Potatoes Around the World
Cooking Skills: Potatoes 2
Chapter 5 · Potatoes Around the World
Skill goal
Cook four classic potato dishes from four traditions, and use the skills from earlier chapters.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Potatoes were first grown in the Andes and are now eaten everywhere. Four classic dishes from four traditions show what the earlier chapters' skills can do in a different setting: crisping (Spain), squeezing and frying (Eastern Europe), spice-blooming (India) and cold shaping (Peru).
| Dish | From | Skill | Potato |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patatas bravas | Spain | Crisp cubes plus a smoky sauce | Waxy or all-rounder |
| Latkes | Jewish, Eastern Europe | Squeeze, bind, fry | Floury |
| Aloo gobi | India | Blooming spices in oil | Waxy or all-rounder |
| Causa | Peru | Smooth, chilled layers | Yellow floury |
- Spices burn easily. Add them for 20 to 30 seconds in oil, with a splash of liquid ready.
- Squeeze grated potato dry, as for rösti.
- Sauce sets the character of bravas: use good paprika.
- Cold dishes need cold storage. Causa is served chilled.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Patatas bravas
Crisp potato cubes in a smoky, spicy tomato sauce. The sauce is the point: cook the paprika briefly in oil, off the heat if need be, as it turns bitter if burnt.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 500 g waxy or all-rounder potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5 cm cubes
- 1 tsp salt, for the water
- 4 tbsp olive oil, for frying or roasting
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (sweet or hot)
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 200 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 pinch sugar, salt and pepper
- Boil the potatoes in salted water for 6 to 8 minutes until just tender. Drain and steam-dry for 3 minutes.
- Sauce: warm 1 tablespoon of oil with the garlic over a low heat for 1 minute. Take off the heat, stir in the paprika and cayenne for 20 seconds, then add the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and seasoning. Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until thick, then blend smooth if you like.
- To roast: toss the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of oil and roast at 220°C fan on a hot tray for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until golden. To fry: shallow-fry in 2 cm of hot oil for 5 to 6 minutes, turning, until golden.
- Pile the potatoes onto a plate and spoon over the sauce.
Hot oil
Hot oil: use a heavy pan filled to no more than a third, never leave it, and keep children and pets away. Dry the food so it doesn't spit. If the oil catches fire, turn off the heat and cover with a lid or fire blanket; never use water. Let the oil cool completely before moving it, and don't pour it down the sink. Don't use a deep chip pan.
Level 2 · Crisp
Latkes (potato pancakes)
A Jewish festival dish. Grated potato and onion are squeezed dry, bound with egg and flour, and fried in a shallow layer of oil. Wet mixture means soggy latkes.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 500 g floury potatoes, peeled
- 1 onion, peeled
- 1 Lion-marked egg, beaten
- 3 tbsp plain flour (or matzo meal)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 5 tbsp sunflower oil, for frying
- 4 tbsp soured cream or apple sauce, to serve
- Grate the potatoes and onion on the coarse side of a grater into a clean tea towel. Squeeze hard over a bowl to remove as much liquid as you can. Let the liquid stand for 2 minutes, pour off the water and keep the white starch at the bottom.
- Mix the squeezed potato with the starch, egg, flour, salt and pepper. Use at once, or the potato turns grey.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Drop in heaped tablespoons, flatten to 1 cm thick, and fry in batches for 3 to 4 minutes a side, until deep golden (not dark brown) and crisp. Add oil as needed.
- Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven. Serve with soured cream or apple sauce.
Hot oil
Hot oil: use a heavy pan filled to no more than a third, never leave it, and keep children and pets away. Dry the food so it doesn't spit. If the oil catches fire, turn off the heat and cover with a lid or fire blanket; never use water. Let the oil cool completely before moving it, and don't pour it down the sink. Don't use a deep chip pan. Go for gold. Starchy foods that are fried, roasted or baked at high temperatures form a chemical called acrylamide, which the Food Standards Agency says could raise cancer risk. Its advice is to cook to a golden yellow, not dark brown. A balanced diet matters more than any single food, so this is a nudge about colour, not a reason to avoid potatoes.
Level 2 · Spiced
Aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry)
An Indian home-style dish. The skill is the order: whole spices in the oil, onions, ground spices briefly, then the vegetables, with a little water to finish them by steaming.
Ingredients (3 portions)
- 300 g waxy or all-rounder potatoes, peeled, cut into 2.5 cm chunks
- ½ small cauliflower (about 300 g), cut into florets
- 1½ tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 100 ml water
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- ½ tsp salt
- Heat the oil in a wide pan with a lid over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds for 30 seconds until they sizzle. Add the onion and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until soft and golden.
- Add the garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then the ground coriander, turmeric and chilli for 30 seconds, stirring so they don't burn. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and cauliflower and stir to coat. Add the water, cover, and cook on a low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are tender.
- Uncover, cook for another 2 to 3 minutes to dry off any sauce, and stir in the garam masala and coriander.
Level 3 · Cold
Peruvian causa (layered potato terrine)
A cold Peruvian dish: potato mashed smooth with lime, oil and chilli, layered with a tuna filling and avocado. It looks impressive and uses no heat once the potatoes are cooked.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 500 g yellow-fleshed floury potatoes (e.g. Maris Piper or Yukon-type), peeled and boiled
- 1 lime, juice
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp mild chilli paste, or ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tin tuna in water (about 110 g drained)
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander
- Boil, drain, steam-dry and mash or rice the potatoes while hot, until completely smooth. Mix in the lime juice, oil, chilli paste and salt. Cover and cool for 20 minutes; the mixture should be firm and mouldable.
- Drain the tuna and mix with the mayonnaise. Line a small loaf tin or a 15 cm square dish with cling film.
- Press half the potato into the tin and level it. Spread over the tuna mixture and a layer of sliced avocado. Cover with the rest of the potato and press down firmly.
- Chill for at least 1 hour. Turn out onto a plate, remove the cling film and cut into slices. Scatter with coriander.
Keep it cold
This dish is served cold, with mayonnaise and tuna. Keep it in the fridge until serving, don't leave it out for more than 2 hours, and eat leftovers within 24 hours.
Experiments
Experiment
Fried or roasted bravas
Which way?
- Make the same potatoes two ways: shallow-fried and roasted.
- Taste both with the sauce.
Look for: Fried gives a thinner crisp crust, richer taste. Roasted is lighter and easier. Both hold the sauce.
Experiment
Squeezed or not
Latke binder.
- Make latkes from squeezed and unsqueezed potato mix. Fry both.
- Compare.
Look for: The unsqueezed batter is wet and the latkes are limp and spit in the oil. The squeezed ones are crisp.
Experiment
Spices in oil or in water
When do spices go in?
- Make two small batches of aloo gobi: spices cooked in oil first and spices stirred into the water at the end.
- Taste both.
Look for: The oil-cooked spices are rounder, deeper and more aromatic. The water-added ones taste raw and dusty.
Experiment
Paprika amount and heat
Adjust the sauce.
- Make the bravas sauce with 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika, and with half sweet and half hot, and with more cayenne.
- Taste each.
Look for: Sweet paprika is smoky and mild; hot paprika and cayenne add heat. Find your level.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patatas bravas | ||||
| Latkes | ||||
| Aloo gobi | ||||
| Causa | ||||
| Fried vs roasted bravas | ||||
| Squeezed vs not | ||||
| Spices in oil vs water | ||||
| Paprika heat |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Bravas sauce bitter | Paprika burnt | Take the pan off the heat when adding it |
| Soggy bravas | Wet potatoes, or sauce added too early | Dry well; sauce at the last moment |
| Latkes fall apart | Too wet, or not enough binder | Squeeze harder; add a spoonful of flour |
| Latkes grey | Left to stand | Use at once |
| Curry dry or catching | Not enough water or too hot | Add a splash; lower the heat; cover |
| Causa crumbles | Mash too dry or not chilled | Add a little oil; chill for 1 hour |
Food safety: oil, spices, raw egg and cold dishes
Hot oil: use a heavy pan filled to no more than a third, never leave it, and keep children and pets away. Dry the food so it doesn't spit. If the oil catches fire, turn off the heat and cover with a lid or fire blanket; never use water. Let the oil cool completely before moving it, and don't pour it down the sink. Don't use a deep chip pan.Go for gold. Starchy foods that are fried, roasted or baked at high temperatures form a chemical called acrylamide, which the Food Standards Agency says could raise cancer risk. Its advice is to cook to a golden yellow, not dark brown. A balanced diet matters more than any single food, so this is a nudge about colour, not a reason to avoid potatoes.
Latkes contain raw egg in the batter: use Lion-marked eggs and wash your hands and tools. Causa is served cold and contains tuna, mayonnaise and avocado, so keep it chilled and eat it within 24 hours. Cooked potatoes and anything made from them: cool them quickly (spread out, within 1 to 2 hours), keep them covered in the fridge, and eat them within 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, and only once. (This is the general chilled-leftovers advice relayed by local-authority food-safety pages; there is no potato-specific rule, but potatoes are starchy, so they get the same care as rice and pasta.)
Raw potatoes: keep them somewhere cool, dark and dry (above about 6°C), not in the fridge and not in the light. The Food Standards Agency advises against keeping raw potatoes in the fridge if you will roast or fry them, because the cold raises the amount of acrylamide that forms when they brown. Cut away sprouts and any green patches generously; if a potato is green all over, or tastes bitter, throw it away.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a smoky tomato sauce and crisp potatoes.
- I can squeeze, bind and fry latkes.
- I can bloom spices in oil without burning them.
- I can make and chill a layered causa.
- I know which dishes must stay cold.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Potatoes 2, chapter 6 is Putting It Together: a potato party menu, a make-ahead fish pie supper, and your skills table.