Potato Palooza:

My beautiful bowl of leftover potatoes

The bowl of tasty tubers pictured above, were what was remaining from two lovely weekend meals, shared with family and friends.  The sliced sweet and red potatoes had been roasted in olive oil and herbes de Provence for a pinot noir wine tasting on Friday night and the lovely yellow ones were the sole survivors from Sunday's low-country boil for the family.   It is rare for me to have this many potatoes in one weekend and certainly rarer to have so many leftover.  So, Monday morning found me pondering ways to repurpose these vegetables.

First off, the quesadilla is my go-to vehicle for leftovers.  As far as I am concerned, you can stuff just about anything into a tortilla, cover it with cheese, crisp it up in a skillet and achieve positive results.  Being that Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow, I am already planning a black bean, sweet potato and mushroom quesadilla for my dinner on Tuesday.  Olé!

The zesty sliced red potatoes will be made into a frittata that I can portion out and eat on all week as a grab and go breakfast or snack.  

Two dishes down, nothing earth shattering here, just good, reliable uses for my potatoes. With one more type of potato, patiently awaiting it's new assignment,  it was time to come up with another  re purposing recipe to add to my repertoire.  A formula that could be used for this week's yellow potatoes, but versatile enough for whatever protein or veg that may be lingering in my fridge come next Monday.  

Inspired by a recent visit to an Indian restaurant, I thought a curry would be a superb opportunity to introduce some new flavors to the family.  Thus was born, my Potato and Chickpea Curry.  This came together quite simply from some of my staple pantry items such as: chickpeas, coconut milk, curry paste, turmeric and garam masala.  The method is simple and can be adapted to whatever leftover meat or vegetable you might find yourself with.

I hope you will sample this quick curry recipe and always remember to make every plate (even leftovers) something to be passionate about!

This is my new "quesadilla"!!! LOL!

Potato and Chickpea Curry:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground garam masala

4 cups diced and cooked yellow potatoes

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon curry paste

Salt to taste

Optional Garnish:

Greek yogurt

Chopped cilantro

Chopped tomatoes

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet, over medium high heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.  About 3-5 minutes.

Add dried spices and stir so that onions are covered.

Next, tip in the potatoes, chickpeas coconut milk and curry paste. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 7-8 minutes. Add salt to your taste.

Yellow potatoes and chickpeas luxuriating in warm spices and coconut milk

Remove mixture to a serving bowl and garnish with Greek yogurt, tomatoes and cilantro if desired.