They are great stuff, and come in many varieties. The indigenous people of the Andes know more kinds than our supermarkets will ever offer.
Here in Germany, the varieties are sorted into three categories that have a different starch composition which gives them different cooking characteristics:
1. "festkochend" (meaning "firm when cooked"), also called "Salad potatoes"
As their name indicates, they stay firm even when fully cooked. That takes longer than with the other varieties, too.
When cut up after cooking, they retain their shape and edges, which makes them ideal for salads because they don't break up. If you use them for mashed potatoes, however, you will always have some small lumps in the mash (which could of course be a desired effect)
2. "vorwiegend festkochend" (mostly firm when cooked)
They are the most versatile, standard variety. The can be used for boiled potatoes (peeled either before or after cooking), baked potatoes, fries, roast potatoes, mash...
They break up when sliced, however, so they are not the preferred choice for potato salads. Also, you cannot make Swiss "rösti" with them or other dishes like Italian "gnocchi" where starch needs to leach out to keep the dish together.
3. "mehlig kochend" (literally: cooking to flour)
Those varieties give up a lot of starch when they're cooked, and the pieces tend to stick together.
This is desired when making some special dishes, as mentioned above. Also, these potatoes fall apart easily and so they are the perfect choice for mash
Friends who have been living in China as expatriates have told us they didn't cook potatoes there: the merchants mixed the different varieties. Whenever they cooked them, they ended up with a mix of mash and firm potatoes, and that wasn't very palatable!
Dienstag, 16. Februar 2016
Freitag, 12. Februar 2016
Day two: Zucchini e patate al forno
1 1-pound zucchino 0,87 €
1 pound potatoes 0,40 €
200 ml whipping cream 0,40 €
100 g grated cheese 1,30 €
Wash the vegetables, peel the potatoes and cut them crosswise into slices about 2 mm thick. Layer the slices into a pan or casserole that can go into the oven.
Mix cream with 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper and nutmeg or allspice to taste.
Bake in oven at 200°C/420′F for 30 minutes, then take out, sprinkle liberally with grated cheese and put it back into the oven to melt and brown the cheese (another 10-15 minutes)
preparation: 10 minutes + 45 minutes baking time
Of course this is not a recipe to start when you come home hungry. But while the bake is in the oven, there is time to do other things like reading, checking mail, talking....
Total cost: about 3 € for three people, so 1 € per person
1 pound potatoes 0,40 €
200 ml whipping cream 0,40 €
100 g grated cheese 1,30 €
Wash the vegetables, peel the potatoes and cut them crosswise into slices about 2 mm thick. Layer the slices into a pan or casserole that can go into the oven.
Mix cream with 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper and nutmeg or allspice to taste.
Bake in oven at 200°C/420′F for 30 minutes, then take out, sprinkle liberally with grated cheese and put it back into the oven to melt and brown the cheese (another 10-15 minutes)
preparation: 10 minutes + 45 minutes baking time
Of course this is not a recipe to start when you come home hungry. But while the bake is in the oven, there is time to do other things like reading, checking mail, talking....
Total cost: about 3 € for three people, so 1 € per person
Mittwoch, 10. Februar 2016
Day one: gnocchi and tomato sauce
shopping list:
1 pack of gnocchi (500g) 0.75 €
1 can pizza tomatoes 0.39 €
1 pot basil 1.19 €
from stock: 1 onion, 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt, herb mix
In a large pot, bring salted water to a vivid boil.
Chop onion into moderate-sized cubes (1/2 cm). Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook onion cubes until glassy, stirring repeatedly. Pour in pizza tomatoes and continue stirring. Reduce heat to minimum and keep until gnocchi are ready, stirring occasionally. When the gnocchi are done, add a few leaves of basil.
When the water boils, pour in gnocchi and keep heat high. After a few minutes, the gnocchi will rise up. Take them out with a wire spoon and put them into the serving bowl. Serve with the sauce.
Preparation: 20 minutes in total
Cost: About 2.50 € for two people: 1.25 € per person
1 pack of gnocchi (500g) 0.75 €
1 can pizza tomatoes 0.39 €
1 pot basil 1.19 €
from stock: 1 onion, 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt, herb mix
In a large pot, bring salted water to a vivid boil.
Chop onion into moderate-sized cubes (1/2 cm). Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook onion cubes until glassy, stirring repeatedly. Pour in pizza tomatoes and continue stirring. Reduce heat to minimum and keep until gnocchi are ready, stirring occasionally. When the gnocchi are done, add a few leaves of basil.
When the water boils, pour in gnocchi and keep heat high. After a few minutes, the gnocchi will rise up. Take them out with a wire spoon and put them into the serving bowl. Serve with the sauce.
Preparation: 20 minutes in total
Cost: About 2.50 € for two people: 1.25 € per person
Lent project: Cooking up on a budget
One thing that's often said is a hindrance to cooking with little industry food is "It's expensive to buy good natural ingredients".
I doubt that this is true. For one thing, here in Germany we have the farmer's markets where you can buy local produce for very little money. So many people say "Yes, but I work all week and don't have the time to go there".
Good, so here is my project for this year's Lent (the 7 weeks before Easter): I will cook up only with things I can find in my discount supermarket, and write here how much I spent, how much time it took and the recipe.
I will not buy meat or meat products at the discounter, however. I am a conscious "nose to tail" animal eater, but I do not approve of the conditions animals are kept in to produce low-cost meat. So most of the meals will be vegetarian, as the old rules of Lent eating demanded. Actually, it was even vegan food that was mandated in centuries past, because milk products and eggs were forbidden as well.
I doubt that this is true. For one thing, here in Germany we have the farmer's markets where you can buy local produce for very little money. So many people say "Yes, but I work all week and don't have the time to go there".
Good, so here is my project for this year's Lent (the 7 weeks before Easter): I will cook up only with things I can find in my discount supermarket, and write here how much I spent, how much time it took and the recipe.
I will not buy meat or meat products at the discounter, however. I am a conscious "nose to tail" animal eater, but I do not approve of the conditions animals are kept in to produce low-cost meat. So most of the meals will be vegetarian, as the old rules of Lent eating demanded. Actually, it was even vegan food that was mandated in centuries past, because milk products and eggs were forbidden as well.
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