Sehr gute Kartoffeln

My parents were married in Offenback, Germany and lived there for the first year of their marriage. In the square outside their apartment there was a man who came everyday and sold potatoes out of the back of a van. "Sehr gute Kartoffeln! Ein mark zwanzig!" He would call out. This means "Very good potatoes! One mark, twenty!"

Everyone in my family uses this expression whenever discussing good potatoes. It is the one German phrase we feel confident using. I know a few other niceties, yes, no, please, thank you, some numbers... but none of that is as useful as a phrase for very good potatoes, and today I have for you a recipe for Sehr gute Kartoffeln indeed.

I found this recipe on the blog Chocolate & Zucchini, which is written by Clothide Dusoulier who edited the English version of my current cookbook obsession, I Know How to Cook. She found the recipe on the blog of her friend Pascale, who got the recipe from her British mother-in-law. These potatoes dispute the argument that the Brits don't know good food. Pascale's blog is in French, and while I know a bit more than "trés bonne pommes de terre" in French, I don't quite trust myself to follow French instructions properly. I run into more than my share of recipe misunderstandings in English.

So here it is, a brilliant little secret passed around Western Europe and United States that will make your roasted potatoes crispy on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside.

Preheat the oven to 410º F

You can use any kind of potatoes you choose. I used Yukon Gold. If you use something with a rough skin, like a russet, you will probably want to peel them. If the skin is smooth, you can just scrub all the dirt off and peel alternate stripes, leaving them half-peeled. Then cut the potatoes into bite sized chunks. Place them in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them, cover with cold water, and add a teaspoon coarse salt. Set over high heat, cover, bring to a low boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.

Once the water is boiling and the oven pre-heated put a baking sheet with about 2 tablespoons of oil, or whatever type of fat you would like to use for roasting in the oven, so the fat and baking sheet will heat up.

After the 5 minutes of boiling, drain the potatoes and return them to the saucepan. Place a lid on the saucepan. Holding the lid firmly shut with both hands (the saucepan will be hot, so wear oven mitts or use dish towels), shake the saucepan vigorously for a few seconds, until the surface of the potato chunks is fuzzy; this will help the formation of a crust.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, pour the potatoes onto the sheet, sprinkle with sea salt, and stir well to coat with the fat.

Return to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping the potatoes halfway through, until cooked through, crusty, and golden. If you want a little more color on them, you can switch to grill mode for the final few minutes.

Serve immediately.

Leek Puree (Purée de Poireaux)

This recipe is from the new cookbook I got for Christmas, I Know How to Cook by Ginette Mathiot. It sounds better in the original French, Je Sais Cuisiner. This is "the Bible of French home cooking since 1932" and it was published in English for the first time this year. Cookbook author Clotilde Dusoulier helmed the effort to bring the French answer to Joy of Cooking to the U.S. after all this time. It's a beautiful book and full of information at 975 pages. So far I have only tried two recipes, this being one of them. Everything is very French, lots of Gruyere cheese and creme fraîche. I have been comparing it alongside my Mastering the Art of French Cooking and it has many of the same recipes, but they are generally more straightforward and updated. Anyway, the Leek Purée was a perfect accompaniment to the Beef Stew and rather simple to make.

12 leeks, sliced (Actually I only had 8 and it worked out fine)
1 pound 2 ounces potatoes chopped (I don't have a food scale, so I guessed... I used two very large Yukon gold potatoes. Everything in this cookbook is in weight, so I guess I need to get one.)
Salt
Generous 3/4 cup creme fraîche (I didn't have any, nor did I have 24 hours to make it out of buttermilk and cream, so I just used cream.)


Cut the green upper part of (this can be reserved for use in soups and stews) and keep the white part. Cut off any damaged leaves, then slice and wash very carefully to remove any soil trapped between the layers. (There is always soil between the layers). Place in boiling salted water and boil, uncovered for about 8 minutes. Then add the potatoes, reduce the heat and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. When the potatoes are tender, drain thoroughly and process the leeks and potatoes in a food processor to make a smooth purée. Season with salt , stir in creme fraîche and serve.

Johndor's Snowpocalypse Mashed Potatoes

This post is from my cousin Johndor who braved the elements to bring us these perfectly mashed potatoes:


As the family’s Senior Adjutant for Potato Mashing, I have long been an advocate of food made from scratch, as has always been my approach to potatoes. The extension of this principle meal-wide was, therefore, a welcome one. What follows are my ruminations on family, Christmas Mass, blizzards, and potatoes.


The harrowing ordeal of the Nativity Blizzard of 2009 couldn’t stop us from celebrating the chief tenets of an Irish Christmas: Mass and potatoes.

We departed my mother’s house at approximately a quarter past six in the evening, tasked with collecting Father George and bringing to the house to say Mass and spend Christmas with us. Such are the conveniences of families that befriend their spiritual advisors. The nine-mile journey to pick up Father and get to the party took an hour, most of which was spent listening to the incessant buzzing of a broken open-door alarm.

Needless to say, between the snow and the noise, when I arrived at the house, I was very much in need of some spiritual fortification. And I wanted Mass to start too.

Upon arrival, hurried greetings were exchanged, and a reading from First Timothy was thrust into my hand. “Aha!” I thought. “Lectering and potato mashing! Truly this is a Christmas miracle.”

Mass was beautifully done, and, feeling refreshed and renewed, I turned my attention to the main event. The potatoes had already been peeled and cooked. All that was left was for me to whip them into shape.

At this point, I feel some back story may be appropriate. I don’t really recall when I was placed in charge of mashed potatoes. I think it happened, as many things do in the family, when someone assumed I knew how to do something I didn’t know how to do and made me do it. In that situation, I assume I performed adequately, and was thus deemed an expert by Aunt Kate. I’ve been mashing ever since.

The ingredients for Johndor’ Famous Smashed Potatoes are as follows:

    •    A bunch of big potatoes- Russets work well, get about 10 or 12. Peel them, and if you are in a hurry, chop ‘em into quarters. They are less fun to mash that way though

    •    A stick of butter

    •    Milk- Probably 2 cups, but I usually just eyeball it. My mom claims that you have to warm it up, but she only started insisting that at Thanksgiving, so I don’t know what she’s talking about. I always have used cold milk and it works fine. But in the interest of keeping my mother happy, you should probably warm up the milk

    •    Salt and Pepper- Sea salt and freshly-ground pepper taste better

    •    A healthy knowledge of the history of Irish oppression

Once you get your potatoes peeled, toss them into a pot of boiling water. When they are cooked all the way through, drain them and set to work. First start to break up the potatoes with your masher. Once you’ve got them smooshed a bit, begin to pour in some milk and about a quarter of the stick of butter. Mix the milk and butter around evenly and keep smashing. At this point, begin to season with salt and pepper. Add more milk and butter.

Around here, I change my technique. It becomes less smashing and more like slowly mixing. Use a rocking motion and go in circles. Continue with that, the season and the milk and butter until you get rid of all the big lumps of potato. Whip it around a bit to make them a little fluffier, and you’ve got yourself a big heaping pot of mashed potatoes.

I’ve made myself indispensible to my family by placing myself in charge of lay spiritual affairs and mashed potatoes. That way, no matter how many Christmas or birthdays I ruin with my off-color humor, I keep getting invited back. So remember: for every joke you tell out of your copy of Milton Berle’s Private Collection, you have to deliver one heartfelt grace and make one pot of potatoes. Follow my advice and you too will fast become the most popular member of your family!

Winter Sunshine Latkas

This recipe was in the Los Angeles Times. I made it twice this week, once for my son's birthday, which was also the first day of Hanukkah, and for my community garden holiday potluck, which was the third day of Hanukkah.

1 cup grated baking potato, drained and firmly packed.
3 cups mixed root vegetables, peeled and grated (I used sweet potato and rutabaga the first time. The second time it was sweet potato and carrotts. They both turned out great.)
3 eggs beaten
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup chopped fres parsley or cilantro (Leaves only)
Olive oil for frying
Yogurt or sour cream for garnish

1. In a large bowl, mix together the grated, well drained potato and root vegetables. Add the eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and parsley. Mix well.
2. Pour 1/4" of olive oil into a large skillet and heat over medium heat until hot. To form each latka, use a 1/4 cup measure or ice cream scoop.
3. Form and fry a few latkas at a time (being careful not to crowd the pan), cooking tem until edges are crispy and brown, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the latkas to a pack or paper towel lined plate, keeping them warm until all the latkas are fried. They are delicious served warm with yogurt or sour cream.

 

Pilgrims Pie

This is from the Wednesday, November 25, 2009 Food Section of the Los Angeles Times. It is a simple and delicious way to use up a lot of leftovers.

1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning (I made this myself)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
4 cups combined diced leftover turkey and vegetables, at room temperature (We used brussel sprouts and a potato dish I made in a misguided panic that we didn't have enough food.)
2 cups leftover stuffing, more as needed, at room temperature
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, more as needed, at room temperature

Leftover cranberry sauce, served on the side

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart casserole (about 10 by 8 inches) and set aside. 2. Place a medium heavy-bottom pot over medium heat. Melt the butter, then add the onion and celery and cook until the vegetables begin to soften and color, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Stir or whisk in the flour and poultry seasoning,  making sure to eliminate any lumps. The roux will pull together. Continue stirring frequently until the roux begins to toast and color, about 3 minutes.

4. Slowly whisk in the milk and broth, whisking to combine. Once the mixture begins to bubble, turn the heat down and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

5. Add the leftover turkey and vegetables, stirring to combine. Taste, adding more poultry seasoning, salt and pepper if desired. (Like I said, I made the poultry seasoning, and then accidently dumped the whole thing, about 1/2 cup, into the mix. I managed to get most of it out, but needless to say, I did not add more here.) Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

3. Use a spoon or an ice-cream scoop to alternate small scoops of stuffing and mashed potatoes on top of the vegetable mixture. Don't worry if the topping sinks slightly into the mixture. (Our stuffing wasn't the kind that could be made into scoops, so I just poured a layer of it over the turkey vegetable mix, then put scoops of mashed potatoes over that.)

Place the dish in the oven and bake until the vegetable mixture begins bubbling up and the stuffing and mashed potatoes are heated through and just beginning to brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven and set aside for several minutes before serving. Serve in a bowl with a scoop of cranberry sauce on the side.

Thanksgiving Smashed Potatoes

Hi all! Jan Smelk here with the potato recipe! Ok, so I kept on finding these awesome recipes for potatoes that all involved cheese. Since the process of "single ingredient" was encouraged (read: demanded), my BFF, cheese was not invited to the party. I had to figure out another way to attain rich dairy satisfaction. The answer: sour cream. But I had to make it! Shock, horror and disbelief were heard at the Smelk household when this was announced. But it was the easiest thing ever.

1 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. buttermilk (turns out you can make that in five minutes!)

Put both liquids mixed in a jar (or a pint glass, like me) cover with lid or plastic wrap and leave in a warmish place for 24 hours. Then refridgerate. OMG it worked. And was tasty! And had no xanthum gum or gelatin. Wowza.

So that was done.
To make my potatoes, I read a whole bunch of recipes then made it up with stuff I thought would be good. I roasted two heads of garlic with olive oil in tin foil for an hour at 350. Sauteed a big shallot in a stick of butter for a bit, then added the roasted garlic by squeezing the heads in a rather disgusting and messy display of immaturity, giggling madly. They made farting noises, and plopped into the butter! I couldn't help it! I put that mixture in a tupperware, my sour cream in a tupperware, and 2 bunches of chopped green onion in a tupperware. I took these guys and a bag of yukon golds to CCA's house.

Boiled the potatoes for an hour, strained, then mashed with all the stuff in my tupperwares, adding the green onion last. I will admit, there were more potatoes than I had originally planned for, so I did add another half stick of butter and (don't tell CCA)a big splash of 1/2 and 1/2. But that evened the texture out to nearly perfect then we ate the heck out of them.

Everything served was delicious. The only thing that was better than the food was the company.