Vegetable Rosti with Tomato-Corn Relish: Guest Post by Joanne

As you read this, Ben and I are off traipsing through another part of the world. It’s very hot here. I hope I remembered a hat and plenty of sun screen! (Note to self: buy hats now, before trip.) If I didn’t, well, I’m probably still a happy camper. Because where I am now is a very special and sacred place, where we can’t help but feel connected to our roots through nature, spirit, and of course, food. Any guesses? 

While I’m gone, I thought it would be fun for you get to know some of my favorite bloggers. My hope is that you’ll enjoy their wholesome, worthy recipes and add a few new blogs to your daily reading. Trust me, these ones are worth it. 

First up is Joanne, the med student / photographer extraordinaire / Italian-but-shoula-been-Indian-Mexican-Jew behind Eats Well With Others. This girl never ceases to amaze me with her gorgeous, colorful photos, quirky recipes, and endless wit and humor. As we’ve gotten to know each other, we’ve exceed two hands’ worth of fingers for counting our similarities. In other words, if you love me, you’ll love her even more. 

Heat warnings in New York City cause everything to go topsy turvy.
You can’t run.
You can’t walk.
You can barely breathe because everything smells like old homeless men.  (Hence the no running or walking thing.  Since, you know.  Both require oxygen consumption.  Fo’ realz yo.)


And then, even when you convince yourself that you don’t want to make anything strenuous for dinner, you somehow find yourself diving feet first into a recipe that requires you to grate 3 parsnips, 2 large carrots, and 2 zucchini.

Obviously.

 I find myself to be heat brainwashed like this all too often.

On the last triple digit weather day, I’m pretty sure I convinced myself that making pizza was my life calling.
(Do you know how high you have to turn up your oven if you want your pizza to turn out respectably? 
Well, how high does your oven go?  That high.)

It’s unclear how many pizzas I made that day (post heat amnesia) but as soon as the weather dropped down to normal NYC temperatures, I realized that leaving medical school to run a pizzeria out of my apartment was probably not the best idea I’ve ever had.  (It’s also not the worst.  Just saying.)

So really. In retrospect.  All this grating?  Not so bad.

If you’ve read Cara’s blog through at least one Hanukkah season then you know that she is the master of coming up with creative latke recipes.  But why should latkes be eaten only in December?  Why not year-round?

These are the thoughts that keep me up at night.  Hankkah food excites me way more than Christmas food (even though I am a Roman Catholic by birth).  For obvious reasons.

Latkes. Jelly donuts. Need I say more?

So when I saw these rosti in an issue of Vegetarian Times, I knew they would be perfect to share with Cara and all of you!  After all, they’re basically a summer (and waist!)-friendly version of latkes.

The original Veg times version seemed kind of bland so I swapped out the potatoes for parsnips, added a hint of garam masala, and threw some feta into the mix, with the end result being a fabulous light summer meal that has just a hint of holiday spirit.

Not even heat brainwashing can mess with that.

Vegetable Rosti with Tomato-Corn Relish
Serves 4, adapted from Vegetarian Times 
For the Relish
3 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernels
2 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the Rosti
3 parsnips
2 large carrots
2 zucchini
1 cup chopped onion (about 2 small onions)
1/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp garam masala
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Grate the parsnips, carrots, and zucchini onto a clean kitchen towel.  Wrap the towel around the veggies and squeeze to remove any excess liquid.  Transfer veggies to a bowl and stir in the onion, flour, garam masala and garlic.  Fold in the eggs.  Season with salt and pepper.
2. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.  Spoon 2 tbsp rosti mixture for each patty, shaping with a spoon to make patties (or if you’re completely uncivilized like I am, just grab a hunk of it, fling it into the pan and hope for the best).  Cook 2-3 minutes or until bottoms are crisp.  Flip with a spatula and cook for another 2 minutes.  Repeat until all batter is gone.
3. Serve topped with tomato-corn relish.

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11 Responses to “Vegetable Rosti with Tomato-Corn Relish: Guest Post by Joanne”

  1. 1

    Alwaysthymetocook — June 27, 2011 @ 12:48 pm Reply

    Looks so good! Love that relish on top!

  2. 2

    janet @ the taste space — June 27, 2011 @ 1:00 pm Reply

    A double dose of Joanne today! Wahoo!  I like your take on vegetable pancakes… or rosti, as you put it. 🙂

  3. 3

    Victoria — June 27, 2011 @ 1:31 pm Reply

    Great guest post from Joanne!! These rosti look lovely and definitely full of summer flavors 🙂

  4. 4

    Joanne — June 27, 2011 @ 5:32 pm Reply

    I'm so glad you liked it Cara! Hope you're having an awesome vacation!

  5. 5

    Gwen — June 28, 2011 @ 12:30 am Reply

    I'm feelin ya sister! It's frieking hotter than heck here in Phx.! Sounds like you need to purchase a food processor to grate your veggies! ;)I'm adding this to my menu for next week and totally looking forward to it!Thanks for all of your wonderful veggie recipes!

  6. 6

    Bianca Garcia — June 28, 2011 @ 12:44 am Reply

    Mmm-mmm I want some vegetable rosti! Hi Joanne!

  7. 7

    Kaytorade — June 28, 2011 @ 5:12 am Reply

    I can pretty much guarantee I can figure out where you are.

  8. 8

    Lora — June 28, 2011 @ 5:30 am Reply

    This looks fantastic! I love the parsnip idea.

  9. 9

    Nicole, RD — July 8, 2011 @ 1:26 am Reply

    They look wonderful! I love your comments on Joanne and yourself. I adore both of you!

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