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There are many easy ways to cook potatoes beyond merely baking or mashing …
If you like garlic, you will love this. Do not peel the potatoes; much of the flavor is in the skins.
1 large or 2 medium russet potatoes
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 TBS olive oil
leaves from a 1 ft branch of rosemary
Preheat the oven to 425°.
Peel the garlic and chop it finely with a sharp knife. Put the garlic, rosemary, and olive oil into a blender or mini-processor and blend well.
Cut the potatoes into bite-sized chunks (large bites).
Place the chunks in a single layer in a shallow oven-proof, microwaveable pan. I use a Corningware skillet. Pour the garlic and oil over the chunks and use your hands to mix, making sure the chunks are all coated with the oil.
Cover the pan. Cook in a microwave oven at full power for 5 minutes.
Uncover the pan. Cook in the regular oven at 425° for 35 minutes.
When done, the potato chunks should be lightly browned. They will be slightly crisp on the outside and soft inside.
Serves 2-3, depending on the size of the potatoes.
The potatoes will tend to stay quite hot. Allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before serving so that tongues and mouths are not burned.
My wife and I really like garlic, so we usually use 4-5 cloves instead of the 2-3 indicated above.
This recipe can also be made with the little potatoes that are sometimes called "new potatoes" or "fingerling potatoes". They should be raw, not the precooked canned variety. Allow 4-6 potatoes per person. This can be quite attractive if white, red, yellow, and purple potatoes are mixed. If these are not truly small, slice them in half lengthwise.
Following an article in the "Food" section of the Los Angeles Times I tried substituting fresh bay leaves for the rosemary. Since bay has a more subtle flavor than rosemary, I reduced the garlic to only two cloves. I used as many as five bay leaves, torn into little pieces before adding to the blender. However, neither my wife nor I could tell there was any seasoning other than the garlic.
29 October 2006
Updated 30 April 2009
If you prefer onions to garlic, try this variation of the above recipe. Again, do not peel the potatoes.
1 large or 2 medium russet potatoes
1 medium onion
1-2 TBS olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Cut the potatoes into bite-sized chunks (large bites).
Slice the onion. Cut each slice into quarters or sixths.
Place the potato and onion in a shallow oven-proof, microwaveable pan. The potato chunks should form a single layer with the onion on top, under, and around the chunks. Pour the oil over the chunks and use your hands to mix, making sure the chunks are all coated with the oil.
Cover the pan. Cook in a microwave oven at full power for 5 minutes.
Uncover the pan. Cook in the regular oven at 375° for 30 minutes.
Serves 2-3, depending on the size of the potatoes.
Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
As with Garlic Roasted Potatoes, this can be made with little potatoes. Also as with Garlic Roasted Potatoes, bay leaves may be added.
Note that the cooking temperature and time are less than for Garlic Roasted Potatoes. This is to prevent over-cooking the onions.
For a change, use one large or two small leeks instead of onion. Cut off the leaves and discard. Remove the root end. Cut the remaining leek into 1/4-inch slices. Then cut each slice in half. Mix with the potatoes as indicated in the recipe for onion.
29 October 2006
Updated 26 NOvember 2008
Rösti is a German word meaning crisp and golden.
Made with russet potatoes, this is very good — much better than hash-brown potatoes. Made with sweet potatoes, this is excellent — much sweeter than any other way of preparing sweet potatoes without added sugar.
1 large or 2 medium potatoes
olive oil
If you are using sweet potatoes or yams, peel. Otherwise, leave potatoes unpeeled. Cut the potatoes in chunks just small enough to be fed into a food processor. Using the shredding blade, process the potatoes.
Note: This cannot be made with a blender. This requires shreds almost as if you were making shoestring potatoes, not grated potatoes (which would be used for potato pancakes).
In a large frying pan over a medium-high flame, fry the shredded potatoes in olive oil. Do this in batches, each batch being a layer of potatoes not more 1/2 inch thick. Use only a little oil, enough to prevent sticking and to ensure crisping. Russet potatoes will soak up much more oil than will sweet potatoes.
Cook a batch on each side until it begins to brown. I use a metal spatula or pancake turner to turn the potatoes. With the spatula, I also press the shredded potatoes down into the frying pan to ensure that all shreds are cooked. Generally, each batch should be turned only once.
If you are using russet, white, red, or similar "real" potatoes, the result will stick together and form a pancake (but not at all like a potato pancake). If you are using sweet potatoes or yams, the result is less sticky; you will not get a coherent mass.
Serves 2-4, depending on the size of the potatoes.
Even with sweet potatoes or yams, this tastes best if slightly salted when eating.
This results in pancakes much more delicate and fragile than most recipes because this recipe does not use any flour or other starchy binder. As with most of my recipes with potatoes, this is made with the skins.
2 medium russet potatoes
1 medium onion
1 carrot
2 eggs
olive oil
Wash and cube the potatoes and carrot. Peel and cube the onion.
Break one egg in the pitcher of a blender. With the blender running at a medium speed, slowly add one potato, half the onion, and half the carrot, mixing the cubes instead of adding all of one ingredient at a time. Blend until a batter is produced. You want some texture in the batter, not a uniform purée. Pour the batter into a large bowl.
Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
In a large frying pan over a medium-high flame, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. With a large mixing spoon, drop spoonsful of batter into the pan. Fry the pancakes on each side until they are dark brown and somewhat crispy. Add more oil for each batch of pancakes.
This makes about a dozen or more pancakes.
If the pancakes need reheating, do that one layer at a time in a frying pan without additional oil. That way, they will regain their crispness.
It's best to make the batter in two batches to ensure that all the cubes are blended without overworking the blender motor.
21 December 2006
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