The big, fat floury potatoes are at their best right now. The sort we put in the oven to bake, their outsides crisp and salt flecked, their insides as fluffy as snow. Mash them, stuff them, use them for a gratin, or sauté them with goose fat and thyme. These are the potatoes of winter nights, of cold, wet homecomings and frugal dinners. For the recipes that follow, white-fleshed, floury textured potatoes are the ones you want.
Crushed potatoes with goose fat and thyme
Serves 2
potatoes 500g, on the small side
goose fat 4 tbsp
thyme leaves 1 tbsp
prosciutto 8-12 slices
Cook the potatoes, peeled if you wish, in deep boiling water. Steam them if you prefer. Drain, then crush them very slightly with the back of a spoon, just enough for them to lose their shape but remain relatively intact. This allows a greater surface area for crisping.
Put the goose fat into a wide, shallow pan over a moderate heat. When the fat is hot, add the crushed potatoes and the leaves of the thyme. Continue cooking, the heat fairly low, till the potatoes are crisp and golden. Serve with the slices of prosciutto.
Beetroot leaf saute with chickpeas and potato
A great one for using up potatoes and vegetable-rack veggies.
Serves 4-6
large potatoes 2
olive oil 3 tbsp
carrots 2
garlic 2 cloves
chickpeas 1 x 400g can
beetroot stems 50g
beetroot leaves 150g
lemon 1 small
mint a small handful
Cut the potatoes in half and then into small cubes. Pour the olive oil into a wide shallow-sided pan, add the potatoes and let them cook over a medium heat. Peel the carrots, cube them similarly to the potatoes and add to the pan. Peel and finely chop the garlic, add to the potatoes and carrots, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking till the vegetables are approaching tenderness.
Drain the chickpeas and tip into the pan. Let them warm through for 10 minutes. Chop the beetroot stems into small pieces, then stir into the pan. Roll the beetroot leaves into a short cigar-like cylinder then slice into ribbons and fold into the potatoes and chickpeas. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon, chop the mint leaves, stir in and serve.
Chicken liver ragout, chive oil and soft mash
The double cream is entirely optional, but does lend a velvety finish to the chicken liver ragout.
Serves 2-3
potatoes 1kg
smoked streaky bacon 6 rashers
olive oil 2 tbsp
chestnut mushrooms 150g
a banana shallot
chives 10g
olive oil 5 tbsp
milk 400ml
butter 100g
chicken livers 200g
marsala 4 tbsp
double cream 1 tbsp (optional)
Peel the potatoes, quarter them, then boil in deep, lightly salted water till tender to the point of a knife.
Meanwhile, dice the bacon and cook till almost crisp in the olive oil. Quarter the mushrooms, add to the bacon and continue cooking. Peel and chop the shallot, then add to the pan and cook until soft.
Blitz together the chives and olive oil in a blender till you have a brilliant emerald oil.
When the potatoes are cooked, drain them, then tip into the bowl of a food mixer. Warm the milk and butter in a small pan, then beat enough of the liquid into the cooked potatoes to produce a thoroughly soft mash, almost sloppy in texture.
Add the chicken livers to the pan with the mushrooms and fry briefly. (I like mine pink in the middle, no matter what the food police say.) Pour in the marsala, cook for a minute or two until the livers are done, then (if you wish) stir in the cream. Check the seasoning, then serve with the mashed potato, trickling the chive oil over the potato.
Spiced baked potatoes
Serves 2
large baking potatoes 2
sea salt flakes
groundnut oil a little
butter 30g, plus a little more
medium hot chillies 2
paneer 250g
ground turmeric 1 tsp
spinach 200g
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Wash the potatoes and while they are still wet roll them in sea salt, then place them, not too snugly, on a baking sheet. Bake the potatoes for about 50 minutes, or till they are crisp-skinned and fluffy within.
Remove the potatoes from the oven, slice a “lid” from the top of each one, then scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Reserve the hollowed-out potato shells. Warm a tablespoon of oil in a shallow pan over a moderate heat, then add the butter. Finely chop the chillies, discarding the seeds if you wish, then add to the butter and oil, and cook briefly before adding the paneer cut into cubes.
Add the scooped-out potato flesh to the pan, then the turmeric and leave to cook until it has a little colour, adding more oil or butter if it seems dry. Wash the spinach, then cook it in a separate pan, covered with a lid, for a minute or two till the leaves have wilted. Remove the spinach from the pan, drain, squeeze to remove much of the water, then roughly chop.
Fold the spinach into the potato and paneer, season with salt and black pepper, then stuff the filling into the hollowed-out potato skins. Return the potatoes to the oven for about 15 minutes till steaming hot.
Potatoes in cream and smoked garlic
Serves 3-4 as a side dish
potatoes 700g, medium-sized
olive oil
rosemary 3 bushy sprigs
For the cream
double cream 400ml
smoked garlic 4 fat cloves
parsley a small handful
Peel the potatoes, slice them in half lengthways, then put them snugly, cut side down, in a high-sided frying pan, sauté pan or shallow casserole. Pour in enough olive oil to come a third of the way up the potatoes then add enough water to lap the top of them. You do not need to completely cover the potatoes. Add salt and the sprigs of rosemary.
Set the pan over a moderate heat, bring slowly to the boil, then let them simmer for about 40 minutes, turning regularly so they cook evenly through to the middle, letting them soak up as much of the rosemary-scented olive oil and water as possible. Test for doneness with the point of a knife – it should slide in easily.
While the potatoes are cooking, pour the cream into a saucepan, squeeze the smoked garlic from its skins, add to the cream, then bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse.
When the potatoes are almost cooked and the liquid has almost disappeared (a few tablespoons of liquid in the bottom is fine), pour the garlic cream over and continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes. Serve in shallow bowls and offer spoons for the sauce. Roughly chop the parsley and scatter over the top.
