September the month for potatoes - recipes

September is National Potato Month.  I have used this as an excuse to share potato recipes for years and this year is no exception.

In its native Peru, the potato has been a valuable food staple for nearly 8,000 years, and some 4,000 different varieties can still be found there. The Quechua vocabulary included over a thousand words to describe the cultivation and use of potatoes, and "the time it takes to cook a potato" was as an important measure of time. The potato was used as a staple medicine and was believed to ensure fertility.

When the Spaniards brought the potato to Europe in the 1570s, however, it was a different story. Europeans were suspicious of the plant, partly because they viewed it as a food for the poor and partly because it produced grotesque tubers underground and reproduced itself from those same misshapen tubers. Surely there was some deviltry associated with this! The matter was settled when in 1596 the Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhin assigned the potato to the Solanaceae family: the same nasty clan that included the deadly nightshade, henbane, and tobacco—herbs long used as poisons, narcotics, and magic.

I love potatoes and since my husband is a Peruvian scholar, we don’t get to ignore, replace, or forego potatoes in our diet.  I even put together a “Spud Celebration” package.  This set of herb mixes is the best of the best for using on spuds and it comes with a list of the best eating potatoes and ways to prepare them.

So celebrate National Potato Month in style with these great recipes:

Green Chile Potato Casserole
Scalloped potatoes never had it so good!

5 - 6 potatoes, sliced with skins on
2 - 3 green chilies, cut into long strips
1 cup onions, sliced

1 tsp. summer or winter savory, dried
1 cup Longhorn cheese, grated
1/2 cup Velveeta cheese, thinly sliced (you can use Farmer's Cheese or Chihuahua Cheese if you dislike processed Velveeta)
3 - 4 strips bacon, cooked crisp
butter or margarine

Directions
Grease 13x9x2 inch pan. Layer potatoes, then onions, strips of chilie, Longhorn cheese, and last Velveeta cheese. Repeat until all the ingredients have been used up. Top with pats of butter and crumbled bacon. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Can’t forget the Sweet Potato, this recipes is good at Thanksgiving too!

2 cups sliced sweet potatoes

1 medium onion, finely sliced

1 cups frozen peas

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1 Tbls. butter

1/4 cup water

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees until vegetables are tender.  About 40 minutes.

Tomato Potatoes

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

3 scallions, trimmed and chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds salad tomatoes (about 5 medium), chopped

Directions

Place the potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until a fork easily pierces a potato.  Drain the potatoes and garlic. Mash with a potato masher or a fork until smooth. Blend in the milk, butter, parsley, scallions, Parmesan, and salt. Gently fold in the tomatoes.

Recipe for Potato Curls

I love potatoes.  I think I have said that before.  I try not to eat too many of them as they can cause other health issues for me, but I love them, so when I eat them I want to enjoy them. One of my favorite appetizers is potato skins.  But with bacon, cheese and sour cream they are a calorie nightmare.  So what I have instead is a recipe where you get the great flavor and texture of the skins but not the calories.

Fried Potato skin curls with Herbs

These crisp shards of potato skin are cooked in oil infused with the season’s freshest herbs. The longer you leave the oil to infuse, the more intense the flavors. You’ll need only the potato skins for this recipe; save the flesh for other recipes, like potato salad, or mashed potatoes. Yields about 7 cups.

Ingredients:

3 cups canola oil
1-3/4 cups coarsely chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as rosemary, parsley, cilantro, oregano, marjoram, and summer savory
5 lb. medium Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and dried well
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the oil and 3/4 cup of the herbs. Warm over low heat until the herbs begin to sizzle, 3 to 5 minutes. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes more, then remove the pan from the heat and let the oil cool completely.

Heat the oven to 200°F.

Using a paring knife, peel the potato skins about 1/4 inch thick and 3 inches long. (If working ahead, submerge the skins in water for up to 2 hours.)

Strain the herb oil through a fine sieve and discard the herbs. Return the oil to the pan, put a deep fat/candy thermometer in the oil, and set the pan over medium heat until it reaches 365°F. If the potato skins were soaked in water, drain and blot them dry. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, fry the peels until golden and puffed, 5 to 7 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the peels to a wire rack set on a large rimmed baking sheet; keep the curls warm in the oven. Repeat with the rest of the curls.

Carefully add the remaining 1 cup of herbs to the oil (the oil will splatter). Fry until crisp, 20 to 30 seconds. Drain the herbs, using either a wire mesh skimmer or a fine sieve set over a heatproof bowl and then transfer to the rack with the curls. (Discard the oil once cool.) Toss the herbs and potato curls and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

It is a fun recipe and frying herbs is an entirely different texture and flavor.

If you like potatoes, take a look at our SPUD CELEBRATION where we have our 5 best blends for cooking with potatoes .  In addition to the mixes and recipes you will receive a description of different potato types and what they are good for.