Andrew's ingredient of the month: Potatoes

A potato is a potato is a potato; like a rose, only not very poetic. But that’s the thing about potatoes -- they’re not really poetic; they are the everyday prose of the vegetable world. They work hard and fit into our daily diet. Everybody loves potatoes and has a few standard ways of cooking them. At this time of year, when the weather is turning colder and the holidays approach, it might be useful to try a few new recipes -- to make a little poetry out of the common spud.
Mashed up plain and my favourite mash
Mashed potatoes are a standby and are beloved by most people. Boil peeled potatoes until fully tender; drain and return to the pan to evaporate excess moisture, then mash with butter and hot milk or cream and season with salt and white or black pepper. It’s perfect and simple. And there are lots of ways to subtly change the everyday flavour or mash. My favourite is to add one peeled and quartered white turnip and half a white onion, coarsely chopped, to every three potatoes; mash them up with the potatoes and season with white pepper (not black).

Other smashing mash ideas
Here’s a bunch of other nice things to do to mashed potatoes:
• Boil 1 whole peeled garlic clove for every 2 potatoes in the pot
• Boil an equal amount of peeled and chopped celery root (celeriac)
• Add chopped chives, parsley and/or chervil to the mashed potatoes at the end
• Fry some chopped green onion in butter with a pinch of salt until soft, then stir into mashed potatoes
• Fry onion slowly in butter until beautifully caramelized, then mix into mash
• Add sautéed mushrooms
• Fry some diced bacon until crisp; add onions and fry until golden, then stir into mash
• Stir in a touch of grated horseradish
• Stir in some fresh soft goat cheese until melted; add some chives or parlsley
• Replace the milk or cream with warmed (not boiled) buttermilk
• Replace half of the milk (or, if using, all of the cream) with warmed sour cream or crème fraîche

Leeky good mash and fancy French purée
Leeks and potatoes are spectacular partners. Or, for a mash that’s wonderfully smooth and light, with a nod to French cuisine and its love of purées, there’s Potato and Turnip Purée.

Smashed again?
Smashed potatoes are simply coarsely mashed potatoes, boiled peel-on. Rather crude, I think, but definitely popular. I find the peel a distracting and slightly bitter addition, but the peels are full of good things for your body, so go for it. I think smashed potatoes are best with a good extra virgin olive oil rather than butter and milk or cream – and be generous with the black pepper. But please scrub the potatoes well.

Crispy smashed potatoes
This is a truly addictive way to prepare potatoes: Boil unpeeled small potatoes until slightly less than fully tender; drain. With side of chef’s knife, smash each until about 1/2-inch/1 cm thick. Place on oiled baking sheet and brush with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a 425F/220C oven, turning once after 15 minutes, until crispy and golden-brown, 30 to 25 minutes.

Perfect roast potatoes
Perfect roast potatoes must be wonderfully crispy on the outside and the flesh must be perfectly roasted. I believe russet (baking) potatoes are best for this, although I recently have fallen in love with roasted fingerling potatoes – but they must be peeled, which is rather a pain. Olive oil makes for wonderful roast potatoes, but one could equally swear by bacon fat, rendered duck or chicken fat or lard; regular vegetable oil is not very good. Try our Perfectly Crisp Roast Potatoes for a perfectly delicious side dish.

A common Greek touch
Greeks are very fond of the spud. And they’re also very fond of lemon and olive oil. They combine them well in Lemon-Roasted Potatoes, a dish that almost anyone who has ever been to a Greek restaurant has enjoyed (that’s just about everyone in Canada).

Spud casseroles
Baked in casseroles, potatoes take on new poetic meanings. Besides your grandmother’s scalloped potatoes, there are innumerable ways of preparing potato casseroles, such as the rich and satisfying Potato and Portabello Casserole, the decadently rich Potato Gratin with Oka Cheese and the lighter Potato and Celery Root Casserole.

Potatoes for supper
Potato dishes can also be satisfying and nourishing main courses. I originally thought up a potato-based “lasagna” for the Jewish holiday of Passover, which doesn’t allow the consumption of flour products in general including pasta, but Potato and Spinach Lasagna would be a welcome main course at most tables anytime of the year.

The Swiss are huge fans of potatoes and enjoy boiled potatoes and cheese as a simple and common supper. Rösti, pan-fried potatoes, is probably the national dish of the German-speaking part of the country and when made with melted cheese (Appenzeller is best), it’s a sinfully good dinner (Swiss Rösti with Cheese).

There’s a lot more to potatoes than fries. They are actually an epic still in the writing. Enjoy.