cooking potatoes

I ran into a very nice woman and dog the other day and we walked around the fields and talked. She's a good cook and, when I told her I grow potatoes, she asked "what do you do with potatoes?" (with her expression implying "why on earth would anyone want to eat potatoes...")

I sheepishly told her, "well I like to make French fries....." Then I thought it best to change the subject.

But I do enjoy cooking with potatoes.

In early summer, when I first dig small handfuls of new potatoes, I boil them briefly, chop, toss with olive oil or mayonnaise and herbs, and then serve as a very simple potato salad on greens with fresh peas.

Later we roast new fingerlings on the grill. Parboil no more than 4 minutes, toss with olive oil and rosemary, and then roast on a metal roasting tray. Yummy with a nice local grilled fish, fowl or meat.

And once the summer squash is coming out of your ears, I layer big white potatoes and sweet yellow squash in a casserole with onions, mild cheese and bread crumbs. This one goes best with a chardonnay and a big bouquet of garden roses. (I can't wait for summer....)

In the fall, when big baskets of crisp round tubers have been dug, there are my husband's favorites, fluffy baked Russets and pan-fried potatoes for breakfast with onions and peppers.

Unfortunately there is winter too. I didn't grow enough garden potatoes myself to last past fall, but I bought bags of beautiful spuds grown at our local CSA farm. (BTW: Why do these taste so much fresher and crispier and more flavorful than store bought? I can't figure this one out. Are the store bought ones last year's? Were they stored in an oven?) Anyway, I've been using these potatoes in warm soups. On New Year's Day we enjoyed potato pancakes with breakfast. And again I'm working to perfect my French fries. Photos and recipes of these winter versions of potatoes are here:




Potato pancakes (recipe from The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marion Morash)

1/2 lb potatoes (about 5), peeled and grated
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs flour
1/4 cup grated onion
1 Tbs cream
olive oil for frying

Squeeze potatoes dry in a towel. Mix with egg all ingredients except oil. Heat oil to cover bottom of frying pan. Add potato mix and flatten it on pan. Fry about 3-5 minutes per side or until well browned. Serve hot.




French Fried potatoes (and other roots):

(I have a nice new fryer with a thermostat that's very nice for fries. The important thing is not to overload it. Small batches work best.)

Potatoes: wash and slice potatoes, and then rinse and dry with a towel. Fry 3 min in preheated vegetable oil at 340*F. Drain and cool. Heat oil to 375*F. Fry until browned (2-4 min). Drain and serve immediately. With sea salt...

Carrots, parsnips or beets: Wash, peel and slice. Heat oil to 375*F. Fry until browned (2-4 min). Drain and serve immediately. With sea salt...

Skippy's vegetable recipes
potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

new potatoes

Talk about delicious! Ahhhh....

I let a number of volunteer potatoes plants grow this year in my paths and my cabbage bed. I guess I missed some spuds last fall and they sprouted this spring. This week, the plants began shading the cabbage too much and I pulled them out. The prize was a few tiny little baby red potatoes on the roots.

These were so young and tender that the skins almost rubbed off when I washed them.

I boiled them 3 minutes, then threw them in the pan to roast next to the steak kebabs. I can't even describe how good they were!

When are potatoes ripe? I was asked about how early you can harvest potatoes. And what about unripe, green potatoes? Aren't they poisonous?

Oh my. Big question.

It turns out that green potatoes ARE toxic (if you eat an entire large green one, you'll probably feel sick). But the green is not from being unripe, but is produced when potatoes are exposed to sunlight. This causes them to make chlorophyll, which is green but not poisonous, and solanine, which is toxic but not green.

So any age or size potato can be green/toxic if it grows above ground, but baby potatoes of any age are fine to eat.

I've read that you can start to harvest potatoes 2-3 weeks after the plants finish blooming. (I pulled these baby potatoes before the plants had even budded and they were yummy.) Early potatoes will be small.

Potatoes will be fully grown when the plants die back. Die back timing depends on the variety. Last year my fingerlings died back in mid July. Last year, I harvested some potatoes then, some in the early fall and still more in the spring after the ground thawed. All were delicious.

It seems to me that you can never dig all of the potatoes in a bed and there'll always be a new crop of volunteers the next year.

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

my first potato harvest

I dug my first first potatoes today.

I have a very large patch devoted to potatoes this year. About 5 x 15 feet. I am happy it seems successful so far.

The plants grew nicely, flowered, and then this past week or so they started to die back. With all the rain, they got soggy (rotten stems, etc), and so today I chopped off all the stems and cleared the patch. Before and after photos are above.

I pulled a handful of potatoes that were up near the surface. Some were partly exposed and some I found with a shallow search in the dirt. I found a mix of red and pink and white baby potatoes.

I was very happy to mix these with our evening vegetables. They were excellent. Fresh and yummy. I like to parboil potatoes a few minutes and then sautée in olive oil with a mix of garden vegetables. Basic stuff.

Something about the combination of potatoes and beans is very nice. It is interesting that vegetables that ripen at the same time taste great together. Garlic, onions, potatoes, summer squash and beans are ready now and all are delicious together.

Recipe:
Chop into 1 inch pieces: fresh baby potatoes, pole beans, onions and sumer squash
Chop fine: garlic
Marinate: vegetables with garlic and olive oil
Parboil for 4 minutes: baby potatoes and beans
Sautée 2 minutes large skillet in olive oil: parboiled baby potatoes
Add to skillet: onions, squash and beans. Sautée until squash is tender and browned.
Add sea salt to taste.

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
harvests from my vegetable gardens

greens with potatoes and onions

I made a terrific casserole yesterday. All veggies from my garden or my recent CSA distribution: collard and beet greens, celeriac, potatoes and onions. Next time I'll make more, as this is really good the next day too.

Its a good warm dish for a freezing cold night. Its about 20°F outside now. I'm doing my best to avoid going out at all but the warmest times of the day. Bbbrrrr!

The recipe is adapted from my basic vegetable cooking resource: Marion Morash's Victory Garden Cookbook.

Greens with Potatoes and Onions:
5 Tbs butter
2 C chopped greens
salt and pepper
1 1/2 C sliced onions
Béchamel sauce (below)
2 C sliced cooked potatoes and celeriac (or potatoes only)
2/3 C grated cheese (your choice, I used cheddar and Parmesan)

Preheat oven to 370°F. Peel celeriac and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Cook celeriac and potatoes until tender - celeriac about 8 minutes, potatoes about 20 minutes. Make Béchamel sauce (below). Melt 2 Tbs butter in saute pan. Add chopped greens and saute until moisture is evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. In same pan melt 2 Tbs butter and saute onions until lightly browned. Butter 9" square baking pan. Smooth some Béchamel sauce into pan and then layer on potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer onions on top, and then spoon on the remaining Béchamel. Sprinkle on half the cheese and cover with greens. Sprinkle on remaining cheese and then dot with butter. Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes until heated through and lightly browned on top.

Béchamel sauce:
2 1/2 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
pepper

Melt butter, add flour, and whisk to remove lumps. Cook 2-3 minutes until flour is golden. Remove from pan, add milk and beat vigorously until smooth. Bring to boil and salt, simmer at least 5 min to remove four taste. (Simmering longer will improve flavor.) Season with salt and pepper.

Variations:
- Marion suggests using turnips, but I really dislike these. Use at your own risk.
- Or make recipe using leftover mashed potatoes.
- Or top with buttered breadcrumbs.
- To omit bechamel - place well buttered greens on the bottom, cover with whipped potatoes beaten with butter, milk and and egg yolk. Dot with butter and bake.
- These flavors go great together. I bet lots of variations will work well.

Skippy's vegetable recipes
potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

planting potatoes

A couple of weeks ago, I planted potatoes for the first time by sticking 15 store bought potatoes about 4 inches down in the ground. Many sprouted nicely. But then yesterday I read that potatoes should be planted deep and gradually covered over with dirt as they grow. So, I dug up my potatoes and replanted them 8 inches down using the trench method:

Trench method: "Dig a shallow trench about 4 inches wide and 6-8 inches deep. Plant your potato seeds (8) inches apart in this trench. Place the potato seeds into the trench (cut side down) and then cover them with 3-4 inches of soil. After the sprouts emerge, add another 3-4 inches of soil. The potatoes will form between the seed piece and the surface of the soil. For this reason, when the stems are about 8 inches high, again add enough soil to bring the level half way up the stem of the plant. Another hilling will be needed 2-3 weeks later, at which time you again add soil half way up the stem of the plant. After these initial hillings, it is only necessary to add an inch or two of soil to the hill each week or so, to ensure there is enough soil above the forming potatoes that they don't push out of the hill and get exposed to light. (If the new potatoes are exposed to sunlight while they are developing, they will turn green and may be toxic.) The hilling process is necessary to create sufficient space for the potatoes to develop large tubers and an abundant crop. Don't get carried away with hilling though... If you cover up too much of the foliage, you may end up reducing your final crop yield."

One of my trenches (the one in the picture above) is more like a round hole (maybe 1'x 2'), but that was about the only free space that I had left in the garden.

Solanum tuberosum

a happy Easter with freshly dug potatoes

The over wintered potatoes I dug on Good Friday were grilled to perfection today (with onions) by the head griller here (my spouse). Really nice with spring lamb, broccoli and asparagus, spinach salad and dyed eggs. We were joined by my parents and had a good time together.

I had a big surprise on awakening - kind of like Christmas - the Easter bunny left a couple gifts for me right in the middle of the dining room: a big red wheel barrow, a new rake and a garden shovel! All of which I have been looking for. Wonderful!



Some of the over wintered potatoes were a bit ratty looking on the edges, but I peeled this off and they were crisp and creamy white underneath. I remember last fall I was in a hurry to dig them and make room for a fall planting of greens. I missed many small ones and some big ones. I considered using these for seed potatoes, but I have plenty from mail order. And I was really pleased to have a homegrown vegetable for the Easter table.

My old potato patch was in an area of the plot that will be my main path this year. So as I dug, I shoveled soil into my new beds to raise them more. My new potato bed will be a little bigger and in a different spot this year.




potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

seed potato delivery

My potatoes have arrived! I ordered 5 varieties from Moose Tubers in Maine. Way back in mid January. I have the bed all planned out. I need to turn it and then dig trenches and then the taters can go in.

I have the following: F. Fingerling (1 lb), Dk R Norland (2.5 lbs), Rio Grande Russet (2.5 lb), Red Gold (2.5 lb), and Green Mtn (2.5 lbs). That's 10 lbs of regular potatoes and 1 lb of fingerlings.

I looked up potato growing information from Johnny's:

CULTURE: Well-drained soils of a wide pH range are suitable.

PREPARING SEED TUBERS: With a knife or seed cutting machine cut the tubers into pieces roughly 1 1/2-2 oz. (1-1 1/4" diameter), with at least one "eye" on each piece. It is best to cut seed potatoes at least a day ahead of planting to allow the cut surfaces to dry. We try to supply "B" size tubers, intentionally graded on the small side for seed use, as they do not need cutting. Potatoes are tolerant of cool soil and moderate frost. In early- to mid-spring, plant cut or whole seed pieces 2-3" deep, 12" apart, in rows 30-36" apart. Plants will emerge 2-3 weeks later, sooner in warmer soil. When the plants are about a foot tall, hill them with a continuous 6-8" high mound of soil by hoeing from each side of the row. (Some growers hill a second time 2-3 weeks later.) Hilling ensures your potatoes will grow protected from sunlight which causes "greening".

INSECT PESTS: Row covers work great to exclude potato beetles! Otherwise, scout for yellow potato beetle eggs on leaf undersides and crush them. Control potato beetle larvae up to 3/16" long with special BT insecticide, combined with 5% rotenone or pyrethrin for larger larvae and adults (refer to Index for "Insecticides").

DISEASES: The best disease control is fertile soil and irrigation when needed to keep the crop growing strongly. Scab (scabby patches on potatoes) is largely avoided if soil is not allowed to become dry.

HARVEST: Young, small, "new" potatoes can be harvested beginning about 7-8 weeks after planting. In fall, after foliage is dry or when tubers have reached full size, dig the entire crop, allowing surfaces to dry before putting into storage containers. Store in a cool, but not freezing (ideally 35-45°F), dark place. AVG.

PLANTING RATE: 10 lb. avg. 80-100' at 12" spacing. Approx. 8-10 pieces/lb. Fingerling type: approx. 20 pieces/lb., plants 20').

I have a 15 x 3 foot bed. So 45 ft of row. (Hmmm. I have a lot to share with David. He'll be pleased.) I'll do a full row of Russets and half a row of each of the rest. Russets (15 ft = 2 lbs). Norland (5 ft = 1.25 lbs). Red Gold (5 ft = 1.25 lbs). Green Mtn (5 ft = 1.25 lbs). Fingerlings (5 ft = 1/3 lb).

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

potatoes, potatoes

On Sunday, a week after cutting down most of my badly blight damaged (Late Blight) potato plants, I found more blight damage. Actually all my varieties now show a lot of blight spots. But the earlier varieties are worse off. The Russet foliage (a late variety) is nice and green still, but leaves have lots of brown/moldy looking spots. The Red Gold (early variety) plants were yellowed falling over and with brown/moldy leaf spots. Its normal for the plants to die back, and I don't know how much the blight has affected this timing.

I cut off all foliage from the Red Golds and left the Russets and Green Mountain for now. Then we harvested a single plant of Red Gold. I was really pleased with the tubers! A dozen pretty red potatoes, the smallest were golf ball sized, 2 lbs total weight.

We also harvested all of the fingerlings that had volunteered in my paths. A total of 4 lbs of nice small potatoes. How exciting. And its nice to have open paths again.

There was no sign of any blight damage to the tubers. I will wait to harvest more since leaving them in the ground at least two weeks is supposed to kill the blight spores in the living plant material. Plus the potatoes keep fine underground, better than in my kitchen. I'll harvest as I need them. Or when I want to replant the bed.

And then, last-of-all, I got out the yellow spray bottle of Copper soap and heavily sprayed all the foliage of the potatoes and tomatoes. Maybe that will help the Russets get a bit bigger.




Here are photos of the Late Blight damage on the potato foliage:



potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
late blight (Phytophthora infestans)

good friday for planting potatoes

Good Friday is a traditional day for planting potatoes. I didn't get mine in today, but I did dig up about 2 pounds of nice little potatoes that I missed last fall. They'll be good roasted with my Easter lamb. A little rosemary, a little garlic, ahh.....

And I measured my potato patch today: 11 by 3 ft. I noticed that some of the potatoes I dug had started to sprout a little already, so looks like it is time to plant. Hopefully I'll get mine in next week - but the peas have priority and they're not in yet. I'm running behind this year....

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

summer bounty

I am so lucky this year to have such good food, free for the harvest from my gardens! These are photos of some of my harvests from the past few days. My favorites are the beets, potatoes, carrots, beans and even the overabundant squash. Just one? - my real favorite this week is probably the Chiogga beets and tender greens.

The potatoes are also one of my favorites. Tonight I had dinner guests and before the meal, we headed over to the garden and dug in the potato patch. I didn't remember what I planted where, but I ended up finding 6 or 8 very good sized Russets. We popped them in the oven and ate them with butter. Soooo good!

Cheers to August! The best month of the year.

I read last night the chapter of Micheal Pollan's "In Defense Of Food" where he says that we (in the US) need to spend more time preparing our food and enjoying eating it. I took this to heart tonight and did my best. With our baked potatoes, we ate grilled local pork tenderloin, Lutz and Chiogga beets with greens, green beans, local bread, garden salad with orange, black and pink tomatoes, and blueberry pie. It is certainly is nice to take the time to grow, harvest, prepare and enjoy a meal with your family (and a martini!).

Cucurbita pepo (squash)
Daucus carota
potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
harvests from my vegetable gardens

more on the International Year of the Potato

Here's a very nice video on the Year of the Potato pointed out to me by Patrick.

Some interesting points from the video:

- 4,500 potato varieties are native to Peru. The shapes, size and colors of the native potatoes are a revelation. The names, too.

- More than 80 per cent of these are now preserved in a gene bank in Lima

- Some of these varieties may be several thousand years old and they are being hand down from generation to generation by the Andean farmers....

- Potatoes produce more food nutrition with less energy and less time than any of our other staple food crops

- We would never argue that potatoes should supplant rice or wheat or maize, but we're arguing for diversification of the food security portfolio and putting as much attention to potatoes and the other roots and tubers as we are to grains. The grains are particularly susceptible to some of the climate change problems

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

super kale soup

I planted this kale early last spring. It was bitter when tasted it in September. Not now. It made one of the best bowls of soup I've ever had.

We've had several good cold nights now, which helps improve the flavor of kale. Today, at 25F, as our first serious snow started to fall, I picked a big bunch. Since I also had some nice dried beans from my summer garden, I opened my Portuguese kale soup recipe.

Back in September and October, when these beans ripened, I didn't have time to do anything with them. I threw them in a bowl, put it in the basement and forgot about them. Now they are beautifully dried. I shelled both "tongues of fire" cranberry horticultural beans and green beans "Provider " and "Maxibel".


My Portuguese kale soup recipe is from my favorite vegetable cookbook: The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marion Morash
Portuguese Kale Soup
1 lb kale (6-8 cups)
1 lb potatoes
1 lb smoked sausage (kielbasa, linguica or chorizo)
--(I used local keilbasa from Stillman's Turkey Farm)
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots
4 garlic cloves
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
2 qt water or broth
2 c peeled, chopped and seeded tomatoes
1 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans
salt and pepper

Strip leaves from washed kale. Cut diagonally into wide slices. Wash, peel and chop potatoes. Cut sausage into slices, cook and drain fat. In soup pot, saute onions, carrots and garlic in oil and butter, until softened - about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and broth. Simmer partially covered 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. Stir in tomatoes and beans. Simmer 5-10 minutes. Add kale and sausage then cook 5-10 minutes. Season to taste.


I do have to comment on how delicious the beans were. These were very easy to grow and are so yummy in soup. Beans are a really good source of home grown protein.

potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
Skippy's vegetable recipes
Kale (Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group)