We are always so obsessed with potatoes. There’s so much you can do with a trusty old spud, with some of our favorite dishes incorporating them magnificently. Sadly, however, many find it hard to break out of their routine for these root vegetables.
Potatoes, in general, come across as one of the healthiest vegetables and deserve frequent inclusion in your diet schedule.
However, conventional recipes might be less interesting after a point of time. Innovating dishes with the help of potatoes can perk up the cooks’ and consumers’ moods.
So, if you’re tired of mash or have had enough roasties for a lifetime, this article will reignite your love for one of the most versatile foods out there, with the best ways to eat a potato.
1. Gnocchi
Is it pasta? Is it a dumpling? Whatever you want to call it, gnocchi is one of our favorite ways to consume potatoes. These small dough balls exist all around Italy in different variations, accompanied by light and delicious sauces, from tomato and basil to pesto.
“Gnocchi first started being served as part of ‘Carnevale’ in Verona in 1531,” explains the experts at Pasta Evangelists. “A defining moment in this legendary celebration is Venerdì Gnocolar, which translates to ‘Gnocchi Friday’ in English.
Taking place on the final Friday before Lent, this evening celebrates the simple yet indulgent delights of fresh gnocchi.”
Even in the 21st century, these fluffy dumplings are still going strong. Gnocchi is incredibly simple to make at home, only requiring potatoes, eggs, and flour if you’re not already convinced.
2. Lorette Potatoes
If you’re more of a deep-fried kind of person, Pommes de Terre Lorette, or Lorette potatoes, are our option of choice.
These delicious French spuds are mashed, mixed with choux pastry batter, and then piped into sizzling oil to create its unique, soft, crisp crust uncovering a cloudy interior. Think of second-generation chips.
Appearance-wise, they look like churros, and their fluffiness is perfect as a side dish for a juicy steak. If you have a deep fryer, you can give them a go easily — otherwise, a large pot would do the trick.
They’re a great way to make potatoes seem more gourmet to impress friends and family or simply hone your haute cuisine skills.
3. Boulangère
Deciding which version — dauphinoise, gratin, or boulangère — is best is a terrible task, but for the sake of science, we had to do it.
While dauphinoise uses raw potatoes rather than cooked or parboiled, and the gratin is topped with cheese and sometimes béchamel sauce, the boulangère is a slightly healthier, cheese-less alternative.
The latter is also topped with onions that get deliciously caramelized in the oven as the dish bakes, ultimately making it superior (in our opinion).
Suppose you need to familiarize yourself with this genre of recipes and need a little more elaboration on what it is.
In that case, boulangère are thin slices of potatoes parboiled in stock or milk, arranged in layers in a baking dish, and topped with onions, butter, and sometimes herbs.
The result is a delicious and impressive side, far lighter than its creamy counterparts but still incredibly traditional.
4. Hasselback Potatoes
Don’t get us wrong; we all love a roast. But you can’t compete with the Hasselback potato. These spuds are sliced almost all the way through multiple times, creating a beautiful potato fan or accordion.
This increases the level of crispiness and allows you to insert herbs and spices into the ridges, packing your Hasselback with flavor.
While we may all know these as Americans, they started in Restaurant Hasselbacken in Sweden. If you’re going to try and make these, you’ll be happy to know that they’re barely more difficult to fashion than a baked potato.
However, as BBC Good Food suggests, “using same-sized potatoes will help them cook through evenly,” so consider that when securing your spuds.
5. Latkes
To round off our list, we’ve chosen a traditional Jewish recipe that is often served at Hanukkah.
The holiday marks the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks who ruled Judea thanks to — among other factors — a little cruse (small vessel) of oil that lasted for eight days, despite the amount only normally being enough for one.
According to tradition, Jews must eat oily foods to commemorate this miracle, and therefore common recipes include sufganiyot (a type of jam-filled doughnut) and, you guessed it, latkes.
These are made from coarsely grated potatoes, onions, flour, and eggs. Crispy and mouthwatering are reminiscent of hash browns, but in our opinion, you can’t compare the two; latkes are the obvious winners.
Savory potato pancakes in essence — although sweet versions do exist, usually with cheese added into the batter. They are a great delicacy to try (not just on Hanukkah!).
However, grating the potatoes may take a little time and effort, so be conscious of that.
6. Lava Croquettes
Lava croquettes are tasty finger foods that are made from mashed potatoes. This is a lovely dish loved by both adults and kids alike.
They have a special liking because of the ease with which this item is made. All you need to do is just rehydrate the potato with milk and add all the stuffing’s that go with the flavor.
Round the balls and dip them into the mix of bread crumbs and drop it into the boiling oil. What else do you need? They just come out like hot sizzling balls that tempt your taste buds and excite you to no end.
Conclusion
Potatoes have the capacity to mold into whatever dish you want. They evoke a sense of innovation for all cooks who tend to make it into anything they want.
Many conventional potato recipes have been tried and tested many times. It is time to try something out of the box with potatoes and make it more interesting. This article is a clear guide for such an experiment.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How can you eat potatoes?
conventional recipes might be less interesting after a point of time. Innovating dishes with the help of potatoes can perk up the cooks’ and consumers’ moods.
What are the different type of potato dishes?
Gnocchi, Lorette Potatoes, boulangère, Hasselback potatoes, and latkes are some of the variety of dishes made with potatoes.
What is Lava Croquettes?
Lava croquettes are tasty finger foods that are made from mashed potatoes. This is a lovely dish loved by both adults and kids alike. They have a special liking because of the ease with which this item is made. All you need to do is just rehydrate the potato with milk and add all the stuffing’s that go with the flavor.
[su_spoiler title=”Image Credits”]Kitchn
Saga
Simple Home Cooked
Delish.com
Tastemade UK
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