Smashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic, and Park City Tofu

I've begun to realize that you can take almost any recipe that involves chicken and substitute it with tofu and it works pretty damned well. In this case I took a classic recipe called 'Park City Chicken' and put tofu in instead. Uber yum! On the side, I steamed some asparagus, put a bit of butter on it, then some parmesan cheese and some fresh cracked pepper. The only lesson from this is that baby potatoes are a bad idea if you're not going to peel them. Too much peel to potato imho.




Park City Chicken
Courtesy of Rachael Ray

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, 1/4 onion finely chopped, 3/4 thinly sliced
2 cups quick cooking brown rice
4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds chicken meat: tenders, boneless, skinless breasts or boneless, skinless thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces (or 1/2 pkg low fat tofu)
2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning blend by McCormick)
2 to 3 tablespoons tamari dark soy sauce, eyeball it
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chipotle in adobo (2 peppers and their sauce), available in cans on the international foods aisle or substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons ground chipotle powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin, a palm full
2 to 3 tablespoons honey, 2 healthy drizzles
1/4 to 1/3 cup real maple syrup, eyeball it
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves, your preference
1 cup raw cashews

In a medium pot over medium heat combine 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts into oil, add in the chopped onion, cook 2 minutes, then add rice and cook 3 minutes more. Add stock and cover the pot. Raise heat to bring stock to a rapid boil. Once the stock boils, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, 17-18 minutes.

While rice cooks, make the chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan, then the chicken. Season the chicken with grill seasoning. Brown the chicken on both sides, season with soy sauce then move off to one side of the pan. Add the remaining onions, garlic and peppers. Cook 2 to 3 minutes , then mix vegetables and meat together. Add the chipotles and cumin. Toss to coat. Glaze the mixture with honey and maple syrup and turn off the heat. Add in the chopped cilantro or parsley and the cashew nuts.

Top rice with cashew chicken and serve.


Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes

1/2 lb. red baby potatoes, diced with peel on
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp. half and half cream
4 cloves garlic, roasted
salt and pepper, to taste

Turn oven to 350 degrees and place cloves of garlic on a pan. Roast in the oven until browned, about 10 minutes.

Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add salt and potatoes, cooking about 10 minutes until tender. Drain and return to pot.

Add broth, cream, garlic cloves (without skin) and salt and pepper to potatoes in pot. Mash with a masher until desired texture. Check seasoning, then serve still warm.