Aglaia Kremezi's Fried Potatoes with Yogurt Sauce

(A disclaimer: my camera is in the shop, after an unfortunate collision with a Berlin sidewalk. So I'm taking pictures with my iPhone. Patience.)

Cooking for one can be, as we all know, a chore. But cooking for one can also be, under different circumstances, a bit of a thrill. No one there to press their culinary preferences on you, no dietary restrictions to observe, no hatred of bacon to dance around. You can let your inner freak flag fly: after all, if no one's there to see that you secretly like pan-fried banana peanut butter sandwiches for dinner or poached eggs with hot sauce over pasta, you can indulge in your strangest cravings with absolute alacrity and that, truly, might be the best part of dining alone.

The LA Times reviewed Deborah Madison's new book this week, about what people eat when they eat alone. It's a subject of much fascination, of course, because we've all been there, standing in the kitchen after work, backs pressed against the counter, drinking a beer and eating slivers of Cheddar and cold cornichons by the handful, or fried rice with bits and bobs from the fridge, or any number of other strange combinations borne out of convenience, speed, and a particular combination of flavors.

(I, for example, like baked beans and broccoli. Triscuits and pickled herring. Sauteed cherry tomatoes and a can of tuna over spaghetti. A big green salad dressed with too much vinegar, enough to make my nose wrinkle.)

I love hearing about what other people eat when they're eating alone. Not just for the voyeuristic angle (though it's sort of like looking like other people's shopping carts when standing in line at the grocery store: fascinating), but because I'm always looking for inspiration, too. And luckily for me, and for you, too, the review included one recipe that I'm filing into my permanent repertoire straight away, so good it was, so perfect in terms of its oddness and timing and - in the end, straightforward deliciousness.

It comes from Aglaia Kremezi, the Greek food writer, and is such a simple thing: potatoes sliced thinly and fried up in a matter of minutes in hot oil, then forked through a tangy, spicy  sauce of yogurt, feta, mustard and Aleppo pepper. After dragging my finger through the sauce to taste, I added a splash of vinegar because no meal alone - for me, apparently - seems to be complete without that extra zing.

The hot, crispy potatoes and the cool, sour sauce are a match made in heaven. Crunchy, yielding, creamy, chewy - it's a textural marvel at the same time as it is just plain tasty. (Do you secretly or not so secretly like dipping your French fries in mayonnaise? This is the better version of that - the far better version, actually - in more ways than one.) In fact, you might find yourself regretting the fact that you used only three potatoes - they'll be gone in a flash. Luckily, it only takes a few minutes to fry up some more. What I'm trying to figure out now is what to do with that leftover sauce - it's rather addictively swipeable.

So, tell me, lovelies: what do you eat when you're eating alone? Not eating alone due to heartbreak - because that's medicinal eating, really, another thing entirely - but because you have a glorious evening by yourself stretching out in front of you, with no one to please but yourself. Give me your strangest, your plainest, your most beloved dishes! I can't wait to read them.

Fried Potatoes with Yogurt Sauce
Serves 1

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, or as many as you want to eat in a sitting
3 or 4 tablespoons olive oil or sunflower seed oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used 2% Liberté, though the author says full-fat is better, just don't use use the thick, strained kind)
2 tablespoons crumbled Greek feta cheese
2 to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Plenty of Aleppo pepper (I used close to a tablespoon)
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar

1. Halve the potatoes lengthwise, then slice them slightly thinner than 1/8-inch. Fry them in the hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown in places. Drain them on three layers of paper towels.

2. Combine the yogurt, feta, mustard and pepper. Add the vinegar and stir well, until creamy. Put the potates on a plate with some of the sauce on the side and dip the forked potatoes into the sauce as you go. You might have sauce left over - a good excuse to fry up a few more potatoes tomorrow.

Comments

[Emily]

Pasta Carbonara is my number one dish. I also love a big bowl of sliced belgian endive dressed with a lemon juice and olive oil vinaigrette. God, I love that salad. Mmm, mmm.
Also, I make this really weird salad of canned sweet corn and sliced imitation crab meet with a dijon vinaigrette. It sounds disgusting, I know, but it is SO good.
Cheese, an olive oil fried egg on top of anything...and a beer or glass of wine-always, always.
Great question, Luisa!

[Caro]

Sooo glad I'm not the only one who likes a runny fried egg on top of something. In my case its bubble and squeak fried until there's a brown crust with good size potato chunks. The B&S and the egg have to be hot and salty. If I can't even be bothered getting a pan out, then a hunk of Stilton with olive bread (the sort that's chewy with fat Kalamatas in)! No accounting for taste, eh?

[Tim]

I have 12 different boxes of breakfast cereal on the tabelette in the kitchenette...and "pick 'n mix" them with skimmed milk.

[Sarah]

oh, i loved finding this post just as i was considering my friday night in! such a pleasure to find a night to yourself in new york city with plans, plans, plans always on my plate :)

i will be eating an omelette (of sorts) made from 2 eggs, a little half and half, whatever spices i find in my cupboard, some parmasan cheese, and LOTS of ketchup to dip it in. (the really good, oddly red heinz kind.) i will have a side of toast smeared with butter and probably a glass of dry white wine.

and a few episodes of the west wing to complete my meal.

i love your blog, and have found a real kinship as well on the internet, as you wrote in your Homemade Life post last week. I have one of my own, a silly little space that i too have grown to love.

http://somuchtofallinlovewith.blogspot.com/

:)

[Mouse from A Mouse Bouche]

Please tell me how I can stop judging people based on the contents of their shopping cart? It's a sickness.

I love pasta with butter, olive oil, salt/pepper/garlic powder, and lots of parmesan cheese.

also, yes to pickles and cheese, and tortilla chips with a dash of green tabasco sauce for the pre-dinner snack.

I also like to crush big hard pretzels into a salad for a crunchy crouton-like addition. yum.

also these potatoes look like they'd be really good alongside some fried fish. like a fish and chips riff!

[anna]

I'll stir fry anything if it'll sit still long enough, so various vegetables with whatever herbs or seasonings I think will work over rice, some sort of noodle, couscous...whatever. I like to cook a week's worth of dinner at once basically. Just something I can dump a portion of into a bowl, heat and get a ton of tasty nutrition.

[Rachel]

I love this post! And there are so many great ideas in these comments! I am also newly single, and am actually loving the eating alone thing....
My current faves:

An entire avocado smushed on top of two pieces of toast or crusty baguette, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice and topped with a sprinkle of kosher salt and red pepper flakes.

Eggs fried in olive oil served over black beans with an obscene amount of pineapple salsa.

Whole wheat spaghetti tossed with browned butter, parm, a pinch of brown sugar and tons of black pepper.

[Emily]

When I'm home alone, I love cooking enough broccoli to feed four but eating it all myself. My favorite way to dress it up is oyster sauce, sesame seeds, and lots of lemon zest. I think the inspiration came from a Mark Bittman recipe in the Times a few years ago.

[Erin]

I love this topic! I did a similar post a few weeks ago -

http://mylifeinvino.blogspot.com/search?q=devices

For me, it's all about different pasta concoctions. :)

[Anne]

I love toast. I will pile anything on top of it, but cheese is always good, tomatoes, turkey... really whatever is in the fridge. I like rice too, with steamed broccoli, butter and salt. So simple, but for me oddly decadent.

[Maija]

For me, it's sardines & butter on toast.

Or a large baked potato with butter, cheese & steamed broccoli. Two comfort foods from when I was a kid!

[Shauna]

Warm white bean salad with greens and bread crumbs and parm (husband must always have meat).

An obscene bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine.

Spaghetti with butter and lots of salt.

I love this question!

[Emily]

Just about anything w/ olive oil fried eggs. Or canned grean beans drained well, heated up a few minutes in the micro, w/ lots of black pepper and parmesan from the green plastic container. At least that's what I used to do before the bf moved in. That last one sounds kind of gross but it really satisfied my salty cravings!

[Melissa]

I'm going to 9th or 10th the sauteed greens (with lots of garlic and vinegar) with 3 Morning Star Farms fake buffalo wings on the side.

My fella will eat any comfort food with me, or any kitchen sink (as in "everything but the") meal - hummus, veggies, cheese, fruit, olives whatever else is around. But greens I'm on my own.

[yvonne]

flageolet beans from a tin heated up, drained, with a sprinkle of sea salt and olive oil pored over them.

Lovely, fresh ciabatta with olive oil to dip in.

obviously with red wine.

[elizabeth]

how fun-- some of my favorites: grilled cheese and soup; bagel pizza; muffins and scrambled eggs; an apple with blue cheese; plain yogurt and granola. though i must admit too often when i'm eating alone, i'll skip dinner altogether and use the opportunity as an excuse to eat dessert instead :)

[Emily]

oops - greEn beans. :)

[Barbi]

If I am treating myself, maytag bleu cheese and quince paste on seeduction bread. If I am tired and lazy from chasing my toddlers, a tortilla with peanut butter and banana (which is what Elvis would have eaten had he ever had a good tortilla!)

[Jen]

I love your timing Luisa...my husband just headed out for an overnight trip, and it's the 2nd time I've spent a whole night without him since we got married (2.5 years ago). I was thinking about what to eat for dinner while surfing, and then here's your question! Maybe I'll have to try the potatoes; they look delicious! I love your blog :)

[Luisa]

Sarah - eggs with ketchup! A meal of champions. Enjoy your night in - I know what a luxury it is! :)

Mouse - If it's a sickness, then I've got it bad!

Jen - yay, glad to help. Enjoy your solo dinner!

[Bee]

I picked up this book a couple of months ago. It's a fun quick read that you may enjoy. I'm always intrigued by what people do when they think no one else is looking. I love making fried rice with stirfried spam, onions, peas and egg. And sauteed onions scrambled eggs over rice with hot sauce.

http://www.gibbs-smith.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=2715

P.S. The potatoes look amazing and I'm guilty of dunking potatoes in mayo or ranch dressing.

[beth]

i love the peek at solo habits we're getting with these comments! i cook for one a lot, but when i want to eat fast and don't want to get out a pan or even a fork, i turn to peanut butter. just about everything goes with peanut butter: apple slices, graham crackers, cold cucumber slices, frozen waffles, banana slices, cheez-its, pretzels... really. anything.

i think this is my first time to comment. i love reading your posts!

[Kasey]

Luisa, I'm a huge fan of big bowls of grain (cous cous, bulgur, quinoa...whatever is on hand) with big chunks of roasted eggplant, nuts, and goat cheese. Sometimes, I can literally devour a medium mixing bowl filled to the brim. And no meal is complete without some wine and dark chocolate :)

[Myrnie]

You have such fancy readers! If left to my own devices, I eat wheat bread with peanut butter for breakfast and lunch (and snacks) EVERY DAY. I grind the wheat and make the bread every other day. I imagine I would just keep eating it for dinner! If I'm feeling like sweets, I'll put jam on...or make it a PBJ! (Yes, I'm the only one in my house of four that likes jam and PB.)

[kitty]

I'm having a solo dinner tonight and it's turning out to be a big bowl of raw peas, some red wine and Wasa light rye crackers with butter. I would add cold meat and cucumbers with vinegar if I had any.

Popcorn and milk is something I eat alone: a bowl of milk into which you drop a small handful of popcorn and then eat it with a spoon before it gets soggy. Repeat.

[Rachel]

Spaghetti with...cod roe and nori. Yup, the stuff from those Japanese packets.

[Teresa]

Angel Hair Aglio e Olio is my grown-up equivalent of mac and cheese. I like sauteeing the boiled pasta in the garlic and oil to crisp it up, and I use obscene amounts of parmesan and asiago.

[Courtney]

Uh potatos and peas.

I sautee some onions in butter while I slice potatoes in thin disks (like for a gratin). I add the potatoes and a scoop or two of frozen peas to the pan with about a 1/2c of water a little dried thyme and S&P. Cover and steam until the potatoes are tender. I am usually eating in less than an hour and the potatoes have picked up the yummy sweet onion flavor.

If my husband is away for more than a day I make soup because he doesn't like it.

[Courtney]

Opps I meant I am usually eating in less than 1/2 an hour.

And cheddar and apple grilled cheese sandwiches.

[agatha]

oh my, you are the rare soul that shares my same love of picked herring (i was the girl that actually celebrated herring week last month and was in line at Russ & Daughters for their coveted fresh Norweigian herring)! A friend actually laughed when after yoga class my shopping cart was filled with pickled herring, red cabbage, kettle corn, and limes (don't ask!). your blog always makes me smile - keep writing luisa!

[Janet]

When I have an evening at home alone, I love a baked potato and broccoli and cheese sauce. Heaven.

[sonya]

I was just thinking about such things this morning while standing in the kitchen eating my buttered kamut/spelt toast with Turmeric sprinkled on top. I've loved eating fried potatoes with a mix of ketchup and mayo since I was a kid. I'll have to try this recipe for sure.

I also have a habit of mixing peanut butter & jelly in a small bowl and eating it like a pudding. I never let anyone see me eat this, until one time I was distracted and left a bowl of it sitting on my stair railing. My ex-boyfriend came home, saw it, and asked..."Whose peanut butter and jelly salad is this?" Still makes me giggle when I think of it.

[Sarah]

I alternate between sliced sharp cheddar and frozen chocolate chips.

[nbm]

Hmm, there are some radical ideas out there.

Soba or egg noodles in sesame-peanut sauce with zucchini or carrot matchsticks; boiled new potatoes with butter, grated cheddar, yogurt (any or a combination) and lots of salt; last winter I discovered the ease & pleasure of roasted vegetables -- a quartered onion is key. Bread and cheese with olive oil. Two things I'm surprised haven't been mentioned: Sauteed vegetables, especially broccoli, over rice or other grains; and rice & beans.

Maybe I'll have to try more messes o' greens, but without the fried egg -- I don't seem to be interested in eggs for dinner.

[Erika]

Okay Luisa, you're going to disown me as your cousin, but I just love eating Kraft Macaroni and Cheese from the box when I'm home alone for the evening. I guess it reminds me of childhood. Any ideas on how to jazz that one up?

[carole]

I always go for a quesadilla made with corn tortillas, refried beans, a fried egg, melted cheese, salsa and roasted chopped poblano peppers that I keep in a bag in the freezer to always have on hand. I never realized so many women add eggs to their food meals.

[lickedspoon]

Cheese on toast with a dash of Worcestershire sauce, or a poached egg on toast with a smear of Marmite, or cilbir, the Turkish dish of poached egg on a puddle of seasoned yoghurt and then trickled with warm paprika butter. So delicious.

[anya]

I'm single, so eating on my own is my style of dining by default. But when world and I, we don't get along every now and then I turn to the food memories from my childhood such as a thick piece of sturdy russian rye bread, toasted, rubbed with garlic and sprinkled with salt, and a juicy tomato on the side. Licking off the salt from the toasted crust is especially fun. Or cooked potatoes brushed with fresh butter and blanketed with a thin layer of chopped feathery dill leaves, alongside canned tuna.

[Drew]

Salad dressed with too much vinegar is great. Just as salad dressed with oil, salt, pepper and a little too much lemon juice is.

I crave mousaka when I am alone, but rarely get round to making it. Melons because my husband dislikes them. Too much ice cream in front of the TV (just because I can). Big glasses of tea without my husband telling me there is a strange smell in the room (he prefers espresso and even though I try to convince him there is no comparing the smells of tea and coffee - they are equally good - he insists on doing it). Slices of toast with marmelade or honey. And as one last thing I have a tendency to skip the meat and just eat the things I would cook to go with it: salad, potatoes, vegetables.

[Laura Gillespie]

I have a definitive default meal for one: a take on the traditional uncooked pasta sauce with diced tomatoes (blanched and peeled first while the water is heating), diced fresh mozzarella, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, lots of lemon zest, lots of fresh ground pepper and salt. Even when it ISN'T tomato season, I can find a good hot house tomato. This meal satisfies on so many levels, and although it sounds "fancy," it whips up in 10 minutes.

Love reading all the other posts and loved finding your new post. :o)

[katie]

sauteed broccoli on toast with lots of cottage cheese and sriracha. or replace broccoli with oil-packed sardines. people think i'm crazy! yum.

also: toast topped with a thick layer of chili-garlic sauce, crumbled israeli feta cheese, and a runny-yolked fried egg.

[Angela]

When alone, I like to warm up leftover pizza and put a fried egg with runny yolk on top. Looks like lots of us enjoy a delicious runny yolk. If I don't have pizza that same egg on just about anything ... greens, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips. You can improvise on the chips or follow this delicious, savory recipe: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1806837

[Seattle Foodie Gal]

Warm brown rice topped with chopped avocado that's been liberally sprinkled with chile powder, a dash of salt, and a squeeze of lemon if I have one.

I also have been known to eat a big bowl of popcorn for dinner with olive oil, Mrs. Dash & salt, mmm.

After you posted Melissa Clark's Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp, I've been making a lot of broccoli that way and just eating it with brown rice or Quinoa, (I only add the shrimp when not dining alone).

[nw]

pasta with pecorino and black pepper

peanut butter toast

carrot and radish salad (paper-thin mandolined slices)

[joanna goddard]

these look absolutely delicious!

[Kristine in Santa Barbara]

Wow. So many many women, solo eating greens and eggs for dinner. Me too! Maybe we need a support group? I've been with my Euro man for 15 years. Kids and everything. The mystique and perfection of poached egg on top of salad or greens eludes even him.

The alone time is also when I eat sardines. With just a dab of mustard, sometimes with crackers, sometimes without. Also garbanzo bean salad (beans, parsley, oil, salt, parmesan).

Great post, great questions Luisa. Kristine

[Amber]

Grilled cheese with tomato. Anchovies straight from the jar, on toasted slices of baguette. I also love an overly vinegar-ed salad dressing (only to be eaten alone because the boyfriend hates it that way). Farfalle cooked al dente and tossed with barely sauteed mushrooms, olive oil, salt, crushed red pepper, grated parmigiana reggiano, and a handful of whatever greens are around, wilted. Scrambled eggs with corn tortilla bits and black bean salsa (a bastardized version of migas). And pickles--lots and lots of pickles. (I also drink from the jar when no one's around. I'm a sucker for anything brine-y or vinegary.)

[Tony]

thanks for pointing out Aglaia's site! When I'm alone I love to eat pasta (usually farfalle) with plain yogurt, a ton of garlic, some dried mint and a sprinkle of sea salt.
that sauce sounds like it might be good with pasta, too - oh, the wonders of yogurt :)

[Jen]

I'm astonished that my several times a week poached egg and greens combo is not as weird as I'd always thought.

Ok, sauteed spinach, tomatoes, garlic and avocado topped with a poached egg and tabasco is one of my fav alone meals. (I strongly believe in never using less than three large cloves of garlic in any recipe that calls for it. A fact that my husband cannot stand...)

I also love, love, love a fried egg sammie on toasted sourdough with mayo, spicy salami and sprinkled with tabasco. Yummm!!!

[Samira]

One of my favorite things to et are kidney beans canned and tuna. My husband hates them both so when I eat alone I sometimes make a "salad" with kidney beans (drained and rinsed) tuna and bits of raw onion. Dressed with an extra zingy dressing. And if I'm not to lazy I sometimes make a dressing with mayo and yogurt and add canned corn. And I eat from the bowl scooped with some pita bread.
And I always eat french fries with mayo. I'm from holland and what we put on our fries might freak some people out. (mayo with peanut sauce, or mayo, spiced ketchup (Curry Gewürz) and raw onion, or all of the above yummy!!)