STUPIDLY EASY, FREAKING NUTRITIOUS: Baked Pesto Potato Slices and then Some (Toaster Oven Friendly)
Happy Holidays, you guys! Is it really the Christmas season already? This year flew by so quickly but I’m more than excited to see what’s ahead of us. Now, I know for a fact that more of us are becoming mindful about what we eat—parties included. That’s a good sign. But I always tell my clients that being relaxed around food and enjoying the company of friends and loved ones are part of a healthy lifestyle. Eating well for the most part allows us to indulge in food we won’t normally eat on a regular day. That’s partly what makes these dishes and desserts special and novel.
However, if you are looking to up your potluck game or still serve healthy but delicious food to your guests at a party without slaving away in the kitchen all day, then you’re in luck. I like to make healthy choices whenever I can simply because that’s the type of food I enjoy. At the same time, I loathe spending hours and hours in the kitchen making food. I like it easy, nutritious and good. So here’s my recipe for Baked Pesto Potato Slices and then some. I have an oven in my kitchen but good news is, you can also use a toaster oven for this (cue applause). So let’s get started with the ingredients.
POTATO SLICES:
5 medium-sized potatoes
Avocado Oil (Coconut Oil works too but might leave that coconut aftertaste) or Nuttelex Vegan Butter
Sea Salt
Fresh Black Pepper
1 lemon or lime
PESTO:
A huge bunch of fresh basil (roughly 3 handfuls)
1C pumpkin/sunflower seeds or Pine Nuts or Unsalted Peanuts
3-5 cloves of Garlic (depends on how garlicky you want it)
Sea Salt
Pepper
½ Olive Oil
*If you’re in a rush and want to skip making the pesto, I got a jar of it from the Supermarket. Brand is Gourmet Farms and it has no cheese. 🙂
AND THEN SOME:
How much you’ll need of the following depends on which ones you’d like to top the potato slices and pesto with the most, but here are my suggestions.
Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
or Red Bell Peppers (chopped)
Asparagus
Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Pine Nuts, Slivered Almonds feel free to get creative with the nuts and seeds
Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THESE
POTATO SLICES
If you’re using an oven, preheat to 390F/200C
- Wash potatoes very well because we’re leaving the skins on.
- Slice lengthwise so you have three slices for each potato.
- Place on a wooden board or baking sheet (if popping into the oven), drizzle with your coconut or avocado oil.
- Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Pop into the oven for 25 mins or the toaster oven for 5 mins first, then another 1-2 mins until golden brown around the edges.
PESTO
- Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or a blender (set blender to pulse)
- Add salt and pepper to taste but go easy since we’ve already added some salt onto the potato slices
AND THEN SOME
- Slice the cherry tomatoes in half or chop the red peppers
- Use a peeler to make think ribbons out of the asparagus
- Grate the cheese if they didn’t come grated in the package yet
- Leave the nuts and seeds as they are
ASSEMBLE!
Top your potato slices with pesto and then any or all of the toppings above. I find that the greens of the pesto and asparagus combined with the red from the cherry tomatoes make a perfect palette for the Holidays. 😉
Now, if you’re wondering why this recipe involves potatoes and not sweet potatoes, the honest answer to that is I grew up to my mom’s Russian Potato Salad every Christmas. Potatoes remind me of the comfort of home. Sweet Potatoes can be for different days. White potatoes just make the dish more celebratory given that we’ve established this idea of sweet potatoes being healthier than white ones. Fact is, they have slightly different nutritional profiles but both are great additions to a healthy diet. If you’re still not sure about that, below is a side-by-side comparison of the two. [Insert white potato vs sweet potato infographic]
Like I mentioned in my previous blog post on potatoes, it’s all in the manner it’s cooked and not the potato itself that makes it unhealthy. I hope that makes you feel guiltless about enjoying your potatoes this season. Happy Holidays again to you and yours!
