I promised an article devoted entirely to potatoes – how glamorous! – and here it is. The humble spud! And its many, many incarnations.
Do you know anyone who doesn’t like potatoes? Or, more on trend, who is potato-intolerant? I thought not. On second thoughts I actually do know someone who won’t choose potatoes as the side to his dinner but he still eats chips and is not averse to Kettle crisps. So there: a weak exception to confirm the rule that potatoes are universally loved.
And they are definitely a wonderful cooking material! Just consider how many different ways they can be cooked in, for a simple or totally fancy side dish.
Now is not the season for boiled new potatoes, and just as well because we can do much better than that. First of all, chips – because homemade chips, no matter how much effort and mess they require, can’t be beaten. Triple cooked can be classically first boiled or baked in the oven, before the double dip in oil.
Next up, roasties. They are the most important element of a Christmas dinner (not counting gravy), and you can cook them the traditional way, with whole cloves of garlic, or you can smash and roast them for a whole new texture experience.
Hasselback potatoes, those ridged ones, are a cross between baked and roasted. Pick medium sized spuds for hasselbacks or they’ll burn on the outside before they cook through. And for the ultimate hasselback variation, make them into a cheesy gratin.
Potatoes are gorgeous in a cheesy, creamy gratin, which, with fennel or cabbage, will make a wholesome main course, bar a green salad. But a little less calorific and as rewarding are potatoes boulangère: baked in a layer covered with chicken or vegetable stock instead of cream.
Lemon potato wedges are classic Greek; potato babka is a Polish recipe which makes a great vegetarian roast. And let’s not miss soups: leek and potato or just potato, with dried mushroom flavour.
Salads come next: simple potato salad with radish and gherkins, or a warm potato salad with smoked mackerel.
Potatoes can be cooked with fish: see salmon and potato bake or cod with potatoes, plus used as a topping on a fish pie. They can be grated and fried into rosti or latkes. And finally, they also work like magic in bread making, adding moisture and depth of flavour to a quick loaf of bread. Bet you didn’t know that, did you!
As it’s only barely more than two weeks until Christmas now so I’d better roll up my sleeves and get the Chrimbo cookbook going from next week! Happy cooking!