Ingredients:
1 large russet potato
1 head fresh broccoli
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (from a jar)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or two tablespoons verjus)
olive oil, salt, pepper
Wash and dry the potato and broccoli.
Large dice the potato into a microwave-safe bowl, place in the microwave and cook on high for three minutes, open the door to let the steam out of the microwave oven for a few seconds and cook for another two minutes. Remove from microwave and let them dry and cool a bit.
While the potatoes are in the microwave, cut the excess stem off the broccoli head and break into bite-sized florets and put them into a large, reasonably heat-safe bowl (not plastic). Don’t worry too much about getting them small enough, they shrink quite a bit.
Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees F.
When the potatoes have cooled, put them in the bowl with the broccoli florets, drizzle with a little olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste, toss to coat evenly.
Spread the potatoes and broccoli in an even layer onto a greased baking pan. Keep the bowl handy.
Place the baking pan into the pre-heated oven. I find that it generally takes about 14 minutes, but WATCH it. Once the broccoli starts to brown it just takes another minute or two for them to burn, so while we want some browning, be conservative.
While the potatoes and broccoli roast, make up the sauce by combining the sour cream, horseradish and vinegar or verjus. I just mix it in the measuring cup I use to measure the sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste, looking for an even blend of flavors.
When the vegetables are ready, remove from the oven and use a spatula to transfer them into the bowl they came out of, add the horseradish sauce, stir gently to coat, plate and serve while still warm leaving any excess sauce in the bowl.
I’ve used other vegetables in place of the broccoli, including cauliflower and sliced cabbage leaves, the final cooking time varies but pre-cooking the potatoes in the microwave pretty much removes them as the major factor in the oven cooking stage.
You can scale the recipe up for more people, but be prepared to microwave the potatoes in two batches, use two baking sheets, be flexible
I’ve used other vegetables in place of the broccoli, including cauliflower and sliced cabbage leaves, the final cooking time varies but pre-cooking the potatoes in the microwave pretty much removes them as the major factor in the oven cooking stage.
You can scale the recipe up for more people, but be prepared to microwave the potatoes in two batches, use two baking sheets, be flexible about the oven cooking time, remove each sheet as it’s done, and you may have to use two large bowls. It is important that the vegetables not be too crowded on the baking sheet or they will tend to steam each other and cook unevenly.
– Robert the Wombat