16 replies to this topic

[annachan]

So, I ended up with a 5 kg (11 lb) of Desiree potato. I have been roasting them, making mash and home fries.

Things is, we're not making much of a progress finishing up the bag. What are some things that I can make and freeze?

Also, would Desiree be good for making gnocchi?

[Lisa Shock]

I don't like frozen potato dishes, the texture is always weird.

I'd make potato chips. (crisps)

[Mjx]

How about hash? I have a hunch that prepped, uncooked hash would probably freeze well, too.

[gfweb]

According to Jenkins Alt French fries freeze well after the first frying.

[Doodad]

At the place I worked we froze fries every day after an oil blanch. Granted they were used by that night, but there was also some left over and they fried to no ill effect.

I say make Shepherd's Pie and freeze that.

[threestars]

Potato Chips sounds great! :)

[gfweb]

According to Jenkins Alt French fries freeze well after the first frying.

That's Kenji Alt.
Gotta turn off spellcheck

[LornaC]

I would make green herb potato cakes...mash with a little cream and butter ( this makes the texture ok on defrosting) lots of chopped parsley and spring onion. make the patties and then freeze between parchment. When using just flash fry from frozen to brown slightly both sides and then finish them off in the oven at gas 4. The low temp is too stop them collapsing. great stand by as they go with lots of things

LC

[annachan]

Thanks for all the replies.

Thinking out loud about the hash idea. Can I just freeze shredded potato and then use it to make hash brown? Do i need to add anything to it before freezing? Also, is it necessary to defrost?

Potato chips does sound great. Will probably use some of the potato for that.

As for fries, would the oil blanching technique work if I want to make oven fries with them after they've been frozen?

[Keith_W]

Welcome to Melbourne, where you can get a dozen different potato varieties if you know where to look!

The Desiree is a waxy variety and is a good all-round potato. However - I tend not to deep fry them as I have never had good results, and mash desiree can be a bit gummy if you are not careful. I have had most success with roasting, panfrying, and stewing. The skin is quite thin and not very flavoursome, so it would not be the best choice for any dish which has the skin on.

[annachan]

Thanks Keith. They do roast up so beautifully. I use a ricer to mash and the result has been very good.

[Snadra]

The instructions I've seen for freezing potatoes for hashbrowns usually suggest blanching them before freezing. I keep meaning to try it (seeing as that kind of hashbrown is pretty unavailable here) but still haven't gotten around to it.

You could try making potato perogies. They freeze beautifully and make a quick meal too. The kind I make also has potato in the dough wrapper. That would certainly see you through a lot of potato.

Have fun!

[ChrisTaylor]

Welcome to Melbourne, where you can get a dozen different potato varieties if you know where to look!

The Desiree is a waxy variety and is a good all-round potato. However - I tend not to deep fry them as I have never had good results, and mash desiree can be a bit gummy if you are not careful. I have had most success with roasting, panfrying, and stewing. The skin is quite thin and not very flavoursome, so it would not be the best choice for any dish which has the skin on.

I'll second all of this. If you're going to use Desirees in mash, at least use some other potatoes too. as in, 50% Desiree, 50% waxy potatoes of some description. And that's a bad idea. I mean, I assume the last thing you want to be doing right now is buying more potatoes.

Potato tortilla (in the Spanish sense of tortilla--not the flatbread)? Curry (I have a recipe floating around for a nice pea and potato curry)?

[annachan]

Tortilla! Great idea.

The mash actually came out well as a base for osso bucco. I put the warm milk, melted butter and salt in the bottom of the bowl then rice the potato on top. A few gentle folds to incorporate everything and it's nice and fluffy.

[ChrisTaylor]

Milk in mash? All butter. Unless, you know, you're making aligot. In fact, yes, make aligot, the king of mashes. Larousse has a recipe. Try Embrasse (one of my favourite restaurants down here) if you want to sample the real deal, although iirc they don't use the bacon fat in theirs. The right cheese can probably be found at the French Shop in QV Market or maybe David Jones Food Hall.

EDIT

Too, stuffed baked potatoes. Or baked potatoes with awesome things like bacon and sour cream. Oh yes. My go-to cheap and cheerful lunches as a student are coming back to me now.

Edited by ChrisTaylor, 02 February 2012 - 12:34 AM.

[Broken English]

You should be okay with gnocchi, I've made it with Desiree's a lot of times with good results.

[ChrisZ]

Just a few thoughts:

-If you like the idea of hash browns and are googling for recipes, also include searches for roesti.
-A good potato and leek soup is hard to beat, and very simple.
-For something different, search for some recipes for a German potato cake (with streusel topping).
-The key to good gnocchi is to minimise gluten development in the flour, so work it as little as possible. The worst thing you can do is make gnocchi in an electric mixer - you'll end up with rubber balls! I even use cornflour instead of wheat flour to keep them soft.