Mandoline! Mandoline! Mandoline!
March 21, 2013 3:43 PM Subscribe
Just scored the use of a mandoline slicer for the next week, and I'm totally excited but don't know where to start. Can you good people hook me up with your best mandoline-using recipes? Potatoes! Carrots! Turnips! I'll slice 'em all!
This is the model in question, and it does crinkle cuts as well as thin and thick julienne.
Gluten-free paleo type stuff is a plus, but not mandatory.
This is the model in question, and it does crinkle cuts as well as thin and thick julienne.
Gluten-free paleo type stuff is a plus, but not mandatory.
If your body can tolerate lots of cream and cheese, potatoes au gratin make for yummy comfort food.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:51 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:51 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Ooo this ratatouille from Smitten Kitchen is all mandoline. And delicious. Everything else I'm thinking of is potato based.
posted by grapesaresour at 3:53 PM on March 21, 2013
posted by grapesaresour at 3:53 PM on March 21, 2013
Response by poster: I've already made some disappointing breakfast potatoes (I know, right? How?!), so very specific recipes are a plus.
posted by redsparkler at 3:53 PM on March 21, 2013
posted by redsparkler at 3:53 PM on March 21, 2013
My mom makes the BEST coleslaw in the world, and it's because she cuts the cabbage on a mandolin like that one. Everyone else uses knives and/or food processors, which makes the shreds too short, or too thick, or too...whatever.
Coleslaw. Her recipe is:
Cabbage
Mayo
Apple cider vinegar
Sugar
Carrots (not too many...very few)
Cut up. Mix in proportions that are yummy.
posted by xingcat at 3:54 PM on March 21, 2013
Coleslaw. Her recipe is:
Cabbage
Mayo
Apple cider vinegar
Sugar
Carrots (not too many...very few)
Cut up. Mix in proportions that are yummy.
posted by xingcat at 3:54 PM on March 21, 2013
Best answer: Brussel sprouts! I run them through the extra thin setting and then throw them in a super hot pan with some oil until they get brownish, toss them around and serve them with a grain-mustard sauce. Delicious!
posted by Aubergine at 3:55 PM on March 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Aubergine at 3:55 PM on March 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
Onion soup, 6 cups of thinly sliced onions. Watch Julia do it with a knife.
posted by fifilaru at 3:57 PM on March 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by fifilaru at 3:57 PM on March 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Oh boy- congrats! I just recently got a mandoline and love it, though I've mostly just sliced veggies and fruit in great, perfectly formed heaps. I am very careful about using the hand guard that came with it, as am a klutz and it would take nothing to have a hideous accident..... Here's a recipe I've made twice with rave reviews. Very easy (though the second time I made my own crust). Not gluten free as is, though the other night I made the apples and caramel without the crust. From Smitten Kitchen: Salted Apple Tart
posted by but no cigar at 4:11 PM on March 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by but no cigar at 4:11 PM on March 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Julia Child's gratin dauphinois is fantastic, and much faster with a mandoline.
Just Bento's carrot kinpira doesn't take too long with a knife, but is nice with a mandoline.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:13 PM on March 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Just Bento's carrot kinpira doesn't take too long with a knife, but is nice with a mandoline.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:13 PM on March 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
- Slice thin plums rounds to put on your salad instead of apples/pears (people will wonder what that is on your salad. Don't tell them!).
- Use it to slice fennel bulbs to use as a base for a salad instead of greens.
- Slice orange, yellow, purple carrots and parsnips. Looks pretty and is delicious in a salad.
- Use it to slice really thin orange or lemon slices as garnish.
posted by marimeko at 4:19 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
- Use it to slice fennel bulbs to use as a base for a salad instead of greens.
- Slice orange, yellow, purple carrots and parsnips. Looks pretty and is delicious in a salad.
- Use it to slice really thin orange or lemon slices as garnish.
posted by marimeko at 4:19 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Pommes anna -- mmm
Quite a lot of turnips arrived in my box from a co-op recently and (at a loss) I made a turnip gratin; turns out turnip gratin's delicious.
Deep fried leeks, for garnishes
Processing loads of veg and dumping it into a trough in your fridge and using all kinds of nicely textured veg for pita filling is nice. Normally one wouldn't think to put carrot (for example) in a sandwich but it's quite nice when it's little ribbons or sticks or shreds.
+1 USE THE GUARD. Make it a rule to never use it without the safety guard, even if you are just starting out with a really huge potato -- GUARD, ALWAYS, really.
posted by kmennie at 4:24 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Quite a lot of turnips arrived in my box from a co-op recently and (at a loss) I made a turnip gratin; turns out turnip gratin's delicious.
Deep fried leeks, for garnishes
Processing loads of veg and dumping it into a trough in your fridge and using all kinds of nicely textured veg for pita filling is nice. Normally one wouldn't think to put carrot (for example) in a sandwich but it's quite nice when it's little ribbons or sticks or shreds.
+1 USE THE GUARD. Make it a rule to never use it without the safety guard, even if you are just starting out with a really huge potato -- GUARD, ALWAYS, really.
posted by kmennie at 4:24 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I would never dream of not using the guard after seeing how effortlessly it sliced potatoes!
posted by redsparkler at 4:27 PM on March 21, 2013
posted by redsparkler at 4:27 PM on March 21, 2013
Zucchini ribbons with herbed butter
Goofy but handy, tortilla rollups
Potato leek gratin
posted by shoesietart at 4:28 PM on March 21, 2013
Goofy but handy, tortilla rollups
Potato leek gratin
posted by shoesietart at 4:28 PM on March 21, 2013
radishes thinly sliced, spiced & roasted are crazy delicious. they end up really small, though. so use 10000 radishes.
posted by changeling at 4:31 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by changeling at 4:31 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
My dad likes to slice a bunch of yukon gold potatoes with his (very scary, to me at least) mandoline, and make this kind of cheese/potato toast in a frying pan. You can do different layers of potatoes, different kinds of potatoes, different kinds of cheese . . .
And be careful!
posted by ablazingsaddle at 4:47 PM on March 21, 2013
And be careful!
posted by ablazingsaddle at 4:47 PM on March 21, 2013
Pickled cabbage salad: Shred cabbage and carrots. Heat a cup of rice vinegar and mix in some grated ginger, salt, and sugar, plus sriracha if you want it. Pour over veg, and leave sit for a while in the fridge. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and consume. I make a cucumber salad the same way, but only leave it sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Paper-thin slices is the way to go.
Now is the time to make a giant vat of caramelized onions for future foods: Buy a bag (3-5 pounds) of large onions, and slice them--all of them--as thin as you can. Melt a stick of butter in a large pot, and then add all the onions and a few pinches of salt. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are gooey and golden brown. Add more butter if they start sticking. Cool until they can be handled, and then form them into a log on a sheet of cling film. Roll the log up in the cling film, and then wrap that in tinfoil. Stick in the freezer. For the next six months, every time you make anything that'd be better with caramelized onions, you can just slice off a coin of them and throw it in.
I use my mandoline to julienne carrots for carrot salad, for which there are many recipes--my favorite, though, is just julienned carrots, toasted walnuts (knob of butter, walnuts, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, little cayenne), pomegranate arils, mint, walnut oil, and lime juice.
If you have access to bell peppers, this is a great opportunity to slice them all neatly, freeze them on cookie trays, and then dump them into freezer bags for later use--they cook up just fine from frozen.
If you're the sort of person who likes zucchini noodles, mandolines are great for that--I wouldn't bother making zucchini noodles without one.
posted by MeghanC at 5:33 PM on March 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
Now is the time to make a giant vat of caramelized onions for future foods: Buy a bag (3-5 pounds) of large onions, and slice them--all of them--as thin as you can. Melt a stick of butter in a large pot, and then add all the onions and a few pinches of salt. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are gooey and golden brown. Add more butter if they start sticking. Cool until they can be handled, and then form them into a log on a sheet of cling film. Roll the log up in the cling film, and then wrap that in tinfoil. Stick in the freezer. For the next six months, every time you make anything that'd be better with caramelized onions, you can just slice off a coin of them and throw it in.
I use my mandoline to julienne carrots for carrot salad, for which there are many recipes--my favorite, though, is just julienned carrots, toasted walnuts (knob of butter, walnuts, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, little cayenne), pomegranate arils, mint, walnut oil, and lime juice.
If you have access to bell peppers, this is a great opportunity to slice them all neatly, freeze them on cookie trays, and then dump them into freezer bags for later use--they cook up just fine from frozen.
If you're the sort of person who likes zucchini noodles, mandolines are great for that--I wouldn't bother making zucchini noodles without one.
posted by MeghanC at 5:33 PM on March 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
The julienne blades are excellent for slicing up cucumber and other vegetables for sushi. If you're inclined to try making your own relish or chutney they're good for that too.
I like slicing little slivers of fresh strawberry (verrry carefully, obviously) for eating with a bit of cream and confectioner's sugar. The strawberry slices are also good for garnishing salads and decorating cakes, pastries, etc. I'm just about to serve.
posted by XMLicious at 6:11 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I like slicing little slivers of fresh strawberry (verrry carefully, obviously) for eating with a bit of cream and confectioner's sugar. The strawberry slices are also good for garnishing salads and decorating cakes, pastries, etc. I'm just about to serve.
posted by XMLicious at 6:11 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
cheese/potato toast in a frying pan. You can do different layers of potatoes, different kinds of potatoes, different kinds of cheese
(cough) The OP clearly said that "very specific recipes are a plus." I really really want to know what exactly goes on in the frying pan please
posted by kmennie at 7:34 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
(cough) The OP clearly said that "very specific recipes are a plus." I really really want to know what exactly goes on in the frying pan please
posted by kmennie at 7:34 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: This gorgeous potato dish also works with other root vegetables--sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, a mixture. It has proven very impressive at group holiday gatherings, no matter what I use to make it.
posted by padraigin at 7:40 PM on March 21, 2013
posted by padraigin at 7:40 PM on March 21, 2013
You can use it for any kind of baking fruit to make really even slices so they can be cooked all fancy and look really impressive and evenly done.
Make or get a pie crust, and pre-bake it just a little bit with a layer of parchment paper and then a scoopful of beans or other weights on top to keep it from puffing up.
Put slices of: apples, pears, peaches, whatever! that have been sliced to an even thickness in a bowl. Toss fruit with a squeeze of lemon, a spoonful of sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit, some cinnamon or whatever spices you like (but keep it simple!) and then arrange in a pleasing swirly pattern on your pie crust. You can do some berries too, mix it up!
Dot with little cubes of butter and a sprinkling of sugar on the top and stick it back in the oven to bake through. Since you've sliced everything so pretty it should all cook through at the same time and have pleasing little golden brown edges.
If you are anti-crust you can totally just put fancy sliced fruit tossed with a little sugar lemon and spice in little ramekins. Cut up a little butter in a small amount of flour sugar and spice and sprinkle it on top like a streusel thing, and bake until cooked through.
posted by Mizu at 3:07 AM on March 22, 2013
Make or get a pie crust, and pre-bake it just a little bit with a layer of parchment paper and then a scoopful of beans or other weights on top to keep it from puffing up.
Put slices of: apples, pears, peaches, whatever! that have been sliced to an even thickness in a bowl. Toss fruit with a squeeze of lemon, a spoonful of sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit, some cinnamon or whatever spices you like (but keep it simple!) and then arrange in a pleasing swirly pattern on your pie crust. You can do some berries too, mix it up!
Dot with little cubes of butter and a sprinkling of sugar on the top and stick it back in the oven to bake through. Since you've sliced everything so pretty it should all cook through at the same time and have pleasing little golden brown edges.
If you are anti-crust you can totally just put fancy sliced fruit tossed with a little sugar lemon and spice in little ramekins. Cut up a little butter in a small amount of flour sugar and spice and sprinkle it on top like a streusel thing, and bake until cooked through.
posted by Mizu at 3:07 AM on March 22, 2013
Take a bulb of fennel. Slice out the root, if you wish. Shave into whispery little shreds. Toss with a modest amount of the grassiest, best olive oil you can get your hands on and generous amounts of sumac. Thank me later.
posted by nerdfish at 3:28 AM on March 22, 2013
posted by nerdfish at 3:28 AM on March 22, 2013
Oh! I know potatoes are a contentious issue in paleo diets, but if you can get hold of (or make) gluten free gnocchi and sub the bread crumbs for ground almonds this gnocchi and cabbage gratin is a REVELATION. SERIOUSLY. I can't tell you how rich and silky and perfect the cabbage became.
posted by nerdfish at 3:31 AM on March 22, 2013
posted by nerdfish at 3:31 AM on March 22, 2013
I make a version of this cucumber salad (minus the sesame seeds). Yum.
posted by Nolechick11 at 5:52 AM on March 22, 2013
posted by Nolechick11 at 5:52 AM on March 22, 2013
Friendly heads-up: After the second time I cut myself despite using my guard, I bought a pair of cut resistant gloves to use with my mandoline.
I like using mine to cut up cucumbers for Thai Cucumber Salad.
posted by fings at 7:20 PM on March 22, 2013
I like using mine to cut up cucumbers for Thai Cucumber Salad.
posted by fings at 7:20 PM on March 22, 2013
One of those recipes that sounds quite simple but comes out mindblowingly good: slice Yukon Gold potatoes about as thinly as you can manage — not paper-thin, but manila-folder-thin. Toss gently (preferably by hand) with good olive oil, thyme (minced fresh if possible), freshly ground black pepper, and a tiny pinch of salt (more will be added). Layer in a shallow baking dish as smoothly and evenly as you can, then sprinkle with more salt (ideally something like Maldon or a large-crystal sea salt) and bake in the lower third of the oven at 375 F / 190 C until a paring knife or test skewer slides in with no resistance and the top begins to look golden and crispy.
Also, a mandoline makes slicing the Brussels sprouts for Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Tofu and Pecans from 101 Cookbooks delightfully quick. zip-zip-zip! (Because Brussels sprouts generally have a bit of a stem-stub to them, which makes a useful handle, I generally don't bother using the guard. Still have all 10 fingers.)
posted by Lexica at 6:16 PM on March 23, 2013
Also, a mandoline makes slicing the Brussels sprouts for Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Tofu and Pecans from 101 Cookbooks delightfully quick. zip-zip-zip! (Because Brussels sprouts generally have a bit of a stem-stub to them, which makes a useful handle, I generally don't bother using the guard. Still have all 10 fingers.)
posted by Lexica at 6:16 PM on March 23, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks, guys! I made the brussel sprouts and carrot kinpara almost immediately, am making an apple dish this weekend, and am excited to try out the others!
posted by redsparkler at 2:29 PM on March 27, 2013
posted by redsparkler at 2:29 PM on March 27, 2013
I thought of another good one - it's kind of awkward to do, so you have to be extra-super-careful, but you can use the finest julienne blade as though it's one of these bladed meat tenderizers by dragging the raw meat over it or vice-versa. (Of course, you want to sanitize it every way you can after letting raw meat or poultry touch it.)
posted by XMLicious at 4:02 PM on March 27, 2013
posted by XMLicious at 4:02 PM on March 27, 2013
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posted by phunniemee at 3:47 PM on March 21, 2013