With the Everyman out of town this week, deciding what to make for dinner has become slightly more entertaining for me.

Last night for instance, I knew I had to make scallops… it’d been ages since I had some, and it’s one of those things I’ve been craving lately.  I even formulated a haphazard plan to glaze them with some of my infamous lemon pickle (jam), but I still needed some form of vegetable or starch to round out the meal.  After all, one cannot live off protein alone, despite what the Atkinites think!

Enter the one bright culinary memory among the bleak dining options available on our trip to Panama… something I’ve coined the brocotato mash.  The food on our trip had been pretty much a wash, which I’ve come to understand is pretty standard when it comes to all inclusive resort fare.  But the one night we went to the resort’s Italian themed restaurant, there was an amazing jerk-seasoned pork loin, with a funky, fluffy broccoli potato mash.  I won’t even get in to the oddity of serving jerk anything at an Italian restaurant, but the mash was outstanding.

During the time since that trip, I’ve recreated the mash at home several times.  It’s always been delicious, but never exactly as I remembered it.  Last night it occurred to me that it would make an excellent accompaniment to my seared lemon scallops, so off I went, pots and pans a-clattering.  Once the mash was finished cooking, I thought about echoing the lemon flavor, and threw in a cube of my lemon artichoke pesto.  One bite and it was confirmed, this was good stuff.  The recipe follows…

Foodie’s Brocotato Mash

3 parts potatoes

1 part broccoli

chicken stock to cover halfway

0.5 tbsp butter

Wash and roughly chop the broccoli and potatoes; it is up to you whether to leave the skin on or not (though I always do).  Place the potatoes in a medium pot and pour in chicken stock to halfway cover them.  Cover the pot and set on medium high to boil for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are completely cooked through and soft.  Toss in the chopped broccoli, reduce the heat to medium and allow to simmer for an additional 5 minutes, or until the remaining stock has almost completely evaporated.  Remove from heat and blend together with a potato masher.  Season with salt and pepper (and pesto or any other seasonings you might be using) and stir in the butter until melted.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

As an addendum, the dish as a whole turned out wonderfully, with the lemon pickle providing the perfect sweet tang to the creamy scallops.  Definitely a make again (when the Everyman’s not around, that is!)

Until next time…

Tags: broccoli, Cooking, Panama, potatoes, Recipes, scallops

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