Taste: Goat Cheese & Basil Potatoes

Meatless Monday deliciousness awaits….

Imagine the savoriness of crispy potatoes and warm goat cheese balanced with the soft sweetness of tomatoes and balsamic vinegar accented with fresh basil. This recipe is quick, easy, and affordable and can be served rustic-style or presented in a more refined plating.

You can also easily adapt it to be vegan or with more of a Greek flavor (substitute red wine vinegar, feta, and fresh parsley). Enjoy this dish anytime of day as a side or main.

Ingredients

4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced

2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

2 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Fresh basil, torn coarsely

3 TBSP Extra virgin olive oil

1 TBSP Balsamic vinegar

1 TBSP Lemon juice

Instructions

1. Pour 2 TBSP olive oil into large sauté pan and warm over medium high heat.

2. Add the potatoes, layering to maximize contact with pan and heat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about five minutes, then flip and cook for about five minutes more, testing for doneness. Remove from pan when crispy and golden on outside and soft in center.

3. Pour 2 TBSP olive oil into sauté pan and add tomatoes, layering to maximize contact with pan and heat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook just till tomatoes soften a bit and release their juices.

4. Remove tomatoes from pan and layer with potatoes, goat cheese, and basil in individual portions or one large portion. Drizzle with reminding lemon juice and vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy  warm or at room temperature.

Shopping notes

For this recipe, choose a waxy type of potato such as a Yukon Gold as opposed to a floury potato like a Russet.

If it’s summertime and you have access to a farmers market or are growing your own tomatoes, any type of fresh tomato will do. If tomatoes are not in season or you can’t get garden fresh ones, choose Romas for the concentrated flavor and lack of water or a cherry-type tomato for their sweetness.

You can find goat cheese logs in the gourmet cheese section at any grocery store; if you’re  on a budget I suggest you check out Aldi‘s prices on goat cheese – they can’t be beat.

Did you know that if you measure by cost per weight, fresh herbs are pretty much the most expensive item in the grocery store? This is probably one of the ingredients that would benefit you most to grow on your own. The next time you go to the grocery store to buy some herbs, look for the small pots of herbs that you can grow on a sunny window sill. It will save you so much money in the long run and will probably prevent you from throwing out wilted unused herbs which is what often happens when you buy cut ones from the store.

Give the recipe a try and please let us know how it turned out in the comments. Thanks!

Looking for more Meatless Monday recipes? Take a look at Taste: Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Arugula Salad and Taste: Burmese Pickled Tea Leaf Salad.

Want to try growing your own herbs? Click here to purchase Homegrown Herbs: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Enjoying More than 100 Herbs  . A portion of your purchase  from Amazon will go toward keeping my blog thriving. Thanks for your support!