{"id":26,"date":"2026-09-20T00:14:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T00:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stockandstir.co\/blog\/the-recipe-called-for-rice-the-potatoes-had-other-plans.html"},"modified":"2026-09-20T00:19:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T00:19:37","slug":"the-recipe-called-for-rice-the-potatoes-had-other-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stockandstir.co\/blog\/the-recipe-called-for-rice-the-potatoes-had-other-plans.html","title":{"rendered":"The Recipe Called for Rice. The Potatoes Had Other Plans."},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tracy Lovett<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The dinner that started with missing rice, and ended with potatoes worth repeating.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was making chicken curry for dinner when I ran into one small problem: the recipe called for basmati rice, and I didn't have any rice.<\/p>\n

What I did have was golden potatoes.<\/p>\n

And the more I thought about those potatoes, roasted in olive oil, generously seasoned with za'atar, with coconut chicken curry ladled over the top, the less I missed the rice.<\/p>\n

So that became dinner.<\/p>\n

I also had a head of cauliflower and a pound of chicken tenderloins. Between those, the potatoes, and the spices in my cabinet, I had the makings of a meal. I just needed to let it be a little different from the recipe.<\/p>\n

\"Golden<\/p>\n

What I had became the starting point.<\/em><\/p>\n

Start with what takes the longest<\/h2>\n

The potatoes went first. I sliced them about half an inch thick, coated them in olive oil, and spread them on a sheet pan. Then came the za'atar.<\/p>\n

\"Sliced<\/p>\n

I love za'atar. My family loves za'atar. There was no delicate dusting happening in this kitchen.<\/p>\n

Into a 425F oven they went, with a plan to flip them after 20 minutes and keep roasting until they were golden and easily pierced with a fork. Roughly 30 to 40 minutes altogether, depending on the thickness.<\/p>\n

The cauliflower would go in when I flipped the potatoes. It needed less time, and I wanted browned edges without burning it. A separate pan gave it room to roast, with olive oil and seasoning, for about 20 to 25 minutes.<\/p>\n

\"Cauliflower<\/p>\n

The cauliflower got its own pan and a later start.<\/em><\/p>\n

That staggered start also gave me time to work on the chicken.<\/p>\n

One more pantry substitution<\/h2>\n

The curry called for coconut milk. I didn't have a can of that, either.<\/p>\n

But I did have powdered, freeze-dried coconut milk.<\/p>\n

I mixed it with water according to the package directions. For this version, the starting sauce amounts were 1 1\/2 cups prepared coconut milk and 1\/4 cup water or broth. That would give us sauce for the chicken and enough to spoon over the potatoes.<\/p>\n

\"Prepared<\/p>\n

Powdered coconut milk made another pantry substitution possible.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the pound of chicken, the spice amounts were:<\/p>\n