Well today is the potato festival. What can I say about this popular tuber?
I could go into nutritional details about potatoes, but that would be about as dry as... sawdust. Just about as interesting too. So we'll just agree that potatoes are very nutritious.
I enjoyed going through the recipes that have been sent to me. Some of you sent me recipes from famous cooks, others sent me links to websites with hundreds of potato recipes. Some sent me family favourites, while others sent me Bubba-like lists of potato recipe titles...
Terry, a long time friend from
Foodwine, a listserv e-mail group, sent a recipe from Ina Garten that calls for no water, and go figure the potatoes aren't fried either! Check this out...
Herbed New PotatoesServes 6
Recipe By:
Ina GartenPublished in:
Barefoot in ParisIngredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 1/2 pounds small white or Yukon gold potatoes -- scrubbed but not peeled
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh green herbs -- such as parsley, chives, and dill
Instructions
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the whole potatoes, salt, and pepper and toss well. Cover the pot tightly and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender when tested with a small knife. From time to time, shake the pot without removing the lid to prevent the bottom potatoes from burning. Turn off the heat and allow the potatoes to steam for another 5 minutes. Don't overcook! Toss with the herbs, and serve hot.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
I guess that the residual water from the washed potatoes creates enough steam to cook the potatoes.
Iowagirl, a fellow BBS poster on a
low-carb forum, laughed and sent me the following...
"Mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, au gratin potatoes, boiled potatoes, potato soup, potato pancakes, potato bread. How's that Forrest?" I should have known better than inviting a low-carber to a potato festival! lol ;) Instead of eating potatoes she recommended using potatoes to make fun art projects with kids. Leave it to a low-carbing mom to remind me that potatoes are not only important for nutrition, but also for family fun!
Ian on the other hand told me that his favourite potato recipes are Shepherd's Pie found here
http://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_shepherd.htm and Tattie Hushie found here
http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-015y69.html and finally Corned Beef Hash and Picalilli.
I didn't know that the beef variation of Shepherd's Pie that I eat is actually called Cottage Pie... And who would have thought of adding tomato paste (AKA ketchup) and oatmeal to cream of leek soup? I'll have to try that.
Then Terry found another couple of recipes that were very tasty indeed...
One wasn't so much a recipe, but simply "a way to prepare potatoes"...
"I have a vegetable threader which turns vegetables into spaghetti like strands. I thread a russet potato and wrap a piece of salmon with the threads. Then I saute that in olive oil (lots of salt and pepper on the fish) until the potato is brown and crispy. When that happens the salmon is done. I place that on top of some fresh cooked spinach (sometimes plain and sometimes creamed. It's such a simple dish but very impressive and people love it.... it's sort of fried potatoes without the frying if you know what I mean. The hardest thing about the dish for most people is finding a vegetable threader."
(To see what a vegetable threader is, go here. It makes long "potato spaghetti"... really kinda cool!)Her next recipe was sent to her by another friend of ours, Phyllis (also a foodwine member).
Potato And Onion CakesServes 4
Recipe Sent By: Phyllis Keating
who found it on
this other food related blog Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
coarse salt
1 teaspoons chopped rosemary -- plus 6 sprigs for ramekins
1 small red onion -- sliced into 6 1/4" rounds
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes -- grated
1 egg yolk -- slightly beaten
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter ramekins, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, sugar, and vinegars. Place a rosemary sprig in the bottom of each ramekin, then lay one onion round over the rosemary. Toss potatoes with egg, rosemary, and 2 teaspoons coarse salt. Divide the potatoes into ramekins and dot with remaining butter. Bake for 30 minutes, until brown. To remove the cakes, slide a knife around the edge of the ramekin, then turn upside down.
Don't you just love reading the "extra notes" added those who've cooked a recipe? Well, Terry says:
" I tried it and it's very tasty and fun to do. Unusual in that you don't drain the moisture off. Anyway, it's just different enough that I thought I'd send it to you. It unmolds nicely. Oh I wouldn't use rosemary unless it's very tender new leaves. My friend made it on my recommendation and she used the rosemary you buy at the supermarket which is too coarse and strong. I believe I used fresh thyme leaves in mine."
The last recipe that I'll post comes from a dear friend who recently passed away. He loved life, and lived every second of life for all that it was worth. He laughed. He argued. And as much he loved and lived, he was loved and is missed. Thank you Bob for being a mentor to many of us. An inspiration to some of us. An exaspiration to others... but then those guys don't know how to keep their tongue firmly planted in their cheek! Most of all though, you were a very dear friend. We were very blessed for having known you. (Thanks Terry for sending me this recipe also.)
This is the most fun to make and serve. I've served it a several dinner parties. Everyone likes it and it's such a good story. I microwave the potatoes and rice them so they are *very* dry just like I do for gnocchi. I always do them as walnut size balls. Don't forget the egg wash, it's needed for that great little crust.
Wildly Inauthentic Crustless Potato Knishes - Pastorio Serves 6
Recipe By: Bob Pastorio
Ingredients
2 large eggs; slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoons black pepper
3/8 cup matzo meal
3 cup mashed potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 medium onion; diced and sauteed (optional)
1 egg yolk; beaten with 1 tablespoon water
oil for baking sheet
Instructions
Heat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine eggs, butter or margarine, salt, pepper, and matzo meal. Stir in mashed potatoes and, optionally, a diced and sauteed onion. Form heaping tablespoons of the dough into walnut-sized balls or shape about 1/2 cup portions into the traditional square shape. Brush with egg. Place on a well- greased cookie sheet (non-stick is a good idea) and bake for 20 minutes or so, until well browned. Serve warm.
I split them horizontally and spread a little mustard around the inside. This recipe can be easily doubled. As an option you may also substitute up to 1/4 sweet potato for the white potato for a pleasantly different taste and texture. If you don't have matzo meal, virtually any cracker meal will work, although the taste and texture will vary from this.
Recipe Notes: Knishes are traditionally made with a crepe filled with mashed potatoes. These dispense with the wrapper and form a crust all their own. This makes a lot of little nibbles or maybe ten 3 X 3 inch knishes about an inch thick. Three cups of mashed potatoes is about 1 1/2 pounds. I've used Russets, Yukon Golds, and white-skins. Don't use light margarine or whipped butter because they're different than the real thing, mostly more water. - Bob
Yield: about 30 walnut-sized knishes or ten larger ones.
8/3/06
I baked them on a sheet pan with parchment paper which I sprayed with a bit of Pam. I made them walnut size. David loved them as did I. I think these will be a hit at a cocktail party.I microwaved two large russet baking potatoes until tender. That made my three cups of mashed potatoes. Peeled and riced them while still warm. I felt I needed to keep the potatoes as dry as possible so the knishes would be light. I added the diced sauteed onion which is optional but I felt it was needed for additional flavor. -Terry
Well with all of these recipes, should I really go into my potato recipes? I've grown up in potato country, and there are so many to choose from. Rösti's, Latke's, mashed, hashed, boiled and simply baked... The list goes on. My favourite way of eating potatoes though is when my father makes mashed potatoes. He makes the best mashed potatoes in the world. I could give you the recipe, but even I can't make it just right, and believe me, I've watched him do it and I've tried doing it... It's just not the same. I guess it needs a "
father's touch".
His recipe starts simply enough.
Peel and boil 2 potatoes per person. Strain. Mash. Add some milk, a bit of butter, and a dash of salt and pepper. Mash again to mix the ingredients.
Simple right? Doesn't it beat all that after 25 years, I still can't figure how he does it? They are dry, but not too dry, creamy but not pasty, light but not unsubstantial... And just seasoned enough.
So... Do you have a favourite recipe to share?
