Feast & Lore

Food stories featuring heritage recipes and new experiments.

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Simple Summer Sides: Grilled Baby Potatoes

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Summer is all about taking it easy, recharging outside and soaking up the long days of sunshine. The last thing you want to do is spend all day in the kitchen. What you want are simple, delicious meals that are perfect enjoyed on a patio with a glass of wine. These potatoes deliver. Crisp, flavourful young potato skins pop with hits of coarse kosher salt that brings out the natural sweetness of the creamy potatoes. Rosemary adds just a hint of colour and delicate flavour.

Sprigs of Rosemary, freshly cut resting on a wood table

I grow the Rosemary right on my patio. I love rubbing a leaf between my fingers and taking in the scent. You just need a few sprigs, finely chopped, as your seasoning along with the kosher salt. I really prefer the coarse texture of kosher salt for these potatoes, to deliver a hit of flavour on the skins.

Potatoes in the pot

To start with, par-boil the potatoes for 8–10 minutes until they are starting to soften, but not fully cooked through. Don’t overcook them or your final product off the grill will be mushy.

Seasoned potatoes in a green bowl

Drain the potatoes and transfer to a bowl. Add the olive oil, salt and rosemary. Stir to combine.

Seasoned baby potatoes roast on the upper rack of the BBQ grill.

Next, toss the potatoes on the grill. I find the top rack works well to get a nice golden skin and soft, perfectly cooked insides. Once ready, transfer from the grill into the same bowl you seasoned them in, and toss them around in the olive oil and seasoning that’s left to give them a nice finish. Enjoy (careful, they get pretty hot right off the grill—cut one open to test before popping a whole one into your mouth) you’ve been warned!

The finished potatoes, grilled to perfection

 

The finished potatoes, grilled to perfection
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Grilled baby potatoes

Simple perfection, just four ingredients to bring out the natural sweetness and beautiful texture of new baby potatoes.

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb Baby Potatoes (680 g)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 sprigs Fresh rosemary finely chopped
  • Kosher Salt

Instructions

  1. Scrub potatoes and set into a large pot filled with cold water. Bring to boil over high heat and cook for 8–10 minutes until they are partially cooked. (Overcooking here leads to a "mushy" texture after they are grilled. You are looking for a softened, but still firm, cook on the potatoes)

  2. Drain potatoes and transfer to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Add rosemary, and sprinkle with kosher salt to taste. Stir.

  3. Add potatoes to hot grill (400°). Grill until golden and skins are crisp, approximately 10 minutes. Test to ensure the potatoes are soft and fully cooked through—insert a sharp knife to the centre to ensure they are soft.

  4. Remove from grill back into the bowl, and stir to coat with a touch of olive oil and rosemary remaining in the bowl. Serve.

Garlic Lime Chicken with Mango Salsa and White Bean Quesadillas

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Mango Salsa with Garlic Lime Chicken with Quesadillas

 

This summer inspired feast is the perfect thing to tuck into on a patio with an ice cold beer (or a white wine sangria). Juicy mango forms the base of a salsa that is the perfect accompaniment to seared chicken. Even on its own, the chicken is lively with fresh garlic, lime juice and cumin. Quesadillas grilled with cheese, spinach and a white bean puree round out the plate. It also makes for great leftovers, holding up well for a day or two after it’s made.

There are multiple recipes outlined to bring together for the final ensemble, but everything is quite easy and the whole thing can pulled together in about 60 minutes. Not to mention any of the three recipes are great on their own or paired with other dishes—for example the mango salsa would also make for a mean topping on fish tacos. But back to this recipe grouping—our plan of attack: start by cutting and prepping all of the ingredients, sauté and blitz the beans into a puree, and then while the chicken is cooking, stir together the mango salsa and assemble and sear the quesadillas. Let’s get started.

Once you’ve cut and prepped everything, create the quesadilla bean puree filling. Cook the beans with olive oil, spices and shallots until the beans soften and the shallots are slightly golden.

White kidney (Canellini) beans are cooked in a skillet with olive oil and shallots.

Remove from heat, and add to a mini-blender with lime juice. Puree until smooth.

Prep the quesadillas: start with one whole wheat wrap, spread it with the bean puree, add baby spinach and top with cheese.

Quesadilla is assembled starting with a base of flatbread with puree, spinach, then cheese and topped off with another flatbread.

Next, prep the chicken. You’ll want to remove the tenders, and then slice each breast open like a book to stuff with limes, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Then close them back up to seal the limes and garlic inside.

Add chicken to a large saute pan with olive oil. Add additional garlic to the pan, pouring half of the lime juice on top, and sprinkle with cumin. Flip the chicken half-way through, pour the remaining lime juice over, and sear well.

To finish cooking, I like to turn the heat down to a low setting (2–3 on my induction cooktop) and cover the pan with foil (or a lid if you have one). I find this slow finish makes for a juicy and tender final product.

Finally, mix the ingredients for the mango salsa and cook the quesadillas.

Ingredients for mango salsa in a green bowl

Bring it all together and dinner is served!

shot from above, chicken with mango salsa, with quesadillas on the side

 

Don’t forget to save some for lunch tomorrow…

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Garlic Lime Chicken

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts tenders removed
  • 2 tbsp garlic finely chopped
  • 1 lime cut into 8 slices
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp cumin

Instructions

  1. Remove tenders from chicken breasts, and slice each breast starting from the thickest point, cutting partway through until you are able to open the breast like a book. Season with salt and pepper to taste

  2. Sprinkle half of the garlic over the opened chicken breasts. Place 2 lime wedges at the centre, and fold back the chicken to close the "book". 

  3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the olive oil. Place the chicken into the pan, add remaining garlic, pour half of the lime juice over top, and sprinkle with cumin. 

  4. Cook for 6–8 minutes, then flip chicken over. Pour the remaining lime juice over top. Cook until a nice golden sear develops on the second side, about 2–3 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low, and top with a lid (or use foil if you don't have a lid for your skillet) until chicken is cooked through, about 4–6 additional minutes.

  5. Serve with mango salsa spooned over top.

 

 

Colourful mango salsa tops seared chicken with tangy lime and savoury garlic
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Mango Salsa


Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe mangos peeled and chopped into 1/4" dice
  • 1/2 fresh pinapple peeled and chopped into 1/4" dice
  • 1/4 cup chopped jalapeno peppers more if you like it spicy, seeded for less spicy
  • 2 shallots sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1/4 cup lime juice freshly squeezed
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange or pinapple juice

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine lime and orange juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Allow to rest while you prep and combine the remaining 5 ingredients into a large bowl.

  2. Remove garlic from juices and discard. Pour juices over the salsa mixture and serve.

 

 

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White Bean Spinach Quesadillas


Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 shallots chopped
  • 19 oz white kidney beans ((Cannellini beans) drained and rinsed
  • pinch nutmeg
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 8 whole wheat tortillas, 7"
  • 8 oz baby spinach
  • 1 cup grated cheese Cheddar-Mozzarella mix works well

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook until softened, about 2–3 minutes. Add white beans, nutmeg and salt & pepper to taste, and continue to cook for 5–8 minutes until beans soften.

  2. Transfer bean mixture to a mini-food processor, add juice of 1 lime, and pulse until it forms a puree.

  3. Build the quesadillas: starting with one tortilla, spread 1/4 of the bean mixture on top. Add a handful of baby spinach, and top with cheese. Top with another tortilla. Repeat to build four.

  4. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add a teaspoon of olive oil—when heated and shimmering, add one quesadilla. Cook until the tortilla crisps up and the filling starts to melt, then flip. Cook until the bottom is golden and the filling is nice and melty.

  5. Slice and serve!