The Humble Potato

[Oola]

I absolutely love potatoes! I'm growing my own again this year - maris piper and charlotte I think (can't quite remember).

But the question is, how do you eat yours? What's your favourite way to cook with potatoes? I think this tuber must be one of the most versatile foods out there.

I personally love (amongst other things!) to use my potatoes in soups, as oven-cooked wedges, layered in potato layer bake (with tomato sauce, onions and cheese), roasted and mashed with a bit of butter and freshly ground black pepper. My freshly dug charlotte potatoes are fantastic just boiled, with a few chives snipped over them and a little dash of salad dressing.

[franbee]

Small new potatoes boiled in their skins with butter, creamy mash, either on it's own or mixed with other root veg. Crispy jackets, roasts in skins.

[keepersdaughter]

I really love potatoes too. Mashed with milk and butter, crispy, golden roasted, or roasted in olive oil and rosemary, baked with butter, grated cheese and chives and/or sour cream and sweet little Jersey new pots. with a knob of butter and maybe a little chopped parsely, and potatoe soup. The list goes on.... like you say Oola, a very versatile veg. And there's nothing like the earthy taste of those freash from the ground. Lucky you Oola being able to grow you own :)

Ps Oola, hope your back is feeling better today.

[Katelb]

Hi Oola,I just potatos in any form,and could quite happily live on them,they are so versatile and nourishing too...and not necessarily fattening either.... I am a piggy in that I love chips done in dripping,they have a wonderful flavour and I could eat them every day and not get fed up with them! New potatos too like you say,lovely with chives ,or a little paprika or chilli powder over them with a knob of butter perhaps?!!
I wish we had room to grow veges,but we just have to be content with buying them.

[Rustic Pumpkin]

Jacket potatoes, either with cheese, baked beans and slaw, or twice baked stuffed with smoked haddock, leeks and cheese. Mashed with lashings of onion gravy. Mashed with carrot and swede added. Creamed with butter and cream. Chips. Crisps (Tyrrells) even! Boiled new poatatoes with butter and parsley. Dauphinoise. Potato Salad! Fried leftover potato and swede with an egg. Hash browns (skin left on, please) Stuffed potato skins with cheese and chilli beans. Sauteed. Colcannon. Baked in foil in the bbq.

Am I going on a bit? I think that the humble potato is not humble at all. It is the most versatile and well loved vegetable that was ever discovered!

[Oola]

How could I forget hash browns?!?!?!? I love them, but haven't mastered them homemade yet. They either end up like eggy bits of potato or just fall apart.

Jacket potatoes are fantastic of course, I like mine simple, with just beans and cheese, or cheese and pickle. Everyone thinks I'm mad though because I don't like the skins...(not they're not the best bit, the best bit is the fluffy potato! And yes, we do crisp them with a bit of olive oil and sea salt etc etc...just don't like them!).

[Crocus]

Well, any old way actually. Mashed, in salad, boiled with a little bit of butter, baked, in stews. Now you've got me hungry for a potota this time on a Friday morning (10 am)!xx

[Rustic Pumpkin]

OMG, I forgot Roast Potatoes!

Oola, this is how I make my hash browns, not the usual way, but I like the way it turns out.

In your case, peel the potato before grating! I don't peel mine, I love the skin. Heat a little oil in a non stick frying pan with a lid. Some tell you to squeeze the potato dry, I don't, I just lightly pat to remove a little of the starchy water. I then plonk the grated potato into the pan, spreading it evenly around and making a cake to the size I want, and this depends on the amount of potato used. Turn the heat to low and put the lid on. Leave for about twenty minutes which steam fries the potato through and starts it browning on one side. Remove the lid, flip the hashbrown cake over and continue to cook over a medium to low heat until cooked through and brown. I like the soft inside texture and crispy outside that this way delivers.