding. We did not use the dipping sauce for the wedding. These were served with toothpicks. The recipe as listed below makes about three dozen bites.

1-2 pounds small,  fingerling potatoes
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary or thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut in half, keeping the chunks roughly the same size. 

3. Add the rosemary, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper, and toss until the potatoes are evenly coated.

4. Bake 35-45 min. 

5. If using the dipping sauce, mix the ingredients listed below in a small bowl. 

6. Pile the potato bites on a plate and serve alongside the dip.

Sour Cream Dipping Sauce 

(We did not use the dipping sauce for the wedding.  I have not tried it.)

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1-3 teaspoons hot sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Olivia's Baked Sweet Potato Fries

1) Peel and chop sweet potatoes, either into rounded slices like chips or rectangular chunks like fries.

2) Drizzle and toss with olive oil.

3) For savory fries, sprinkle with cajun seasoning. (Chili powder and SPG will do in a pinch.) For sweet, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

4) Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 400-450 degrees to desired crispness, turning occasionally. (This will take 15-30 minutes.)

Barry's Roasted Salt-and-Vinegar Potatoes

2 lbs. small red/white potatoes (I do 1/2 pound per person)
8 cups water for boiling
1 1/4 cups salt (in water for boiling)
Olive oil
Malt vinegar
Freshly ground sea salt and cracked pepper

Boil potatoes in very salted water (just enough water to cover them) for 20 minutes or until soft. Smash to about 1/2 inch thick. (If they've cooled, I'll use the side of my fist. If not, you can use a glass. It works better if they're a bit cool.)

Drizzle generously with olive oil, sprinkle with SPG, and bake at 450 degrees for 20+ minutes. Douse potatoes immediately with malt vinegar and freshly ground sea salt and cracked pepper (or SPG), to taste. Turn potatoes over and re-drizzle and season on the second side. Bake 20 more minutes or until golden and crispy. Re-douse with malt vinegar on the second side when they come out of the oven.

* Barry's recipe appeared originally in Cook's Country (August/September 2012).

Sliced Baked Potatoes

• 4 medium baking potatoes (evenly-sized)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 Tablespoons melted butter
• 2-3 Tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives, thyme, sage, etc.) or 2-3 teaspoons dried herbs (of your choice
• 4 Tablespoons cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Scrub and rinse potatoes. Cut into thin slices, but NOT all the way through.

Put potatoes in a baking dish and fan out the slices. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with butter, then sprinkle with herbs.

Bake potatoes  for about 50 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Then bake for another 10-15 minutes until lightly browned and potatoes are done.

Sliced Baked Potatoes Recipe is a post from: Money Saving Mom

Rita's Mom's Potato Salad

5-lb. bag potatoes:   Boil and peel with butter knife.   Chunk.

Add 6-8 Kosher dill spears, chunked.

Add pickle juice (good bit: 1/2 jar or more) to a regular-size jar mayonnaise.

Add 6-8 hard-boiled eggs, diced.  (opt.)

Add 1 medium onion, chopped fine.

Add garlic salt and celery seed to taste.

Regina's Potatoes Gratin

potatoes
onions
milk/cream/chicken broth
SPG
grated cheese (parmesan, cheddar, etc.)

Slice potatoes.  Layer in pan: put a layer of potatoes (slightly overlapping) topped with a layer of onions, sliced in half-moon rings.  Sprinkle with SPG.  Repeat a second time to fill 9x13 pan.  Pour over top, to fill pan about halfway up the side: light drizzle each of whipping cream and half and half, then chicken broth and milk to fill about halfway up side of pan.  Cover pan with foil and bake for at least an hour in a very hot oven (like 425 or 450 degrees).  Remove from oven and uncover.  If I have them, I like to stir in those last couple of leftover sausages (brats, Italian sausage, andouille sausage, etc.), sliced into quarters and then into little bite-size pieces.  Stir into potato mixture, then top with cheese.  (I use a good bit of shredded parmesan, because the flavor is outstanding, then a sprinkling of cheddar since it melts up so nicely.)  Return to over until cheese is nicely melted and bubbling.  The sauce will seem a bit runny still, but it will thicken up nicely as it sits there before serving, and even some more once you serve it onto your plate.

We like this with lightly steamed broccoli on the side (no seasonings, as the potatoes are very savory and need the fresh, plain taste of the broccoli), and a nice oil-and-vinegar style pre-dressed salad.

Super Potato Salad

Super Potato Salad
(original recipe from epicurious.com but altered for my preferences)

3 1/2 lbs potatoes, cubed and boiled
4 green onions
1 cup (at least) bread and butter pickles
5 bacon slices, fried and crumbled
1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 ounce envelope Ranch salad dressing mix
1/2 tsp dried dillweed
2 T Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper

Mix top ingredients. Create "dressing" with remaining ingredients. Pour dressing over potato mixture and toss well. Season with salt and pepper.