Here is how I did it!
- SALSA: The salsa can easily be made ahead of time, which helps out a lot when putting together a ‘plate’ so you don’t have to work at everything at the same time. I have been into ‘blended’ salsas lately (probably because I invested in a Vitamix as a birthday present to myself and want to get as much use out of it as possible!), but you could chop the vegetables by hand as coarse or fine as you like. Please adjust my basic recipe to meet your own tastes…I love garlic so I use a lot in everything AND I love spicy food so I did not seed my jalapeno which made this batch pretty spicy. For a milder version either seed and devein the jalapeno or opt to add bell pepper instead. I also experimented with a few different “add-ins” as the tomatoes and strawberries were so fresh and sweet I wanted to balance that out a bit, so I added a splash of apple cider vinegar and a shake or two of Tajin seasoning. If the salsa is lacking ‘taste’ try slowly adding more salt…it is amazing what happens when you get the balance right…all of a sudden the flavors ‘pop.’ I feel allowing the salsa to sit for at least a couple hours before you eat it also helps the flavors to better present themselves. Taste, adjust, taste, adjust. Be intrepid!
- Ingredients: Tomatoes (about a cup), strawberries (about a cup), onion (1 small/medium), garlic (3-5 cloves), cilantro (about 1/2 cup), jalapeno (1/2 medium), lime juice (1 lime), salt
2. POTATOES: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I am working on portion control (I tend to make food for a small village, not a small family) so I use a cast iron skillet for my potatoes, but use whatever best baking sheet you have. Wash and cut potatoes into smallish-bite-size-pieces…these potatoes were small to begin with so I generally halved them. In a separate bowl (yes, I have found this step to be very important to coat the potatoes evenly even though it creates one more bowl to wash), toss the potatoes with enough olive oil, salt, and pepper to coat. I purchased an amazing spice mix at my market and used that in addition to the salt and pepper (this mix didn’t have salt in it but watch out, adding salt with a salty mix can quickly become too much)…so use whatever your go-to spice mix is (saizon, harissa, adobo, even taco seasoning would work well). Roast the potatoes about 30-45 minutes until fork tender.
3. KALE: While the potatoes are roasting the kale can be prepped. Rip the greens from the stems (devein or derib or something like that) and put in a separate bowl (I used the same one as the potatoes…why make more of a mess, right?). Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper to lightly coat (too much oil and the kale won’t crisp right) and spread out on a baking sheet. It is very important that the kale has ‘room to move,’ that the leaves aren’t touching otherwise they will ‘steam’ instead of crisp-cook…and crispy kale chips are absolutely heavenly! Once the potatoes are done, I remove them and switch the oven over to convection bake or roast (my oven only convection roasts for some reason) at 400 degrees and cook the kale about 15 minutes to your desired crispness (I like mine kind of singed on the edges).
4. EGG: While the kale is “chipping”, fix your egg as you desire.
5. ASSEMBLE! I usually do a ‘fix your own’ plate in my house: My children are older so I also encourage them to make their own egg. The kale is best left on the side so it doesn’t get soggy, but everything else can be piled together and drizzled with salsa and finished with chopped scapes (or green onion) and some fresh tomato wedges. OPTIONS: I pretty much have to have either yogurt or sour cream drizzled on any potato dish, and I like extra crunch so I added pepitas. Get creative with what you have on hand/leftover or what sounds good to you like adding sausage or cheese for a more ‘hearty’ meal. But most importantly, HAVE FUN AND ENJOY!
Cold Creek Farm 