Share your favorite potato recipes.

[Tropicalsenior]

35 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

Most are of the waxy type; none of them are suitable for mashing.

The only potatoes that I can buy here in Costa Rica are the waxy type. Therefore, if I want mashed potatoes I have to fall back on this.

Compared to the glue that I would get if I tried the local potatoes, they're not half bad.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[Dave the Cook]

11 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 My experience has been that while most potatoes will make an adequate mash, russet (Idaho) potatoes are the best. But the only time I have managed to turn potatoes to glue was when I attempted to “mash” them in the food processor.  

 

I did the same thing. It might have been my first experience with a food processor. The event so traumatized me that I don't think I used the food processor again for months.

 

 

9 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

The only potatoes that I can buy here in Costa Rica are the waxy type. Therefore, if I want mashed potatoes I have to fall back on this.

Compared to the glue that I would get if I tried the local potatoes, they're not half bad.

 

Those don't actually suck.

[Tropicalsenior]

14 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

Those don't actually suck

They are really pretty good and you can dress them up any way you want.

The second year that we were in Costa Rica, I had 30 people to feed for Thanksgiving. Not being a fan of mashed potatoes I had never tried to make them down here, but I know that mashing potatoes for 30 people was going to be a bit of a strength challenge so a friend of ours, a "chef" from Canada was elected to mash the potatoes. He presented me with glue for 30. Then he told me that that was about all I was going to get with the potatoes down here. Not too long after that, we ate in one of the better restaurants here and the mashed potatoes were wonderful. So I asked the chef what his secret was and he invited me back into the kitchen to show me. He pulled a box of these out of the garbage and said that he never used anything else. Since then, if I want mashed potatoes I don't either.

[liuzhou]

I too have a very limited potato choice. Basically there are only two types. First is what I call the red skinned type which are very waxy. These are the standard spud and often the only kind stores stock. They are fine in Chinese recipes but I've never even tried to mash them. I know they won't work. They make lousy chips too, by which I mean chips as in 'fish and chips'.

 

"Red Skin Potatoes"

 

The other are  type are the so-called white skinned potatoes. These are only semi-waxy, leaning more to waxy. I can successfully mash them but have to be careful. They go from being nearly mashed to glue very quickly - the window of acceptability is tiny.

 

"White Potatoes"

 

I always mash slowly by hand using a masher my daughter brought me from London some years back. They were unavailable here, but can be found now. I don't have a food processor, but wouldn't use it if I did.

 

Friends here are sure I'm joking when I tell them there are literally hundreds of potato varieties. McDs and KFC import a lot of their potatoes for their Chinese outlets or grow them here themselves.

 

Pig's Kidney and Okra with Mash

 

I'd love to get my hands on some King Edwards'or Maris Piper.

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[AAQuesada]

You can do purple mash potatoes btw. I used to do a mashed potato bar and for one option we used the purple Okinawan potatoes. They were pretty tasty!

[Dave the Cook]

I'm down for pretty much anything potato. However, I whittled it down to four that are in regular rotation (links go to Recipe Gullet):

 

Lyonnaise Potatoes, simplified

Crispy Salt-and-Vinegar Potatoes

Potato "Scallops"

A dish I invented/stumbled into while doing a foodblog way back in 2005: Really Simple Potato Gratin

[Maison Rustique]

I also buy the Idahoan instant mashed potatoes. I use them more for making potato soup (along with real potatoes) than for eating as mashed potatoes, but I do eat them as intended occasionally. They are a great thickener for soup--use as much as you need out of the package and put the rest into a jar or baggie to use the next time. 

[liamsaunt]

Instant mashed potatoes make a terrific light and crunchy coating for pan-seared fish.  

[gulfporter]

I also buy Idahoan instant here in Central Mexico.   I don't use them often since mi esposo thinks carbs are the work of el diablo.  

 

I find they're best if you cut back the liquid and get as close to 'lumpy' as you can (without them being dry).  I don't serve as a side per se, I use as a base for a "wet" dish.  This week I am making an oxtail recipe in instant pot that comes out with a lot of gravy.  

[Tropicalsenior]

I also have a recipe for a wonderful soft white sandwich bread that calls for instant mashed potatoes.