The savory vegetarian filling in this pie can be served on its own as a side dish. Just add the peas about five minutes before taking the pot out of the Sun Oven. Traditional pie crust can also be used in place of the filo dough.

Sun Oven Samosa Pie

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 russet potatoes (about 1-pound), peeled and diced

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons garam masala

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Additional melted butter or Olive oil

6 sheets filo dough, thawed

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Melt the butter in a medium pot. Add the potatoes, onion, garlic, garam masala, and turmeric.

Toss to coat the vegetables with the seasoning. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and season with salt.

Cover and cook in the Sun Oven until the potatoes are soft and have absorbed most of the water, about 1 hour. Remove the pot from the Sun Oven and stir in the peas and the lemon juice. Adjust for salt and let cool.

Coat baking pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with one sheet of the filo dough, letting the excess hang over the sides. Brush with the melted butter or oil. Repeat with three more sheets of dough.

Spread the potato filling evenly in the pan. Cut the remaining two sheets of filo dough in half. Top the potato mixture with one of the halves and brush with butter or oil. Repeat with the remaining three sheets. Fold the excess dough over the four sheets.

Bake the pie in the Sun Oven until lightly browned, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before serving.

The rutabaga and buttermilk give these mashed potatoes great flavor and texture.

Sun Oven Potato and Rutabaga Mash

Ingredients

1 large rutabaga (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Chopped chives

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Use two stackable pots or two that will fit side by side in the Sun Oven.

Put the rutabaga in one pot and and enough water to come about half way up without covering them. Do the same with the potatoes in the other pot.

Place both pots, covered, in the Sun Oven and cook until the vegetables are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Drain the rutabaga, pressing gently to release any excess liquid. Drain the potatoes.

Return both the rutabaga and the potatoes to one of the pots. Add the butter and mash well.

Continue mashing, gradually adding the buttermilk, until smooth.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the chopped chives.

Makes 4 servings.

These smashed potatoes along with steamed kale, broccoli, or other green vegetable go great with beef, chicken, or pork.

Garlicky Sun Oven Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

1/2 cup water

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 to 1/2 cup milk, warmed

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

In a large pot, combine the potatoes, water, garlic, oil and salt.

Cover and cook in the Sun Oven until the potatoes are very tender.

Using a potato masher, coarsely mash the potatoes adding enough of the milk to achieve the desired consistency.

Serve immediately or keep warm in the Sun Oven for up to 2 hours.

As the days get shorter and the weather less predictable I tend to do more hybrid cooking. I’ll start a dish out in the Sun Oven and finish it stove top or in the conventional oven. This recipe lends itself perfectly to dual heat sources. The carrots and potatoes can be solar roasted early in the day, then if the clouds roll in, or you want to eat after sunset, the assembled dish can be baked in your indoor oven at dinnertime.

Sun Oven Potato and Carrot Bake

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter, divided

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed

1 pound carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1-inch pieces

3/4 to 1 cup milk, warmed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Put the carrots in a shallow pot, add 1/3 cup water, and dot with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Cover and transfer to the Sun Oven. Arrange the potatoes around the sides of the pot and on the lid if they don’t all fit. Cook until carrots and potatoes are tender, about 2 hours. Leave the Sun Oven out. Press the carrots and any cooking juices through a ricer into a large bowl. Cut the potatoes in half, scoop out the flesh, and press through the rice into the bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat in the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, cheese, and gradually add the milk until reaching the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt. Butter an oval roasting pan or baking dish. Spread the potato mixture out in the pan (Can be made one day ahead. Cover and chill). Cover and bake in the Sun Oven until heated through and browned, about 45 minutes. (For conventional ovens, preheat to 350˚F and bake uncovered).

Solar braised potatoes couldn’t be easier to make. Just spread the spuds out in a single layer in a cast iron pan; small varieties such as fingerlings or butterball work best. Toss in some garlic or onions. Add enough water or broth to reach about halfway up. Drizzle with olive oil or dot with butter.  Add bay leaves, rosemary, or other herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and braise in the Sun Oven until the potatoes are tender. A few minutes on the stove over high heat to let the remaining water evaporate completes the dish.

Chipotle chiles give these whipped sweet potatoes a smokey, spicy kick. Add them a little at a time until the heat is right for your taste.

Spicy Sun Oven Whipped Sweet Potatoes

(adapted for the Sun Oven from epicurious.com)

Ingredients

2 1/2 to 3 pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed

1 to 2 chipotle chile in adobo, minced to a paste

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Put the sweet potatoes in a large roasting pan, cover and bake int the Sun Oven until very soft, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Leave the Sun Oven out. Let the potatoes cool enough to handle then cut in half and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Beat the potatoes, minced chiles (to taste), butter, and salt with an electric beater until smooth. Spread the mixture out in a greased baking dish. Cover the dish with tin foil, then a dark tea towel and bake in the Sun Oven until hot, 35 to 40 minutes.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

I set my Sun Oven out first thing in the morning, even if I don’t know what I’ll be cooking, just so it will be ready when I am. Sometimes I toss in a pan of bacon too, because crispy sun cooked bacon always comes in handy at some point during the day.

Sun Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Bacon

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon

1 1/2 pound fingerling potatoes

1 medium onion, sliced

kosher salt

Preparation

Set Global Sun Oven out to preheat.

Cook the bacon until crisp in the Sun Oven – click to see how – or in a frying pan. Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside, reserve the cooking fat.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Toss the potatoes in a large, lidded roasting pan* with the onion and enough bacon fat, 2 t0 3 tablespoons, to coat the vegetable well. Spread the vegetables out in one layer. Season with salt, cover and place in the Sun Oven until the potatoes are soft, about 1 hour. Remove pan from the Sun Oven, toss with crumbled bacon.

*If you don’t have a large roasting pan with a lid use a rimmed baking dish oven bag.

Solar Green Bean and Potato Pie (adapted from ‘Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking’ by Marcella Hazan)

Ingredients

1/2 pound boiling potatoes

1 pound fresh green beans

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

Extra virgin olive oil

Plain bread crumbs

A 9-inch springform pan

Preparation

Set Global Sun Oven out to preheat.

Wash the potatoes, put them in a pot with enough cold water to cover them well and bring to a boil.

Trim the green beans and soak them in a large boil of cold water for 10 minutes. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt. When water returns to a rapid boil add the drained green beans. Adjust heat so that it boils at a moderate pace. Drain the beans when they are just tender and have lost their raw flavor, 6 to 10 minutes. Chop the beans until very fine in a food processor, do not puree. Drain the potatoes when tender. Peel them and pass them through a food mill or potato ricer. Combine beans, potatoes, eggs, salt, pepper, and marjoram in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Lightly smear the baking pan with olive oil. Sprinkle bread crumbs generously over the bottom and the sides of the pan, invert the pan to shake out excess crumbs. Put bean and potato mixture into the pan, distributing it evenly and leveling it with a spatula. Top with more bread crumbs and a drizzling of olive oil. Bake in the GSO for about 90 minutes. Cool on a rack for about ten minutes, run a knife around the edges and carefully release the ring of the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 6 servings.

Rosemary-Parmesan Accordion Potatoes

Ingredients

1 potato per person

olive oil

salt

fresh rosemary

freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preparation

Set Global Sun Oven out to preheat.

Put a potato on a cutting board and lay a wooden spoon next to it. Cut 8 to 10 slices down the potato until the knife reaches the spoon handle; leaving the base of the potato intact. Place the sliced potatoes in a lidded roasting pan, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place a sprig of rosemary between each slice. Bake until tender; about 1 hour.

For serving, remove the rosemary sprigs and sprinkle with grated cheese.

If I have left over meat from the lamb shanks and beans I use it to make shepherd’s pie. The filling is a lot less meatier than most shepherd’s pie recipes. The lamb is more of a flavoring, not the main attraction. I don’t follow a recipe, but it’s very easy to make. Sauté a sliced onion in some olive oil with about 8 oz. of sliced mushrooms in a large skillet, add a chopped zucchini, 1/2 cup of water and a packet of brown gravy mix. Stir in the lamb and some frozen peas. Put it in an oval lidded roasting pan or a casserole dish, top with mashed potatoes (I’m sure you have your own favorite recipe) cover and bake in the Global Sun Oven until heated through and browned on top. If you like a meatier pie you can always throw in an extra lamb shank when you make the shanks and beans or you can used ground meat browned in the skillet.