This bright green spinach mashed potatoes recipe adds flavor and color to the table year-round but is especially delightful on St. Patrick’s Day.

From Idaho Potatoes, it’s actually smashed potatoes (with the skins on), that include a little something extra: sunchokes (photo #3).

The recipe was developed by Monica Kass Rogers of Lost Recipes Found for Idaho Potatoes.

> October 18th is National Mashed Potato Day.

> 30+ mashed potato recipes.

> The history of potatoes.

> The different types of potatoes.
 
 
RECIPE: SPINACH MASHED POTATOES

You can save time by using frozen spinach, thawed, with the water squeezed out and purée.
 
Ingredients For 4 To 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. COOK the potatoes: Place 2 pounds of cleaned, unpeeled, Idaho potatoes in cold water. Heat the water to just below boiling. The water will be steaming but not moving. Cook the potatoes in steaming water until fork tender: about 1½ hours. While potatoes are cooking on the stovetop…

2. HEAT the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle. Toss the sunchokes in olive oil with salt and pepper. Place them on a sheet pan and roast until soft, 40-45 minutes. Place the head of garlic in a square of aluminum foil and roast it in the oven next to sunchokes, until soft. Remove the garlic from the oven, squeeze the cloves from the skins, and set aside.

3. TURN the oven down to 325°F. Remove the unchokes and purée with 1/2 cup cream, using an immersion blender or food processor. Set aside.

4. REMOVE the potatoes from the water when fork tender. Place in the 325°F oven to dry the potato skins. While the potatoes are in the oven…

5. HEAT a second pot of water to boiling for blanching the spinach. While waiting for the spinach water to boil…

6. MELT the butter with the remaining cup of cream in a small saucepan until hot. Set aside.

7. BLANCH the spinach in boiling water for two minutes. Using a strainer, remove the spinach from the water and plunge it into ice water. Squeeze out the water. Purée the spinach using a food processor or an immersion blender. Set aside.

8. REMOVE the potatoes from the oven. Leave the skins on. In a large pot, smash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add small amounts of the hot cream/butter mixture as you go until the potatoes are fluffy. Add the garlic and sunchoke puree and smash some more. Fold in puréed spinach. Adjust seasoning adding salt and pepper to taste.
 
 
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*If you can’t find sunchokes, substitute Yukon Gold potatoes.

[1] Spinach mashed potatoes, colorful and delicious (photo © Idaho Potato Commission).

[2] Idaho russet potatoes (photos #2 and #4 © Good Eggs).

[3] Sunchokes are knobby like ginger root (no relation). Just scrub them, don’t peel them (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

[4] Baby spinach.

Pack your corned beef and cabbage leftovers into a hearty broth bowl (photo © Omaha Steaks).

Every November we’re flooded with recipes that use Thanksgiving leftovers: turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, all of it!

We’ve tried leftovers recipes for muffins, omelets, pizza, tacos, waffles, and more: There are tons of Thanksgiving leftovers recipes. But we rarely get one for St. Patrick’s Day.

Here, for starters, is an easy one: a hearty corned beef and cabbage broth bowl. It’s the easiest recipe: All you have to do is heat some broth and add your leftovers.

Use your favorite broth. We use beef or chicken bone broth, but you can use vegetable broth or low-sodium broth.

The bowl in the photo is jam-packed*, but you can use fewer leftovers with more broth.

If you don’t have enough vegetables, fill out the bowl with the carrots, celery, and onions you have on hand. Pre-cook them in the broth so they’ll be as tender as the leftover vegetables.

What to do with the stuffing and cranberry sauce?

 
> What is corned beef?

> The history of corned beef.

 
Preparation
 
1. CUT the corned beef and vegetables into bite-size pieces that are “spoonable.”

2. HEAT the broth and add the leftover ingredients. If you are taking the leftovers directly from the fridge and they are cold, warm them briefly in the microwave before adding them to the broth.

3. GARNISH as desired.
 
 
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*The term jam-packed, first recorded in 1924, refers to the fact that jam can be packed very tightly into a container, in such a way that all spaces are filled and nothing can move.

Move over peppadews: There’s a new mini chile to add panache to your food. Introducing binquino, a petite chile pepper that’s native to Brazil and sold in the US.

Rating from 1,000 to 2,000 on the Scoville heat scale, it packs a wee punch—about the same as ground chili powder.

The biquinho (bee-KEEN-yo), also known as the sweety drop, is typically sold pickled. It adds a kiss of flavor to everything it touches.

But if you can find them fresh (or grow your own), their smokey-sweet flavor is delicious on crudité platters, in salads, stews, stir-fries, and baked into breads, savory muffins, and scones.

The little chile delivers color, flavor, elegance, and whimsy. Their small teardrop shape and zesty flavor are alluring with gourmet appeal.

The marinades are usually tangy-sweet, creating a pickled chile pepper that’s just right for special occasions or casual snacking.

> Related chiles on the Scoville scale.

> The different types of chiles.

> The history of chile peppers, and why they’re called chiles (correct) and peppers (less accurate).
 
 
WHAT ARE BIQUINHO (SWEETY DROP) PEPPERS?

They’re tiny tear drop-shaped peppers about the size of a nickel. The name means “little beak,” referring to the pointed tips (photo #1).

Most commonly red, you can also find them in yellow. The combination of the two colors adds many creative options to your fare.

Thanks to our colleague Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog for the introduction.
 
 
HOW CAN YOU USE BIQUINHO PEPPERS?

Hannah says: “If you crave the salty, briny bite of pickles like I do, it’s hard to resist popping them in your mouth straight away. Soft, tender flesh gives way to crunchy seeds for a wholly satisfying bite.

“Of course, if you can delay that gratification, there’s no end to their use in everyday and special occasion dishes alike.”

Just open the jar and use the peppers for:

 
Don’t throw out the marinade, by the way. Pop in some grape (pear) tomatoes—or even some grapes—and let them sit for a day or two in the fridge. You’ll have more pickled possibilities.
 
 
GET YOUR BIQUINHOS

If you can’t find biquinhos at an olive bar near you, look online. We found these on Amazon:

 
You can also buy seeds to grow your own. Also see photos #4 and #5.

You’ll have lots of food fun with these creative peppers, which add both elegance and whimsy to your food.
 
 
BIQUINHO TRIVIA

The pepper has a distinctive smoky flavor like other members of its genus and species, Capsicum chinense.

While biquinhos are very mild (between 1,000 and 2,000 Scoville Heat Units), it has species relatives that include the habanero and some of the hottest peppers in the world—like the bhut naga with Scoville Heat Units of more than 2 million.

[1] The petite biquinho pepper from Brazil is about the size of a nickel (photos #1, #2, AND #3 © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[2] For a cocktail garnish, or a larger appetizer pick, the pickled biquinho is perfect.

[3] For color and flavor, toss them into salads, on pizzas, canapés, and so much more.

[4] Grow yellow biquinho peppers—it’s less common to find them pickled. Buy seeds from Rare Seeds (which also has red biquinho seeds (photo © Rare Seeds).

[5] Another source to grow your own: Pepper Joe, a specialist in chile seeds and plants (photo © Pepper Joe).

[1] Fusion food: St. Patrick’s Day corned beef meets Southern mashed sweet potatoes (photos #1 and #6 © Hatherleigh Press).

[2] Corned beef (photo © Omaha Steaks | Facebook).

[3] Mashed sweet potatoes (photo © Burpee).

[4] Grated Cheddar cheese (photo © Szakaly | Panther Media).

[5] Grated Parmesan cheese (photo © London Deposit | Panther Media).

[6] Ready for more recipes? You can find this cookbook on Amazon.

Here’s something special for St. Patrick’s Day and beyond: a recipe from cookbook author Judith McLoughlin, an Irish chef now living in the southern U.S. who has created her own unique food fusion by blending the techniques of her homeland with the flavors of the American South.

Thus, her Crumbled Corn Beef & Sweet Potato Tart combines the South’s sweet potatoes with the corned beef that’s traditional in the U.S. on St. Patrick’s Day*.

The recipe is one of 100 featured in her cookbook, A Return To Ireland: A Culinary Journey From America To Ireland.

You can serve this savory tart with a salad at lunchtime, or as a first course at dinner.
 
 
ISN’T THIS A QUICHE, NOT A TART

Good question. A quiche is a savory French custard tart. The key ingredients in this recipe—corned beef and sweet potato—aren’t French. But here are the basic differences between tart and quiche:

 
 
RECIPE: CRUMBLED CORNED BEEF & SWEET POTATO TART
 
Ingredients For 6 Servings

For The Pastry

 
For The Filling

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the pastry. Combine the flour and salt in a medium size bowl or food processor. Use a pastry fork or the processor to cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cold water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until the dough is moist enough to hold together to form a ball. Flatten it into a disc and wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F.

3. LIGHTLY FLOUR a surface and roll the dough into a circle about 11 inches in diameter. Place it in a 9-inch pie plate or fluted tart pan. Trim off any excess pastry and prick the bottom of the dough with a fork.

4. PRE-BAKE† the crust before filling it. Line the crust with a double layer of foil and bake for 10 minutes to prevent browning. Remove the foil and bake the pastry for a few more minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack; leave the oven on.

5. MAKE the custard‡ filling. In a large skillet add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the leeks for 3–4 minutes or until soft and fragrant. Remove from the heat.

6. ADD to a food processor or mixing bowl the eggs, cream, mashed sweet potato, salt, and pepper. Blend to combine thoroughly.

7. ASSEMBLE the tart: Layer the corned beef, leeks, and cheeses on the bottom of the crust. and then pour the egg mixture on top.

8. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until the egg sets and is firm to the touch. Allow the quiche to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.
 
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Growing up in County Armagh in Northern Ireland and setting down roots in the South, over the past decade Judith McLoughlin has become one of the most recognized Irish faces and brands in Atlanta, throughout the American South and abroad.

She regularly contributes to food columns in national newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic and leads numerous discovery tours from the U.S. to Ireland annually. Her first Irish-Southern fusion food cookbook is The Shamrock and Peach.
 
 
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*Corned beef and cabbage isn’t an Irish dish, and is not eaten on St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. The dish was brought to the U.S. by German-Jewish immigrants. Irish immigrants who settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan learned the dish from their Jewish neighbors there.

The popularity of corned beef and cabbage never crossed the Atlantic back to Ireland. Instead of corned beef and cabbage, the traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal eaten in Ireland is lamb.

†This is also known as blind baking.

‡Whether savory or sweet, all custards are made basically the same ingredients: mainly eggs and/or yolks, as well as cream or milk, and salt; sugar for sweet custards; and appropriate flavorings and optional inclusions for both.

For almost 20 years, we have been fans of Lady M cakes. The luxury confections brand, famous for its signature Mille Crêpes Cakes, opened its first New York City cake boutique in 2004, and we were in line waiting for our slice.

There are cakes for every palate and every season. If you’re looking for a luxurious St. Patrick’s Day dessert or gift, there are even three green cakes.

 
If you can’t use a whole cake, look for a Lady M boutique near you and treat yourself to a slice or two.
 
 
LADY M MILLE CRÊPES CAKE YEAR-ROUND FLAVORS

While there are seasonal flavors, the current roster of 9-inch Mille Crêpes Cakes includes:

 
There are seasonal flavors: Chestnut for the holidays, Champagne for the new year, Passion Fruit for the summer, and so on. Keep checking and you may find Purple Yam, Red Bean, and Salted Caramel.

For spring, the seasonal flavors include Sesame Ti Kuan Yin Tea Mille Crêpes.

You can even order a three-tier wedding cake, each layer made of “mille” crêpes.
 
 
> The history of cake and the different types of cakes.
 
 
ABOUT LADY M

Lady M is a New York City maker of luxury confections, with more than 50 boutiques worldwide. Established in 2001, Lady M is the creator of the world-famous Mille Crêpes Cake.

One of Lady M’s founders, Emi Wada, invented the Mille Crêpes Cake and sold them in her Paper Moon Cake Boutiques in Japan beginning in 1985.

The Mille Crêpe Cakes she created consist of 20 thin handmade crêpes layered with light pastry cream and topped with a caramelized crust.

[1] Green Tea Mille Crêpes Cake: 20 layers of crêpes filled with pastry cream (all photos © Lady M).

[2] Pistachio Mille Crêpes Cake.

[3] Green Tea Mousse Cake.

In 2001, Wada helped found Lady M as a wholesale business delivering cakes to hotels and restaurants in New York City. By 2004, the Lady M cakes had become so popular that the company decided to open a store in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Wada later relinquished ownership of Lady M so she could concentrate on business back home in Japan.

Today there are seven boutiques in the greater New York City area, more than 50 worldwide, and a thriving online business.

All cakes are handmade and prepared fresh without food additives or preservatives. The crêpes cakes are a very special treat, although Lady M makes a variety of delectable cakes and confections. Learn more at LadyM.com.