l. Vegetables. Potatoes and Roots

The many uses of the humble potato

The versatile potato lends itself to many cooking techniques, starting with simple steaming.  There are many cultivars (varieties) with different cooking behaviors depending on their starch content. For boiling and steaming, you would prefer a low starch, waxy type which holds well together whereas mealy, floury potatoes are preferable for all other cooking methods.

In old Europe, potato peels are not consumed but used for seasoning carbon steel pans instead. As soon as a potato skin sports some green tint or sprouts, we peel deeper. However, in the U.S., a Google search on potato peel recipes will yield 5 million results! Who can explain this unique infatuation with skins? Is it a matter of taste? Or health maybe? Of course, I looked at a few of these recipes and quickly concluded I cannot compete. No potato skin recipe for you here.

Steamed Potatoes with Butter

Tired of cooking but wanting something hot anyway? Call in the potato to help.

Choose excellent potatoes with a thin skin, if possible of the waxy type which stays firm after cooking.

Scrub them without peeling and cut in thick slices.

Steam them for 15 minutes, until tender under the fork.

Pour in a large bowl with enough butter to coat them, salt, and pepper.

Mix and serve. Add any fresh herb you like, but it is not really needed.  

Mashed Potatoes / Purée de Pommes de Terre

Does anyone need a recipe for mashed potatoes? Probably not, but here it is anyway.

×           2 lbs potatoes

×           2 oz butter

×           1 cup milk or cream

×           1 egg

×           Nutmeg, salt and pepper

Steam the potatoes and peel them.

Meanwhile, prepare the pan or bowl where you will mix the ingredients.

Add butter, salt, pepper, and grate some nutmeg (this is best done with a knife that you run against the nut to make minuscule shavings).

Mash the potatoes over the bowl while they are still hot with a hand vegetable mill. You can also use a fork, but no high speed blending.

Mix with butter until it melts, and add hot milk.

Add the egg and whip thoroughly with a whisk or a fork.

Add milk if needed, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

There are ways to keep this preparation waiting and not drying up too much, but to my taste, it should be consumed immediately, if possible with some poultry or meat roast that will contribute its natural juices.

Mashed Potatoes 2

If you are in a more austere mode, you can replace butter, milk and egg with olive oil only. It is also quite good. If it is not rich enough for your taste, just add hot milk.

Sautéed potatoes

Prepared with goose (or duck or pork) fat, this is the typical Périgord dish, wonderfully rich and supposedly dangerous for your cholesterol levels. (1)

Fortunately, you can also prepare it with vegetable oil, and in many variations, all retaining the end garlic/parsley signature. You will need:

×           2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and sliced

×           1 garlic clove, minced finely

×           4 tbsp. minced parsley

×           Oil, salt and pepper

Cut the peeled potatoes in quarters and make slices of regular thickness, between 1/8 and1/4 inch.

Heat the pan. Add oil and pour in the potato slices.

Sauté the potatoes on regular medium heat, stirring from time to time.

Salt after 10 minutes and continue cooking.

Turn off the heat when you determine that the potatoes are cooked.

Add the raw garlic and parsley.

Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Although this is a very straightforward, forgiving dish, as you continue to make it, you will discover a number of different results, all mostly good, depending on:

×           the type of potatoes

×           the amount of potatoes in relation with the pan’s size

×           the temperature of the pan

×           the time when you add salt (which contributes to potatoes giving off their water)

×           the use or not of a lid (which would lead to a steaming effect)

Just practice. Your own taste preferences will lead you on this quest for the right consistency, somewhere between 2 extremes you do not want to experience: overly mashed or unfortunately burnt. 

Sautéed Potatoes, Carrots and Onions

This is a variation on the same recipe, with the addition of onions, or carrots and onions.

For 2 lbs. of potatoes, you need to add 3 carrots and one large sweet onion.

Carrots take longer to cook and should be sliced somewhat thinner than the potatoes.

Start sautéing the carrots and 5 to 10 minutes later the onions, until both are about to brown.

Add the potatoes and continue sautéing, stirring from time to time.

Carrots and onions bring to this version their capacity to caramelize and glaze easily. As in the previous recipe, you can aim for more or less crispness.

Oriental Sautéed Potatoes

Despite its name, this dish was created serendipitously in our kitchen and I have no idea if it is eaten anywhere else. The difference with standard sautéed potatoes lie in the seasoning: When you add salt after 10 minutes, also add cumin ( ½ tbsp.); cayenne or chili flakes (a pinch) and sesame seeds ( ¾ tbsp.).

This is especially good with these small elongated thin-skinned potatoes of the Russian Banana fingerling type, unpeeled and cut in 2 or 4 lengthwise. 

Frites (French Fries)

Even if you know they may not be the best for your health, perfect crispy frites can be heavenly, accompanied by roasted meat or poultry, simple hard-boiled or fried eggs, or even alone.

Modernist cooks have found a way to prepare the $1,000 frite, using sophisticated equipment nobody owns and a complex process. My solution is much simpler, but I have found it requires 3 critical points to be satisfied:

1.     The right potato variety. My own favorites in France are Bintje first and Mona Lisa second.

2.     The right peanut oil. In my experience, only the top French brand complies, and only for a few batches before needing replacement.

3.     The right cooking. This part demands undivided attention. It includes:

×           Cutting up potatoes into slices or pieces of the desired shape

×           Having a large volume of oil in relation to the future fries

×           Checking that the oil temperatures stay around 170°C (340°F)

×           Cooking the fries until they seem barely cooked (not golden in any way)

×           Setting them aside temporarily so that they cool off (and become limp)

×           Re-heating the oil bath and re-frying them until golden and crispy (this happens very fast).

×           Drying them on paper towels and salting them.

In the U.S., after numerous unsuccessful attempts, I have found an expensive potato cultivar which lends itself to a fair approximation of a good French fry. In the Berkeley market I go to, it is called “German butterball”. (2)

Potato Pancake (Galette de Pommes de Terre)

Potato pancakes often include flour and eggs. A crispy, satisfying and healthier variation may be obtained with potatoes only.

Just grate some mealy potatoes. Add salt, pepper, and mix.

Fashion small 2/3 inch thick patties and cook them in a pan on medium/high heat with enough olive oil for 5minutes.

Turn them over and cook for 5 more minutes.

You should experience a contrast between the crispy golden fried strands on the outside of the pancake and the steamed inside.

Gratin Dauphinois

This dish is very easy to make, yet impressive for guests… and satisfying for all. It accompanies any roasted meat or poultry perfectly. You will need:

×           2 lbs of potatoes

×           1 pint of French crème fraîche

×           Butter, nutmeg, salt and pepper

×           Small garlic clove

Cut the garlic clove in 2 and rub against the bottom of the baking dish thoroughly.

Spread butter on the bottom and sides of the dish.

Peel and slice potatoes. Slices should be 1.5 mm (1/16 inch) thick at most.

Place potatoes in a large baking dish; Salt and pepper to taste. Grate some nutmeg on top.

Add the crème fraîche, mix thoroughly, and spread as evenly as possible. In the end, the cream should barely cover the potatoes. Hands work better. If you are reluctant to use your hands, use a more liquid mixture of crème fraîche and some milk that you will just have to pour on top of the potatoes.

Put in the oven at medium/high temperature for about 30 minutes, until the cream on top becomes golden.

It’s ready. The sophistication comes from using cream rather than cheese (heavy whipping cream would also work) and limiting the use of garlic to the initial rub.

Results will be different if you have a very thin layer of potatoes (perfect taste/not much to eat) or a thicker layer (not so good/more filling). All depends on whether you want to impress or to feed.

Baked Potato

This was once a staple of American restaurants. An enormous potato would appear with your cut of meat, still steaming in its aluminum foil coat. You had to pierce and open up the foil and the potato, add some salt, pepper, butter or sour cream. It is still very easy to make at home, provided you think of it about 2 hours in advance, the time it takes for them to cook in a medium heat oven. You can also roast potato halves which you will have topped with salt, pepper, herbs, paprika and olive oil. 

Root Vegetables

Products of this category are not as close taxonomically as they are in the kitchen. Although their tastes are different, carrots and parsnips belong to the same family, as do celeriac (celery root), celery, parsley and root parsley. Turnips and rutabagas are cabbage’s cousins. Beetroot is a root, but its leaves are quite edible, prepared the same way as spinach. When the root shrinks and the leaves expand, it becomes the multicolor chard where leaves only are consumed. (3)

Carrots

After a few centuries of orange domination, carrots now sport a wide array of original colors in upscale markets, from white to purple. This can enhance the visual appeal of your dishes but, after trying many types and despite my treasure hunting bias, I have concluded that I should select my carrots on matters of taste over color. This can take time as there are many cultivars now available. Know that the best carrot is not the best looking or the freshest or the most organic .

Carrots are already good raw, but they need to be cooked to develop their flavor and for their orange beta-carotene to be absorbed. They are healthy for you, as well as a pleasure at the table. Enjoy them in the many variations they offer, either on their own or as a stew component. 

Carrots/Onions/Ginger

This mix of sautéed carrots, onions and ginger is a perennial favorite. It stands by itself and works well to accompany white meats and fish, as a main accompaniment or as a side dish. Its attraction is that carrots and onions caramelize and stay firm. Ginger complements their natural sugar. 

You will need:

×           1½ lb. carrots

×           ½ lb. sweet onion

×           1 tbsp. grated or minced ginger root (or more)

×           Salt and pepper

Slice the carrots and the onion finely.

Sauté the carrot slices for 10 minutes on medium/high heat with the ginger. Stir and check constantly for burning.

Salt and add the onion.

Continue browning until onions are golden, i.e. about 20 minutes, checking that the burner gives you the right heat to caramelize without burning.

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Glazed Carrots

Contrary to the preceding recipe which requires constant attention, this mode of cooking is rather easy, quick and forgiving, while delivering excellent results. Originally, this type of recipe asked for rich butter, but I have found olive oil to work quite well. No sugar is required to achieve this glazing effect.

The principle of glazing is to place carrot pieces (1-inch long, for example) in a pan in one layer, pour water until it reaches the top of the pieces, add some salt, butter or oil, and cook them on medium heat until the water has almost evaporated. When this happens, about 20 minutes later, carrots should be cooked. Just stir them while the last drops of water evaporate and the remaining fat coats the pieces gently.

Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with your favorite herb. Serve.

The sophisticated way to prepare this would include carving all carrot pieces so that they have the same length and girth, oblong with rounded ends. This is not only testimony to the effort you have made for your guests but leads to similar cooking for all pieces. The rounded appearance of each piece, increased by the glazing process, adds to the aesthetics of your final preparation.

More Glazed Roots: Celeriac, Turnip, Parsnip

All of these roots will lend themselves to this cooking method. You just have to adapt the cooking time and the heat level in order to get the same glazing effect while maintaining some crunchiness.

(1)    Next time you roast a duck, you can make your own duck fat that will keep for a quite a while in your refrigerator. Save the cooking juices from your duck, which will be too fat to serve anyway and put them in a jar or a bowl in the refrigerator. The white fat will freeze on top. You can then skim it off and keep the rest in its own jar.

(2)    If you ever manage to make good frites, you may be interested to try Pommes Dauphine, an even richer, more sinful version. Pommes Dauphine are made of mashed potatoes (leftover revival?) mixed with the famed “pâte à choux”, used for profiteroles for example. Once you are done with mixing, fashion small 1-inch diameter balls and deep-fry them.  Very similar recipes are used for other beignets, for example French West Indies accras or the bolinho de bacalhau in Brazil and Portugal. 

(3)    In France, rutabagas belong to what we call the Forgotten Vegetables. They seem to owe their fate to overconsumption during the WWII lean years. Although they are widely available, most people have never tasted them and may be favorably impressed when you serve them in lieu of turnips.