The EASY but LEVELED-UP Dish I want to serve guests THE REST OF THE YEAR! | Vegan Meals Ideas

This right here is what you're gonna want to make when you want something crunchy, herby, and low effort but high reward. We got these crispy yet fluffy smashed potatoes on top of a creamy hummus-like base and topped with a homemade chimichurri. You'll be layering by the spoonfuls. The whole feel of this recipe has me excited. Let's get into it. Let's start with what you're gonna need. Baby potatoes, fresh parsley and cilantro, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime, lemon, chickpeas, vegan mayo, Dijon mustard, and of course, our seasonings. First, let's get together these veggies and herbs. We're keeping it simple today, starting out by mincing two garlic cloves. If you're a subscriber here, you know I'm a fan of garlic. So if you want more, go ahead and add it. Keep in mind, this is fresh garlic, so it does add a bit of a punch. From here, I realized rather than putting ingredients into small separate bowls, let's just add them all together in our final mixing bowl. Let's bring in our parsley. We want about a cup and we're chopping these down to the size that we like, followed by a half a cup of cilantro, which is optional, but I like it because of the flavor that it adds. Let's slice through our lime and our lemon. This one, we're going to squeeze right into the bowl. Okay, let's clear these dishes out the way and finish up with our chimichurri sauce. Into the same bowl, we're building this like a pesto, so no blunder. Simply add the rest of your ingredients. We have oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Next, add in your olive oil, and then we're going to switch up the angles here to give you a better idea of the texture we're aiming for while we add in our last ingredient, which is the red wine vinegar. You could also use white wine. White wine vinegar, that is, not just regular white wine. Okay, so we're mixing this by hand because we want to preserve that rustic texture. As I mentioned before, we're looking for something closer to like a chunky pesto. Well, pesto's kind of chunky anyhow. Regardless, we don't want it creamy, say like a dressing. So, say you decided to blitz this in a blender, you'll lose that distinct bite of like herb and garlic, and the oil, it would emulsify, again, turning it into more of a sauce. So, with baby whisk on hand, or a close cousin, bring this together, then put it off to the side, and let it sit as we pull together our co-star of the show, our crispy smashed potatoes. So, this is one of those things, the longer, the better. You see, the vinegar breaks down the garlic a bit and softens it even more, and then it pulls even more flavor out of the herb, and then, let me not nerd out. We can just nerd out together in the comments, I promise. So, to bring together that co-star, let's start by prepping a pot of water and getting it to a boil. Salt it, drop in your potatoes, or you can do it backwards, doesn't really matter because that's what I did. What does matter is the cook time. It's going to be about 13 to 15 minutes is the sweet spot, and then we're going to drain it and let it air dry. For the potatoes, to make sure they're done, though, you want them to be fork tender, not mushy, just soft enough to pierce. This way, we can smash them without them falling apart. And that air dried step I mentioned, super important. When you let the steam escape, you're drying out the surface, which is absolute key for getting them golden and crispy in the oven, instead of steamed and softened, basically. I was displaying it right here. Hopefully, you were watching. With these ready to go, transfer to a baking sheet, no parchment paper. Smash each one flat with a glass cup, a mug, or whatever you have on hand. Drizzle with olive oil, making sure it gets underneath. I'm in good shape because this baking tray I have has this diamond pattern, and this allows air, or in this case, oil to float underneath. This way, I don't have to, you know, lift the finger or flip the potatoes in order to get both sides. But if you're using a flat pan, it would be a good idea to probably, you know, pick it up a little and kind of shove some of that oil underneath it there. It's the contact of the potatoes against the hot tray that's going to give you some more of that caramelization, which is basically just more flavor. To season the potatoes, we're going to need Italian seasoning, garlic powder, These go into the oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until crispy. And yes, you can air fry it, especially if you live in those, like, desert temperatures. Desert hot, not like desert cold. Desert cold, an oven is a good idea. Now, with our potatoes in the oven, let's work on that hummus-like situation of a base layer. Empty into the blender one can of chickpeas. If you don't like chickpeas, cannellini or butter beans would also be some good ideas here. Dijon mustard, vegan mayo, or in a pinch, you can use vegan sour cream, juice from half the lemon, and then salt and pepper to taste. From here, just blend until smooth. So the mayo is going to give us some extra flavor, but also gives us the creamy texture without needing olive oil. And the Dijon, it adds like a, you know, subtle tang that just makes the whole recipe just pop. From here, taste it. If it needs more brightness, I would add the rest of that lemon. If it needs more salt, you know, don't be shy. Add it in. You want to season this thing punchy enough to stand up against the bold flavor of the chimichurri. All right, next is the best part, putting it all together. As you see here, that hummus-like base, I'm dropping a huge scoop of it at the bottom of the plate. Next, I pile on my crispy smashed potatoes because, you know, it's hard to share. And to finish everything off, I drizzle on my chimichurri. This is texture layering at its finest. It's just a blast of contrast in every bite. Serve this family style, share it if you want to. I ate it all in the closet. The full recipe is linked in the description, or you can check it out over on my website, makeitdairyfree.com. Make sure you subscribe, follow me on my other channels, and share your photos. Please don't hesitate to do that. That's I put myself to sleep. I appreciate you so much for being here. Until next time, believe in good. Peace.