BRRRR! It’s cold out there and try as I might to eat healthy salads and protein, sometimes I just want starchy warm comfort food. All these rainy days have me inside cooking things with two of my favorite Ps – potatoes and pork. Two of my recent hits, I found on epcurious.com also make use of the recent herbs we got. One is a German potato salad that satisfies the part of me that loves of salt and vinegar potato chips. Another is a super simple dish sometimes called Dublin coddle. I think you could probably doctor this to be vegetarian if you wanted to. Even I left the bacon out of Potatoes with Sausage and Parsley. Imagine! I also substituted spicy Italian sausage for breakfast sausage. I happen to be a spicy Italian, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make German potato salad and Irish stewy things. Both recipes claim to make 6 servings. But I think they serve two hungry adults as a main with another portion leftover.
German Potato Salad with Bacon-Vinegar Dressing and Dill
2 1/4 pounds medium-size red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
6 bacon slices, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons coarse-grained mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Steam potatoes until tip of knife easily pierces center of slices, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Cover with foil.
Sauté bacon in large skillet over medium heat until brown, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Discard all but 2 1/2 tablespoons drippings. Heat drippings in skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Whisk in next 6 ingredients. Simmer until mixture is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add potatoes to skillet and toss to coat with dressing. Let stand 3 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and fresh dill; toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer potato salad to serving platter. Serve warm.
Potatoes and Sausage with Parsley
3 to 3 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 tablespoons chopped fresh celery
2 onions, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch pieces
1 pound breakfast sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 bacon slices, coarsely chopped
1 14 1/2-ounce can beef broth
Arrange potatoes in bottom of heavy large saucepan; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Top with onions; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Top with sausage and bacon. Pour broth over. Season with pepper. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover pan. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until potatoes are tender and sausage is cooked through, about 40 minutes.
Uncover pan. Boil until liquids are slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons parsley.
