VEGETABLES UNLEASHED

S E R V E S 4

COMPOST POTATOES
This might be the most insane recipe I’ve come up with, conceived in a fit of passion.
Matt and I had spent a long weekend cooking around the clock at my home in
Maryland. I had the last of some beautiful Peruvian Blue potatoes from my
garden staring up at me from the countertop. Almost without thinking, I reached
for the coffee filter in our drip machine and dumped the spent grounds into a
roasting pan, then laid the potatoes over them and emptied my compost bin on top.
It sounds crazy, but it makes sense: It was the same compost that goes into my soil
where those potatoes grow. The circle of life. Or something like that.

Used coffee grounds
1½ pounds heirloom potatoes, such as
Peruvian Blue, Yukon Gold, or any type
of fingerling
Vegetable scraps from your compost bin
Kosher salt
Romesco (page 337) or Mojo Verde
(page 311) (optional)
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the
oven to 400˚F.
Spread the coffee grounds over the bottom of a roasting pan.
Nestle the potatoes into the grounds. Cover the potatoes
with a few scoops from your compost bin (avoiding
anything too wet, like tomato pulp or cucumber seeds).
Bake the potatoes until soft throughout, about 1 hour.

Dig the potatoes out of the compost. When they are

cool enough to handle, peel them, season with salt,
and eat—with romesco or mojo or with nothing but your
delicious curiosity.

S T R A I G H T T AL K
When you catch José in the middle of a special moment, there’s little you can do but stay out of his way. And so it was
with these potatoes roasted in compost—at first blush, not especially appetizing, but not without their charm. He thinks
you should eat them with nothing but salt or maybe some “cheese from the fridge,” but if you’re going to go down the
compost rabbit hole, you’ll want some romesco or mojo verde, or maybe a bit of herbed brown butter, for the journey. —MG

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