In Good Taste: The humble spud
Dauphinoise potatoes
Hands up those who love potato? I imagine the only ones not with their hands up are those afraid of carbohydrates. The old adage of moderation in all things may be a better ideal to follow, as you can still enjoy the taste of gorgeous, nurturing, homely potatoes. While the potato can’t boast great nutritional value, it certainly makes up for it by doing wonders for the soul.
Unfortunately for those who read the daily diets, the potato’s best friend is fat of almost every kind: butter, olive oil, cream, duck or goose fat, cheese, mayonnaise or beef dripping. You can of course enjoy your “tatie” without it, but you’re only having half the experience. Unless your plate is full of creamy, buttery potatoes every day instead of them simply playing a part in the rest of the meal, you have no worries.
Herbs are another best friend of the potato. Chives, rosemary, tarragon, parsley, coriander, mint and thyme are all perfect partners, depending on how you wish to cook them. In Indian dishes it’s the spices that the potato adores and soaks up with gay abandon. Turmeric, cumin, coriander and chilli all marry well. Don’t be scared to season your potatoes. A friend of mine has a saying: “salt + fat = flavour”, and although I don’t want to be responsible for any heart attacks, it’s actually true!
Determining whether or not your potato is waxy or floury is easy these days as the supermarket bags tell you, or if purchasing from a stall, the owner can give you all the guff. We tend to use waxy potatoes more in the spring and summer, when they excel in salads, or simply boiled with their skins still on and served with a halo of butter and fresh mint. Floury potatoes are ideal for mashing and roasting and suit the cooler months when our bodies need a little more warmth.
It never hurts to cook too many potatoes, as the options for what to do with leftovers are endless. A meal at the ready.
Roughly chop some of yesterday’s cooked potatoes and add to a frying pan that has been heated with a little butter for flavour and oil for heat. Fry slowly, turning, until crisp on all sides. This takes time. Now add some sliced chorizo, an egg or two and continue frying until everything is golden and smells like heaven. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Grated, any leftover cooked potato makes the best fried potato cakes. Add some crumbled lumps of goat cheese, or grated cheese, chopped herbs, some bacon that has been fried and crumbled, or maybe a drained tin of salmon instead. Season well and form into cakes. Dust lightly in flour or cornmeal and fry gently until golden. Serve with a crisp green salad and voila! Lunch is served. The Italians say “A tavola!” (to the table!)…Another saying I have adopted.
Dauphinoise potatoes are loved by all and rarely is someone not seen trying to get those last little creamy crumbly bits from the bottom of the dish with a spoon. Versatile in the flavouring, you could add grainy mustard to the cream if the dish is accompany beef, or horseradish when the potatoes are served with salmon, and if you have ever tried porcini (mushrooms) added to the cream then you will have reached another level entirely! Even when this dish is made simply with fresh cream and a good grinding of pepper and sea salt between the layers, most people want to know what else is in there, due to the depth of flavour.
Sliced leeks, grated gruyere cheese, a grating of nutmeg, chopped anchovies, garlic…etc, can all be used to flavour the layers of potato. Most of the time I think they are perfect just on their own.
Dauphinoise potatoes
Potatoes. I leave the skin, on but it’s up to you.
Cream
Butter
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley to garnish
Butter a baking dish to suit the number of people you will be cooking for. Butter the bottom and sides generously. Slice the potatoes thinly and make concentric circles around the dish. You can do this neatly from the beginning or throw it all in and just make the top layer attractive, depending on whether you are a Virgo or not. Layer the potato slices and season generously between the layers. With your attractive top layer in place, dot around a few thin slivers of butter and add enough cream to come halfway up the side of the potatoes. Bake for at least one hour at 180°C and test for doneness. Most of the cream will have been absorbed and the top should be golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with chopped parsley. Serve with just about anything.
Nora Ephron wrote the following words in Heartburn….she was obviously a foody as well as a romantic.
“I have friends who begin with pasta, and friends who begin with rice, but whenever I fall in love, I begin with potatoes. Sometimes meat and potatoes and sometimes fish and potatoes, but always with potatoes. I have made a lot of mistakes falling in love, and regretted most of them, but never the potatoes that went with them.”
Fiona Feasey
