Syracuse fingerling potatoes with macha salsa and soy pickled onions

Ingredients

Macha salsa
1 quart grapeseed oil
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw cashews
10 dry guajillo chiles
10 dry pasilla chiles 10 cloves garlic, fine dice
5 shallots, fine dice
1 tbsp. coriander seeds, toasted and blended  in a blender
3 cups sugar
Juice of 5 limes
Salt, to taste

Soy pickled onions
Juice of 5 limes
White soy sauce equal in amount to lime juice (brown soy sauce can be substituted)
4 red onions, sliced into paper-thin slices

Fingerling potatoes 
4 lb. fingerling potatoes, scrubbed clean 
2 cups crème fraîche 

Instructions

For salsa: Place oil, nuts, chiles, garlic, shallots and coriander in a medium-sized pot. Turn heat to medium and cook for about 1 hour. Once nuts have browned, turn heat to low and continue cooking for 30 minutes. The finished look should be almost burnt. Strain mixture and reserve oil. Blend mixture in a blender and slowly incorporate oil. Add sugar, lime juice and salt. Place in a container and cool immediately. Let sit at least 24 hours or refrigerated up to a month or more.

For onions: In a nonreactive bowl, stir together lime juice and soy sauce. Add onions, making sure they are fully submerged. Let sit at room temperature for about 2 hours or until they have picked up the flavor of the liquid. Refrigerate for longer storage and for flavors to intensify.

For potatoes: In a large pot, fully submerge potatoes in heavily salted water (about 10% salt to water) and boil at medium heat for about 30 minutes. Allowing the water to evaporate and the potatoes to steam and dry out is key. After 25 minutes of boiling, you should be able to push a fork through the center of the potatoes. Partially drain potatoes, leaving enough water to cover the surface of the pot. Leave potatoes with the leftover water and increase the heat, letting them dry out for 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup macha salsa and stir to fully incorporate the mixture evenly. Drain potatoes in a sheet pan with a wire rack underneath; a dry towel works just as well.

To serve: Place a spoonful of crème fraîche on the bottom of a plate and add potatoes. Garnish with a generous spoonful of macha salsa and pickled onions.

Serves 6

Photo: © 2023 David Poller