How to make crispy country potatoes

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Country-style potatoes can be a delicious delight. If you apply a little scientific approach.

Which potatoes to choose

This is one of the most crucial moments! If you want a truly delicious meal, carefully consider the following factors.

Starchiness

The famous chef Heston Blumenthal assures that the most delicious country-style potatoes are obtained from the dry, most starchy varieties - those that are easy to boil. Typically, these root vegetables have a light brown skin and almost white flesh. The starchiness will allow you to achieve the most impressive contrast between the crispy crust and the center of the finished dish that literally melts in your mouth.

But the distinctly yellowish, moist, dense, like wax potatoes should be set aside for some other recipes.

The form

Small round potatoes are not your option. It is difficult to cut them in such a way that you get as many flat edges as possible. But fried crispy edges in rustic potatoes are the key, perhaps the most delightful moment!

It is best to choose elongated potatoes about the size of a medium avocado. It can be easily cut into eight pieces, each of which will have three large, flat edges.

How to cut potatoes

There are different approaches here. But they are united by one goal: while maintaining the skin and recognizable triangular shape, which is important for potatoes in a country-style way, to make as many flat faces as possible.

All the same culinary master Heston Blumenthal, for example, offers to cut potatoes crosswise. First - lengthwise into two halves. Then, turning the potatoes 90 degrees, once again along - you will get four identical elongated "slices". And then in one motion - across.

It is really simple and fast, but not the best option. Students at the University of Essex did a simple geometric analysis of the potatoes and figured out how to slice the root vegetable to get the maximum crisp area.

The first step in their concept follows Blumenthal's practice: the potato is cut in half lengthwise. But then you need to turn the potatoes 90 degrees and fan them.

This cutting technique is called edge cut. Learn more about math and knife work in a student-prepared video.

The students stated that the potatoes cut in this way are tastier. And they were not unfounded. The experimenters were not too lazy to cook a couple of hundred servings of country-style potatoes in traditional and new slicing. And then they sent the resulting dishes for tasting to fellow campus and several nearby restaurants. Completely free, just asking eaters to compare and rate differently sliced servings of potatoes.

Result: the tasters liked the edge cut potatoes better. So use the best practices and don't thank!

How to cook potatoes in a country style

1. Get rid of excess starch

Despite the fact that initially it is better to choose starchy varieties as more delicate, some of the starch still needs to be removed. Firstly, this will allow the potatoes to hold their shape better when cooked. And secondly, starch is excess glucose, which not everyone needs. Of course, first of all, we are talking about those who follow the figure or suffer from diabetes.

A good way to get rid of excess starch is to place the peeled and chopped potatoes in a saucepan and place them under running cold water for 5 minutes.

2. Cook

Bring the water to a boil and put the prepared potato wedges in it so that the liquid covers them by at least 1 cm. Salting the water is possible, but not necessary. If you're a fan of sophisticated flavors, add a small bunch of thyme and some lemon zest.

Put in boiling water, this is important. The longer the tubers are in the water, the more nutrients they lose, so our task is to boil them as quickly as possible.

Cook until tender. It is enough for the potatoes to become soft and easily pierced, for example, with a knife or a toothpick. This will take 7-10 minutes.

Don't let the vegetables boil! You need whole wedges.

3. Dry the potatoes

Dump the boiled potatoes into a colander. If you are afraid that the potatoes will fall apart, use a slotted spoon. Use it to gently transfer the wedges to a colander or prepared towel. Be careful not to burn yourself.

Wait until the water is completely drained and the slices have cooled.

4. Check for important cracks

If you do everything correctly, when it cools, the flat edges of the potato will go into small shallow cracks. In the next step, these cracks will help the potatoes absorb the fat and become really crispy.

If they are not there, carefully work with a fork: make shallow holes on the flat edges of each segment.

5. Fry in your favorite oil

Someone prefers liquid peanut, someone likes olive, someone is not smart and gets along with ordinary sunflower. There are no single recommendations for choosing.

The roasting process can vary depending on where you are going to cook the potatoes.

Country style potatoes in a pan

The pan should be deep and wide enough to fit a batch of potatoes in one layer. You can save a little on oil: 0.5–0.7 cm is enough.

Bring the oil to a boil over high heat, spread the potato wedges over the entire surface and leave to fry for 5 minutes. Do not turn over so as not to break the slices before they crust! And make sure that the potatoes do not burn.

After the indicated time, turn the potatoes over so that they touch the bottom with not yet fried edges.

Roast over high heat, turning occasionally to achieve an even golden color on all sides. Try not to overcook, otherwise the potatoes will acquire a characteristic burnt aftertaste.

Country style potatoes in the oven

You will need a deep and wide shape so that all the slices fit in one layer. Pour more oil so as not to dry out the potatoes.

Preheat the oven to 180 ° C, place the dish with butter in it and wait 15 minutes. When the oil is hot, place the potato slices in it, stir gently and return to the oven. Leave for 60-75 minutes, turning every 20 minutes and until the roast is even on all sides.

Village potatoes in a slow cooker

We'll warn you right away that you won't be able to get that crispy crust, since the temperature in the multicooker is low and the potatoes will be boiled rather than fried. However, the crust - albeit not perfect - will still be there, and the dish will still turn out delicious.

Pour the selected oil into the multicooker bowl so that it rises about 1 cm above the bottom. Select the “Multi-cook” or “Baking” mode with a temperature not lower than 125–130 ° C and bring the oil to a boil. Gently place the potatoes in a bowl and, without lowering the temperature or turning the slices, leave for 20 minutes. If possible, leave the lid on to remove excess moisture from the potatoes.

Then turn the slices over and let sit again for 20 minutes. Depending on the desired degree of doneness and doneness, you can turn it over again and leave to cook for 10-15 minutes.

6. Give the dish a taste

Crush a few cloves of garlic, mix with finely chopped rosemary and add to potatoes 3-5 minutes until tender. You can also add a few whole garlic cloves and chopped onions. Don't forget to stir!

7. Serve the potatoes hot

If you didn't add salt to the water during cooking, sprinkle the potatoes with coarse salt to taste before serving. Garnish each serving with a sprig of rosemary.