Potatoes Roasted with Sumac

We have delved into ancient and exotic ingredients this month at Urban Home Blog. Inspired by California’s love of oddballs, we welcomed the artichoke from the fields and dinner tables of ancient Rome to flavor a classic hot appetizer and to crown a bowl of Mediterranean inspired chicken stew. Inspired by the golden brush of mustard plants dotting the California landscape, we learned how to grow it, and then we mastered the classic French preparation to make a Dijon-inspired condiment.

For a California-inspired weeknight dinner, we serve our artichoke dip with a loaf of our own sourdough, before setting out bowls of chicken stew with artichokes alongside a light arugula or herb salad. Urban Home has wine recommendations – clearly, for this meal, a classic California Chardonnay. We even have your choice of desserts, from a lemony pound cake to snappy ginger cookies to a sweet springtime strawberry pie.

We close this month with another ancient and exotic ingredient: sumac. Unlike artichokes or mustard, sumac is not a significant ingredient at the American Table. Sumac is important in African and Middle Eastern cuisines, notably Moroccan, Lebanese, Egyptian, Turkish and Greek. It is a vital component of the spice blend za’atar for which, like garam masala, there is no definitive recipe but rather one specific to the kitchen of each cook who makes it.

Culinary sumac is ground from the berries of specific food safe shrubs from the Anacardiaceae, a family of plants that includes a wide range of members including mango, cashew, pistachio, mastic and poison ivy. Anyone who grew up on the American prairie or readers of English murder mysteries will recall poison sumac, which causes significant irritation upon contact with skin and can be harmful or fatal if ingested. It is important to cook with sumac obtained from a reputable source. Sumac that is safe for cooking is available from gourmet and Middle Eastern grocery stores, both in person and online.

 

As an ingredient, sumac is identifiable as a brick red powder, either finely or loosely ground. It has an astringent sweet-smoky taste somewhere between smoked paprika, rosemary and cumin. Sumac is important in sauces and marinades, but one of the nicest ways to experience sumac is on its own, as the spice that it inherently is. A dusting of sumac on simple roasted potatoes reveals the drama of this obscure but spectacular spice. In Greek cooking, potatoes are often marinated in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and oregano before being roasted in a hot oven or even an open fire. Here that technique is tweaked for contemporary kitchens but dusted with the dramatic flavor of this ancient spice. Here is my original recipe for Greek-inspired roasted potatoes roasted with sumac.

 

Roasted Potatoes with Lemon and Sumac

Use good-sized russet potatoes for this dish; small or waxy potatoes will not cook properly. If you cannot locate food safe ground sumac locally, here is a good online source.

 

1 pound russet baking potatoes

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra for the pan

1 medium lemon, preferably organic

2 teaspoons table salt

1 tablespoon ground sumac

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Coat the bottom of a large ceramic baking dish with a two-count of olive oil. Turn the dish or use your hands to coat the bottom of the dish with the oil.
3. Scrub each potato under cool water. Safely use the tip of a paring knife to remove and discard any flowering eyes or discolorations from each potato.
4. Fill a bowl large enough to hold the potatoes with water. Add 1 teaspoon salt to the water.
5. Working one at a time, lay each potato on a cutting board devoted to vegetables. Safely use a strong knife to cut the potato lengthwise into halves. Safely use the knife to cut each half lengthwise into quarters. If the potato is very large, cut the quarters into eighths. Transfer the cut potatoes to the water as you go.
6. Run the lemon along the counter under your palm. Cut the lemon into quarters. Hold a lemon press over a large mixing bowl. Use the lemon press to express the juice from each quarter into the bowl.
7. Measure the olive oil into a measuring cup with a spout. Use one hand to pour the olive oil in a thin stream into the lemon juice while using the other to use a wire whisk to whisk the olive oil and the lemon juice together.
8. Add the sumac and 1 teaspoon salt to the lemon-oil mixture. Use the whisk to mix the ingredients together.
9. Pour the potatoes into a colander. Shake the colander vigorously to express as much water from the potatoes as possible.
10. Gently transfer the potatoes to the baking dish. Do your best to place each wedge skin side down, and to keep the potatoes in a single layer.
11. Pour the seasoned oil over the potatoes. Use a silicon spatula to scrape the bowl and ensure that you get all of the season oil into the dish containing the potatoes. Gently shake the dish to ensure that the potatoes are coated with the seasoned oil.
12. Cover the dish with its lid or a double layer of aluminum foil, shiny side down.
13. Place the dish in the oven.
14. Roast the potatoes 30 minutes, no peeking.
15. After 30 minutes, use pot holders to safely remove the baking dish from the oven. Working carefully to avoid steam burns, remove the lid/aluminum foil. Use the silicon spatula to gently stir the potatoes in the dish.
16. Return the baking dish to the oven. Bake 20 more minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender and very fragrant.
17. Remove the dish from the oven and serve.