green bean, potato, and tomato salad

Great summer side dish made with seasonal veggies. Olive oil and lemon juice create a light dressing that feels fresher than heavy mayo- or mustard-based potato salads.

green bean, potato, and tomato salad
Serves: 6 large side portions
Time: 30 minutes

- 3 medium potatoes
- about 1 pound green beans
- 1 large ripe tomato or 2 medium
- 1 large lemon
- salt (kosher if you have it)
- pepper
- olive oil

Peel potatoes and slice into larger chunks, about 1-2". Place chunks in a large pot, cover with water (about an inch above potatoes), bring to a boil, and cook for about ten minutes. We're not making mashed potatoes; most people like potatoes in potato salad to be tender but firm. However, I actually prefer this salad when the potatoes get a little soft and break apart. Helps coat the green beans later, but doesn't look as pretty. Don't worry too much about overcooking, but keep on eye on the potatoes, testing them for firmness with a fork. Once done, drain potatoes into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water to stop the cooking.

While the potatoes are cooking, trim the beans. Once the potatoes are done and cooling, fill the large pot with enough water to cover the beans (again, 1-2" above veggies). Bring the water to boil BEFORE adding the beans. Once boiling, toss beans into the water and cook for about 2 MINUTES. You want them tender-crisp. Drain beans into colander, and again rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. By the way, purple beans will turn green as they cook.

Add potatoes and beans to a large bowl. Chop the tomato into large chunks and add to the other veggies. Drizzle the whole thing with olive oil. More than a teaspoon, but probably not more than a tablespoon. This well depend on your taste though, and how dry the potatoes are. Cut the lemon in half, pick out the seeds with a knife-tip and squeeze one half all over the salad. You should get about a tablespoon of juice. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon if regular salt) over the salad, and shake a few dashes of pepper over the top (again, to taste). Gently toss the entire mix together until the veggies are coated. This can be served room temperature or cold, and chilling it should intensify the lemon flavor.

Potato and Chorizo Fritatta

I'm usually not a fan of breakfast foods for dinner, but for some reason frittatas seem like an all-the-time food, even though the base ingredient is egg. This one is based loosely on the flavors you would find in a Spanish omelet, although my real goal was to use up two potatoes we had sitting around. I managed to find chorizo (Spanish spicy sausage) at our local Price Chopper (*shudder*), so I don't think it will be too hard to find. If it's not with the sausage, try looking by the hot dogs. Yup.


Potato and Chorizo Frittata
Servings: 6
Time: 50 mins - 1 hour

- 1 large or 2 small baking potatoes
- 1 large bell pepper
- 1 small to medium onion
- 2 chorizo links (remove casing)
- crusty/stale bread
- 10 eggs
- milk (optional)
- 1/8 to 1/4 cup feta cheese
- salt and pepper to taste (optional)
- (maybe) olive oil
- cooking spray (optional, but helps)

Cook the chorizo in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, making sure to crumble the sausage into small pieces. While the chorizo cooks, dice the potato into small cubes. When the chorizo is finished cooking (should brown and crisp a bit), remove the sausage bits with a slotted spoon, leaving the delicious grease behind.

Cook the potatoes over medium heat in the same pan that was used for the chorizo. Make sure to stir them around in the chorizo drippings. If the potatoes are still too dry, add a little olive oil. The potatoes will take a while (15-20 mins) to soften. In the meantime, chop the onion, and then add it to the potato. Again, if it looks too dry, add a little olive oil and stir. Make sure to keep moving those veggies around every few minutes. Chop the bell pepper and add that to the potato-onion mixture.

Continue cooking until the potato and pepper are soft, but not mushy. They will continue cooking in the oven.

When the veggies are done, stir in the chorizo and mix well. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spray the bottom and sides of the frittata dish (ovenproof glass is best)with a little cooking spray, and then cut up the bread into irregular pieces and use it to line the bottom of the dish.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs along with about 1/4 cup of milk. The milk is not essential, but makes the egg fluffier. You may also add some salt and pepper, though note that most chorizo is salty and spicy already. We didn't need any extra seasoning. Also, it may be easier to beat the eggs in batches of five.

Pour the potato-chorizo mixture over the bread layer. Sprinkle feta cheese over the entire thing.

Pour the egg slowly over the top, making sure to fill in the sides, middle, etc. The egg should fill the cracks between the veggies and then just slightly rise over the top of everything in a thin, even layer. You can add a beaten egg or two if you're short.

Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. I cheated and broiled the top for a few minutes at the end because we're stuck with an electric stove until September!