Aligot (french)
For 6 people
boil 2lb (1kg) of floury potatoes in their skins, then peel them and mash or puree. Add salt and pepper. Heat 2 oz(50g) of butter with a small carton of single cream gently in a heavy pan, blend in the potato puree, then add a crushed clove of garlic and 225g of grated cheese. Stir until the mixture is smooth, then serve at once with crisp green salad.
Baked potatoes
Smear the skins of jacket potatoes with oil before cooking to make them crisp and delicious. potato will bake faster with skewers or nails stuck in them.
Bubble and squeak
Mix leftover mash potato with leftover cooked cabbage (or parsnip, carrot, or celery) and seasoning. Heat butter dripping or oil in a frying pan add vegetable mixture flatten and dry , turning once , until golden on both sides.
Chips
Perfect chips are cooked in two stages. First cut the potatoes and dry them thoroughly on a clean towel or on kitchen paper. heat fat or oil at first to 350F,180C (at which temperature a cube of bread will turn golden brown in 1 minute) Put chips in frying basket and cook steadily until tender but not coloured. Now remove them and keep them warm while heating the fat or oil to 390F, 195C (at this temperature a cube of bread will brown in 1/2 minute) Return the chips to the pan and fry quickly until crisp and golden drain and season.
Colcannon (Irish)
For 4 people
Soften a chopped onion in 50g of bacon fat. Then add 450g of mashed potatoes and 225g of cooked shredded cabbage. Season generously, transfer to a greased pudding basin and bake at gas mark5, 375F, 190C for minutes. Turn out on to a serving dish.
Potato Croquettes
For 4 people
Beat an egg and use half of it to bind 450g of well-seasoned mashed potatoes. With floured hands shape the mixture into sausage shapes. Dip in the rest of the beaten egg and then in breadcrumbs. Fry in hot deep fat until golden brown.
Farmhouse supper
For 4 people
Soften 225g of chopped streaky bacon in a frying pan until the fat runs. Then remove bacon and put 450g of chopped cooked potatoes and finely chopped onion in the pan to brown lightly. Season, add the bacon and transfer to an ovenproof dish. Put 4 lightly fried eggs on top sprinkle with 125 g grated cheese, and place under the grill for 1 minute before serving.
Potato gnocchi (Italian)
For 4 people
Mix 1 lb leftover mashed potato with a beaten egg, a tablespoon of melted butter and 4 tablespoons of flour (either kind) to make a mouldable dough, (add more flour if necessary). Roll into a 1 inch wide sausage, then chop up and roll in the palms of your hands into 1 inch balls, and drop into a large pan of boiling water to poach for 3 minutes, or until the gnocchi rise to the surface. Drain and serve with butter or with fresh tomato sauce, and freshly grated parmesan.
Hashed brown potatoes (American)
For 4 people
Melt 2 tablespoons of pork dripping or chopped salt pork, then add 1/1/2 lb of finely chopped cold boiled potatoes. Mix thoroughly and add seasoning to taste. Cook gently until brown underneath, then fold in half like an omelette to serve.
Janssons temptation (Swedish)
For 4 people
Melt 2 tablespoons of margarine or butter in a heavy frying pan, arrange 1 1/2 lb of peeled and thinly sliced potatoes in the pan in two or three layers, sprinkling each layer with salt and pepper and dotting with more margarine or butter. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, then uncover and cook, turning occasionally, until tender, crisp and brown all over. Add a little chopped onion if you wish.
Latkes (Jewish)
For 4 people
Peel 1 lb of potatoes , soak in cold water for half and hour, then grate into a mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 beaten egg, a little grated onion and seasoning. Heat some oil or dripping in a frying pan and drop the mixture in one tablespoonful at a time. Flatten, and fry, turning once, until golden on both sides serve alone as a sanck, or to accompany meat or omitting the onion, with apple sauce, jam or sour cream.
Pan haggerty (Northern English)
For 4 people
Peel and boil 1 1/2 lb of potatoes and cut into thin slices. Soften 2 chopped onions in 50g of dripping in a heavy frying pan, remove and drain. Then in the same pan arrange the potatoes, onions and 125g of grated cheese in layers, seasoning generously with salt and freshly grounded black pepper. Cover and cook gently for 20 minutes, then brown under the grill.
Potato pan cakes (Scottish)
For 4 people
Puree 225g boiled potatoes with 2 eggs, 175g of flour, 1 pint of milk, salt and pepper. Using tablespoon of mixture for each pancake, cook in dripping for 1 minute on each side. serve hot, with butter and honey for tea, or with bacon for breakfast.
Parsleyed potatoes
For 4 people
saute 1 1/2 lb of peeled and chopped potatoes in butter, then cover with half milk and half water.simmer for 25 minutes, then add a handful of finely chopped parsley and cook for 5 minutes more, until the liquid is almost entirely absorbed.
Potato salad
For 4 people
Wash 1 1/2 of old potatoes, put in a pan of boiling salted water to cover, and cook until just tender. Drain, cut into slices, put in a mixing bowl and stir in 4 tablespoons of hot chicken stock. After 5 minutes add some vinaigrette dressing and a little chopped onion if you like, toss thoroughly, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley or chives, and serve warm or cold.
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