March 9, 2000
As synonymous as William Butler Yeats and James Joyce are with Irish literature, so too are corned beef and potatoes with Irish cuisine. Like the poem, the short story or the novel, food can inspire. But cooking offers something writing can't: food--art you can eat, literally.
Although I'm not Irish, I nonetheless seek to be inspired every March by the culinary influences of Ireland. I blame my annual desire for inspiration, and celebration, on the charms of legendary St. Patrick. I'll hoist a plateful of food in honor of anyone who can rid a country of snakes.
In years past I've gone the traditional route--corned beef and cabbage--a few times, but my love for Reuben sandwiches is difficult to dissuade. There's something about the lure of tender, thin slices of steaming corned beef, melted Swiss cheese, tangy sauerkraut, Russian dressing and grilled pumpernickel that gets my mouth working like a water sprinkler. And if that Reuben sandwich happens to be paired with a hearty bowl of creamy clam chowder, well, what's to decide?
But there are unconventional ways to be tempted by the ingredients of a Reuben sandwich too. For example, one year I made a Reuben "pizza." My homemade crust included rye flour, molasses and caraway seed, and my "sauce" was a generous layer of bottled thousand island dressing. The kraut and diced corned beef sat atop the dressing, along with some thinly sliced rings of purple onion and green pepper. The Swiss cheese was the topper, and a fine job it did, as it oozed and browned while the pizza was baking.
This year I was initially tempted by a recipe for Reuben bread pudding, but I think I'll let my love for potato salad influence my decision. Granted, there's no sauerkraut in the recipe that follows, but there's always dessert. Yes, I've eaten a really delicious chocolate cake that had kraut as one of its ingredients.
St. Paddie's Potato Salad
Adapted from a recipe featured in the May 1996 issue of Bon Appetit.
Yield: 10 servingsIngredients:
2 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
¼ cup sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
5 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ground horseradish
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup diced cooked corned beef
½ cup each--minced onion and celery
4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)Procedure:
Add potatoes to pot of boiling salted water, being careful not to make the water overflow the pot, and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool potatoes for 10 minutes and then place in a large mixing bowl. Before adding the caraway, crush the seeds using a mortar and pestle, an electric grinder or the bottom of a heavy saucepan. In a smaller bowl, combine the relish, vinegar, mayonnaise, horseradish and caraway. Add mixture to potatoes and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix in the corned beef, onions, celery and eggs. Cover and refrigerate up to one day before serving. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
What's Your Take on This, Julie?
Being a couch potato has been shown to be less than healthy. On the other hand, eating potatoes has a lot of support from nutrition professionals.
Here's why: Potatoes are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, which fuel our activities, plus spuds contain fiber (if you eat the skin), vitamins C and B6, and some iron. What's more, potatoes are our best source of potassium (step aside, bananas). You get all this nutrition for about 100 calories and zero fat per half-cup (4-ounce) serving. By the way, you can size up a potato serving by comparing it to a computer mouse.
Choose potatoes that are clean and free from blemishes and best suited to your recipe. Mealy russets, for example, are best for baking. Waxy round reds are best suited for boiling. And round whites are considered all purpose. Store potatoes in a cool, dark place, but not in the refrigerator or their starch may at least partially convert to sugar. Not only will the potatoes taste sweet, but they'll also turn excessively brown more easily during cooking.
While potatoes with greenish skins may seem festive for St. Patrick's Day, the compound that's responsible for the green coloration--solanine--is formed from chlorophyll when potatoes are exposed to too much natural or artificial light. Solanine could be toxic in high doses, so that means trimming away the green portions because cooking won't destroy this compound.
St. Paddie's Potato Salad is a tasty way to enjoy some spuds, plus the parsley provides a bit of emerald color. A serving contains about 180 calories, 8 grams of fat, about 35 percent of the daily recommendation for vitamin C and 10 percent of the daily recommendation for iron. You can lighten up the recipe by using a lower-fat salad dressing in place of the mayonnaise.
While food poisoning outbreaks have been linked with salads, don't blame the mayonnaise. Research studies have shown that bacteria actually die in mayonnaise due to its acidity but that's not license to try your luck. The most likely culprit in contaminated salads are your hands, utensils, other ingredients in the salad and temperature abuse. So wash your hands, equipment and vegetables--and keep salads cold.
And no offense to the Irish, but you probably want to leave green eggs to leprechauns (or Dr. Seuss fans) and not in your potato salad. A greenish halo results when iron and sulfur compounds found naturally in eggs react due to overcooking. While the eggs retain their safety and flavor, the color change can be avoided if you place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, add enough water to come about 1 inch above the eggs, bring to just boiling, turn off the heat and allow to stand about 15 minutes (for large eggs) or 12 minutes (for medium), and then immediately run cold water over them.
As one Irish blessing says, "May the road rise to meet you and the wind be always at your back." Translated, it means enjoy a healthy hike after an Irish treat.
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Sources:
Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187
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