Potatoooooooes!!!
A newsletter totally dedicated to the humble spud.
Potatoes. You may recognize them from the header of this very email! They’re one of the most versatile ingredients, and one of my favorite things to cook. Honestly, when people ask me, “Oh, what kind of stuff do you cook?” I say…potatoes, mostly.
Because potatoes really can be made in a million ways! I have a few (okay, several) go-to recipes that I’ve developed or adapted myself, which I’m delighted to share with you below. And every time I find a new potato recipe, I get so excited! A new way to bring out the deliciousness of the spud! How can that not be exciting?? I’ve found great recipes from New York Times Cooking, Nik Sharma, BBC Good Food, and this amazing cookbook called “The Potato Year” by Lucy Madden, which is just an entire book of potato recipes and pretty much my dream cookbook.
To cut down on cooking time and make sure the insides get fully cooked, you can do one of three things before adding straight heat in a pan or in the oven:
Microwave the peeled, chopped potatoes in a bowl covered with Saran Wrap (a couple minutes will do, until they get a bit soft and steam up)
Cover the pan for the first half of cooking, on low heat, to let them steam in there
Par-boil them once they’re already chopped, in salty and even baking-soda-y water, until they’re just pierceable with a fork (best for oven cooking)
But aside from the long cooking times, potatoes are very forgiving as far as ingredients go. You can put as much or as little effort into them as you feel like. They’re just as happy on a stovetop as they are in an oven, and they even do well in a microwave. They’re a really good ingredient for anyone, from beginners to professionals, and whether as breakfast, a snack, a side, or a whole meal.
Actually, the first morning I moved to my new apartment, I realized I had literally nothing in my fridge except for some potatoes—no butter, olive oil, or anything else fun or necessary for cooking. And I was starving. But the potatoes came through for me all on their own! I just peeled and boiled them, then chopped them up and added salt, pepper, and chaat masala, and it was a perfect, lovely little breakfast. Nothing else needed. The potato truly saves the day!
Below is a collection of all the potato recipes I have on my Substack (at least, for now!!). I’ve only included the full recipes for the new additions (ran out of space, lol) so you’ll have to click on the headers if you want the recipes for the others. You can also always search “potatoes” on the main page, which is an amazing feature I am VERY excited about!! Check them out, and let me know how they go, if you have any questions, if you liked them, hated them, can’t get enough of them…I want to know! Hopefully, you, too, will fall in love with the potato.
Crispy Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Time: 1 hr | Difficulty: 1/5 | Recommendation: Weeknight dinner
These potatoes are AMAZING! They take a bit of time, and some parts are a bit fiddly, but it’s so worth it in the end to get a really crispy base and a soft interior. This recipe is a riff on my mustardy potatoes, so I added mustard and onions, but you could easily just make the potatoes on their own with some salt and pepper.
Ingredients/Tools:
Fingerling potatoes
1 red onion
1/2 tsp baking soda
Olive oil
A pot
Sheet pan
Baking parchment
Method:
Chop the fingerlings in half, then into 3/4-1 inch bits. You want each bit to have a flat bottom.
Add the potatoes to a pot and add water. Add enough water to cover, plus a little more, then add a good amount of salt, and the baking soda. Bring to a boil, and boil until the potatoes can be pierced by a fork (but not too easily, there should still be some resistance!)
When the potatoes are done, drain them and pre-heat the oven to 425°. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Dump the potatoes onto the pan, toss in a good amount of olive oil, then turn them all flat-side down. (Don’t cut this corner! It’s fiddly but this is a key step!! You’re waiting for the oven to heat up anyway…)
Put the potatoes in for about 15 minutes, until the bottoms are crisping. While they’re in the oven, chop your onion.
Take out the potatoes and toss them around a bit, and push to one side of the pan. Add the onions on the other side, and coat them a bit in the olive oil (or add more if needed). Put back in the oven for about 10 minutes. (Make sure to keep them separate, or the water from the onions will dampen the potatoes.)
Take out the pan after 10 minutes and check everything, then add salt and pepper to the potatoes and put the whole thing back in for 5 more minutes.
Add the potatoes and onions to a bowl and toss them with each other. Then add about a tablespoon of coarse mustard and toss again.
Chickpea flour potatoes with a spicy mustard dip
Time: 1 hr | Difficulty: 3/5 | Recommendation: Weekday meal
These potatoes are so crispy and delicious! The chickpea flour adds a great crunch and nuttiness. You cook them in a skillet in the oven, and they’re sort of fried but sort of not? It’s not the easiest thing in the world to make (you have to shake the skillet a lot, and there’s some dipping-hot-potatoes-in-flour involved) but I promise it’s worth it. I’m also including a recipe for a spicy mustard that goes great with these potatoes.
Ingredients/Tools:
Potatoes (Yukon golds work great)
Chickpea flour/besan
2 cloves garlic
Vegetable oil
Dijon mustard
Thai red chili paste
A pot
A dish towel
A skillet
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 450°. Add about 3/4 inch of oil to a skillet.
Chop the potatoes into about 1/2 inch chunks, somewhat thin. Add them to a pot and cover with water, then set to a boil until they can be pierced with a fork. Drain when done.
When the oven is hot, put the skillet in to heat up the oil.
Add some chickpea flour to a bowl. Tip the cooled potatoes onto a dish towel and dry them a bit. Then add them to the flour and coat them well.
Add the coated potatoes to the skillet with the hot oil (carefully), then put the whole thing back in.
Every 8 minutes or so, remove the skillet and give it all a good shake (very horizontally! Don’t be flipping hot oil vertically!)
Meanwhile, chop the garlic, and mix the sauce, which is just mustard and chili paste and a bit of water, until it’s at the consistency you want.
About a half hour later, the potatoes should be looking browned and crispy. Add in the garlic, plus some chili powder, salt, and pepper, mix it all a bit, and put it back in for about 3 minutes.
Remove the potatoes with a slotted metal spoon, drain onto a paper towel, and enjoy!
Oven-baked chaat chips
Time: 45 mins | Difficulty: 1/5 | Recommendation: A side for your weeknight dinner
These chunky chips are sooo good! Just as good as you would get in any restaurant, and made entirely in the oven—no messy, scary frying here. The key is high heat and a good amount of oil. I like to add paprika, and some chaat masala at the end (if you add at the beginning it can burn), but you can just have them with salt and pepper, or add my other favorite combo, chili powder and paprika. These chips are super crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and really easy to make—give them a try!
Ingredients/Tools:
2 potatoes (russets work great here)
Vegetable oil
Chaat masala, paprika, salt, pepper
A sheet pan
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 425°.
Chop the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices. They should be pretty long, too, like chips.
Add them to a bowl and toss with vegetable oil. Then line them up on the pan and sprinkle over paprika and pepper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is, then flip them over and sprinkle the chaat masala. You can also add the salt now.
Put them back in the oven for about 10-15 more minutes. They’re done when they’re nice and crispy and browned!
Mustard potatoes
Time: 45 mins | Difficulty: 1/5 | Recommendation: Weeknight dinner
These potatoes are heightened by some jammy onions and a big dollop of dijon mustard added right at the end. You can use any type of potato you want, but I like to use fingerling potatoes when I can find them—they don’t have too much starch, so they hold their shape really well and have a lovely buttery flavor. I also recommend using a flavored mustard like basil, herbes de Provence, or sun-dried tomato! If you do, I think it’s best to still add some classic country-style Dijon as well. You can also add leeks, mushrooms, or bacon to this! It’s just a great base for anything, really.
Easy breakfast potatoes
Time: 1 hr | Difficulty: 1/5 | Recommendation: Weekend breakfast
These potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and just require a bit of heat and a bit of time. They’re perfect for a set-it-and-forget-it morning breakfast—just pop them in the oven and lounge on the couch for like a half an hour until they’re ready. It’s basically just a recipe for perfect roasted potatoes.
Turmeric Potatoes
Time: 45 min | Difficulty: 1/5 | Recommendation: Weeknight dinner
These potatoes are so easy to make—in fact, they’re the first thing I ever cooked for myself! They’re also really delicious and don’t take much time. Just make sure you wash your pan well after cooking!!
Mashed potato balls
Time: 30 mins | Difficulty: 2/5 | Recommendation: Lunch or snack
Ever end up with too many mashed potatoes left over from Thanksgiving or another holiday?? Try rolling them into a ball and frying them! It’s a delicious snack or meal, and could also work as a game day appetizer or snack to share. You could also make mashed potatoes from scratch specifically for this—just sure it’s cold when you’re shaping the balls, so they hold their shape.
Instant Pot Potato Soup
Time: 1.5 hrs | Difficulty: 2/5 | Recommendation: Weeknight dinner
This potato soup is really creamy and delicious, and can be made in your Instant Pot so you don’t have to do much work yourself! You could also make this on a stovetop, but you’ll just have to watch the pot and stir it throughout the cooking process. Also, swap out any toppings you want for this! I liked bacon, scallions, and cheddar, to make it like a loaded baked potato, but you could do anything you wanted (chives, parmesan crisps, croutons, anything!). This is for a 3-quart Instant Pot (that’s the smaller one), and makes about three to four servings.
Potato Leek Soup
Time: 2+ hours | Difficulty: 3/5 | Recommendation: A slow Monday or Tuesday dinner
Sundays in winter are for stirring and simmering and sipping on some SOUP. Also, did you know you can make your own croutons just by chopping up some bread and roasting in olive oil?! I used brioche and added garlic powder and salt and WOW what a game changer!! I think this recipe the best out of all the potato leek soups I’ve made so far. So here it is, in all its liquid glory!! NB: the recipe below makes 4 servings for one person (because what’s the point of making soup if you’re not going to make yourself leftovers?)