Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen (36 page)

mashed potatoes

Makes 4 to 5 servings

A
very satisfying experience awaits you in this recipe. It’s hard to describe the contentment one can experience from boiling potatoes, mashing them by hand with an old-fashioned, hand-held mashing tool, while adding butter and milk (and possibly even real cream). All that satisfaction, and you haven’t even eaten them yet! You can mash pretty much any kind of potato, but do it by hand. (If puréed in a food processor, potatoes will quickly become gluey, stretchy, and limp, and there’s no fixing them. It’s a mistake you don’t even want to make once.) Russet (baking) potatoes will yield fluffier results than other types (and might warrant a little extra butter, cream, or milk because their flesh is drier). Yukon Golds, Yellow Finns, red potatoes, and other waxy varieties will give you a denser mash, and you can leave the skins on if you prefer. Once you drain the cooked potatoes, work quickly to keep things hot. It helps to mash them right in the cooking pot, and to warm the serving bowl or individual plates for a minute or so in the microwave right before serving.

1.
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover them by a good inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until falling-apart tender. (Literally: Cook them until a fork inserted into any of the pieces causes the potato to split.)

2.
During the last few minutes of simmering, heat the milk and/or cream either in a saucepan over low heat until bubbly around the edges and warm to the touch (but not boiling, which can cause it to curdle) or for about 45 seconds in a microwave oven. Set aside near the sink (or wherever you’ll be working), and have the butter there too.

3.
Put a colander in the sink and drain the potatoes thoroughly, then immediately return them to the hot empty pot. Throw in the butter, and begin mashing with the masher. When the potatoes are about halfway mashed, pour in the heated milk or cream plus the salt and some black pepper to taste, and keep mashing, scraping, and stirring. When the mixture is done to your liking (don’t try to get it perfectly smooth, or it will have cooled down too much), transfer it immediately to a heated bowl or plates and serve right away.

GET CREATIVE

• For tangier mashed potatoes, substitute buttermilk for some or all of the milk or cream.
  
• Make green mashed potatoes by stirring in a cup of chopped cooked spinach (or frozen chopped spinach that has simply been zapped in a microwave until hot; squeeze out some of the liquid before adding).
  
• For subtle garlic mashed potatoes, simmer 4 or 5 peeled garlic cloves with the potatoes while you cook them. Drain the potatoes, then mash the garlic along with the potatoes.
  
• You can mash any of these items into the potatoes, adding them when you add the milk and/or cream and salt. Or serve a few at the table, for people to customize their own.
  
  • -Roasted Garlic Paste (Chapter 1: Soups)—1 tablespoon per serving
    
  • -A drizzle of high-quality olive oil
    
  • -A large clove of garlic, minced
    
  • -Crumbled bleu cheese, goat cheese, or other soft, crumbly cheese (2 to 3 tablespoons per serving), or Luxurious Bleu Cheese Dressing (Chapter 2: Salads)
    
  • -Grated Cheddar, Parmesan, or Gruyère cheese (however much you want)
    
  • -Sour cream and chives
    
  • -Crumbled cooked bacon (see Chapter 8: Party Snacks) or prosciutto
    
  • -Wasabi (1 teaspoon per serving)
    
  • -Horseradish (1 teaspoon per serving)
    
  • -Cooked onion or minced scallion
    
  • -A dash of ground or, even better, freshly grated nutmeg on top
    

boiled parsley potatoes

Makes 4 to 5 servings

T
ry this very simple dish on a night when you have little time or patience for kitchen prep. It takes just 15 minutes, start to finish. Red creamer potatoes are easy to find and to work with. They require no peeling or scrubbing—just a quick rinse and perhaps a single cut, and they’re ready for the stove. Use little red potatoes, about 1½ inches in diameter. They are lovely on the plate and go well with just about any fish, chicken, or meat entrée as well as many vegetarian dishes. Add the parsley at the very last minute so it stays bright green. These keep well in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator, so save a few for breakfast and reheat them in a microwave or a hot skillet to eat with your eggs.

1.
Rinse the potatoes in a strainer or colander under running water, then shake off the excess water. Pat the potatoes dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel, and then cut them in half lengthwise with a very sharp knife. Place them in a large saucepan, add cold water to cover by about an inch, add about a teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until just tender enough for a fork or a sharp knife to pierce them easily. (They should not be falling apart.)

2.
During the last few minutes of simmering, rinse a big handful of parsley under running water. Squeeze it tightly over the sink to press out most of the water, then roll it in paper towels to dry it further. Transfer the parsley to a cutting board and mince with a sharp knife. Measure out 1/3 cup, and set this aside.

3.
Place the colander back in the sink, and drain the potatoes well. Carefully (so as not to burn yourself) pat the cooking pot dry with paper towels and immediately return the potatoes to the pot. Throw in the butter or drizzle in the olive oil (or use some of both) and toss, sprinkling in the ¾ teaspoon salt as you go. Toss in the parsley, stir, transfer to a bowl, and serve right away.

roasted fingerlings

Makes 4 to 5 servings

F
ingerling potatoes are an heirloom variety (meaning, grown from old-fashioned, noncommercial seeds, favored and thus kept alive by true vegetable gardeners) that has become quite popular in recent years. Easily found in farmers’ markets and enlightened produce departments, fingerlings are small, elongated, and knobby, kind of like a wise old person’s fingers, which is why they are so named. They have very thin, delicious skin and rich yellow flesh, and were born (or I should say, sprouted) to be roasted at a high temperature in a slick of olive oil. From this process, they emerge fantastically crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside, and indescribably delectable all over.

1.
Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 425°F. Scrub the potatoes under running water. Pat them dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel, and then cut them in half lengthwise with a very sharp knife.

2.
Line a baking tray with aluminum foil, and drizzle it with the olive oil. (You can use one of the cut potatoes to spread the oil, holding the foil steady with your other hand.)

3.
Place the potatoes, cut side down, in a single layer on the oiled surface. Place the tray in the oven, and let the potatoes roast, undisturbed, for 15 minutes.

4.
Remove the tray from the oven, and use tongs to turn the potatoes over. Return the tray to the oven and let the potatoes roast for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cut sides are nicely browned and the potatoes are cooked through. Remove from the oven, and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

GET CREATIVE

• Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Fancy “designer” salts and exotic pepper are great here, too.)
  
• Garnish with a sprinkling of minced parsley.
  
• After you turn the potatoes over, sprinkle them with up to ½ teaspoon dried rosemary or thyme, or up to 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary or thyme, before returning the tray to the oven.
  
• Serve with a small dish of salsa, sour cream, yogurt, ketchup, or mayonnaise, for dipping.
  
• Drizzle with high-quality olive oil just before serving.
  
• Pass a shaker bottle of hot sauce at the table.
  

skillet potatoes with fried onions

Makes 4 to 5 servings

T
his classic method for making restaurant-style “home fries” involves several steps. First, you boil the potatoes. Then you drain them and brown them in batches in a skillet. Then you sauté onions, and finally you bring it all together in the skillet. All this takes some time, but not a whole lot of work. And it’s worth it. If you follow this process (especially cooking the potatoes in batches so they have plenty of room to brown), the end product will be truly, divinely crisp—which, after all, is the whole point of fried potatoes.

You can use any type of potato. A combination of colors will taste great and look beautiful. A shortcut: Use leftover cooked potatoes (4 to 5 cups) to make this dish. Even baked potatoes, although crumbly, will do fine.