This easy potato casserole will bring the flavors of the American Southwest to your Thanksgiving table.
To get that Southwestern touch, I layered green chiles, corn and onion with potatoes in a garlic-flavored cream sauce.
The chiles were Hatch chiles, which come from New Mexico. They're not in season now, but I had some in the freezer. If you can't get them, substitute any mild long green chile, and replace fresh corn kernels with frozen, if necessary.
For the potatoes, I used Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes from Melissa's Produce. These yield nice small slices, don't have to be peeled, and they become tender quickly.
After layering the potatoes and vegetables in a casserole (above), I poured over the garlic-flavored sauce. To make this, I cooked the garlic in an organic fruity olive oil, then stirred in flour, milk and chicken broth.
The olive oil I used was Spanish, an extra virgin oil from olives harvested by García de la Cruz in the mountain range Montes de Toledo. This ties in with the Spanish influence in New Mexico, where Spain started colonizing in 1598.
And so with this dish you have history on the table, reaching back farther than the first Thanksgiving, which was a harvest festival observed by settlers of the Plymouth Colony and Native Americans in 1621.
SOUTHWESTERN HARVEST POTATOES
1 pound Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes
1/2 large onion, cut into thin slices
1/2 cup chopped roasted and peeled green chiles, such as Hatch
3/4 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 1/2 tablespoons organic extra virgin Spanish olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground organic peppercorns
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Wash and trim the potatoes, but do not peel. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and set aside.
Cut the onion into thin slices and separate the slices into strips. Prepare the chiles and corn kernels and set aside.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a 1-quart saucepan. Add the garlic and stir a few seconds until fragrant but not browned. Stir in the flour until smooth and cook about 30 seconds. Add the milk and cook and stir until thickened, then add the chicken broth and salt. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat.
Coat the inside of a 2-quart casserole evenly with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Make a layer of 1/3 of the potato slices, then 1/3 each of the onions, chiles and corn. Make 2 more layers in this fashion, then pour the garlic/milk mixture evenly over all. Sprinkle the top with the ground black pepper.
Cover the casserole with a lid or foil. Place in the oven and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer until very lightly browned on top. Serve at once or reheat when needed.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
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