Potluck soup

Chris Rubinstein — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:00:05 +0000

During the winter, like most people, I love making soup. I had these ingredients laying around my house a couple days after a potluck and decided to throw them in a pot and see what happened. Luckily it turned out pretty well. It's sweet, spicy, rich and tangy... and it makes it on the menu at Ipanema pretty often.

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" ginger
1 dried Chile de Arbol
1 piece lemongrass
3 large sweet potatoes
2 cans coconut milk
vegetable stock
basil (Thai Basil is best)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Dice the yellow onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger, peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Heat oil in a pot over medium heat, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and saute for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Cut about 3 inches off of the lemongrass using only the white section, take the back of a knife or tenderizing hammer and bruise the lemongrass (this will help get the most flavor out of the lemongrass without chopping it up. This also makes it easier to remove later).

Add the sweet potatoes, lemongrass, and chile pepper and stir. Add the two cans of coconut milk and use veggie stock to cover the potatoes the rest of the way.

Turn heat to medium-high and simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft.

Remove the lemongrass and puree using either a blender or an immersion blender (I prefer the immersion blender, less mess). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chiffonade some Thai Basil and garnish with each bowl.

Chris Rubinstein is head chef at Ipanema, located at 917 W. Grace Street. We strongly encourage you to stop by and sample his food IRL. It's consistently delicious.

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Grilled Potato Salad

Chris Rubinstein — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:14:02 +0000

This is part of our ongoing series of excellent 4th of July recipes provided by local chefs. Today's features Chris Rubinstein, Head Chef Ipanema Cafe, 917 w. Grace St.

I grill the potatoes after boiling them as well as the onions, also I sprinkle smoked paprika to give it a smokey flavor without bacon. Using a perforated cookie sheet allows you to grill the potatoes without worrying about them sticking to the grill. I use reduced balsamic vinegar as the dressing, I think it gives it a sweet tangy flavor that goes nicely with the grilled and smokey flavors in the salad.

Ingredients

2-1/2 pounds red potatoes
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 T smoked paprika (or more to taste)
2 medium Vidalia onions, sliced 1/4" thick
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 C Balsamic Vinegar, reduced by half.

Directions

Over medium heat reduce balsamic vinegar by half until nice and "syrupy," pay close attention to this as it will scorch easily. This can be made far in advance and used for dipping bread.

Quarter the potatoes and boil in salted water until just under fork-tender. Strain potatoes in colander and toss with salt, pepper and olive oil. Set aside.

Slice the onion a 1/4" thick and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper
Grill onions for about 5 minutes each side until good grill marks are made.
Allow to cool for a few minutes and chop the onions.

Place a perforated cookie sheet on the hot grill. Spread the cooked and seasoned potatoes evenly on the sheet. After about 5 minutes toss the potatoes around the sheet with tongs or long metal spoon. Continue doing this until the potatoes are nice and evenly browned. Remove from grill and sprinkle with smoked paprika, allow to cool.

Finely chop the parsley and thyme.

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients, gently folding as not to break the potatoes up too much.

Drizzle the reduced balsamic and toss until well coated.
Salt and pepper to taste.