Words, and cooking by Jay Lee-Guard (they/he)
Potatoes. We know ‘em, we love ‘em, we eat ‘em. You know the drill. Beyond the basics like mashed or roasted, there are so many ways to cook them—but is it worth it to deviate from the classics? I did the extremely hard work of making (and eating) a bunch of Fancy Potato Recipes to find out.
The Recipe: Fondant Potatoes
Whose Version: Sam Mannering (a Kiwi chef!)
What Makes Them Fancy: The cutting, the frying, the sauce AND the oven time. Also, the name.
When the recipe says large potatoes, it really means wide and circular, so that you can cut them with the circular cutter you definitely have. I didn’t want to waste potatoes, so most of mine were neat cubes. Sorry, Sam. You do need a pan you can whack in the oven, which could be an issue, but the cooking itself is pretty simple! Chuck them in a pan, leave them alone, flip them, leave them alone, throw some butter, garlic and thyme in, leave them alone, before adding enough stock to submerge the potatoes halfway, putting them in the oven and (you guessed it) leaving them alone until they’re done.
The Verdict: Delicious! I found them really quick to make, and it’s fairly tricky to majorly fuck up. I made enough for thre people, and ate them all in one sitting—except for one, which I left so I could check if it reheated okay. Somehow microwaving it the next day made it better? Absolutely would cook again.
The Recipe: Potato Gratin
Whose Version: foodandwine.com
What Makes Them Fancy: Layers and layers of potato, with seasoning and sauce in between. The name is
French as well, so bonus points for that.
If you didn’t have a mandolin—or a food processor with a fancy attachment—cutting all of these thin enough by hand would be hell. The stock mixture is easy to make (chop up a shallot, fry it, chuck in some herbs before leaving the stock to simmer for half an hour), but also easy to forget about on the stove if you’re as absent minded as myself. Layering all the potato slices was lowkey a meditative experience for me, and pairs best with a podcast or music.
The Verdict:
While it’s definitely best right out of the oven, this was honestly a pretty good meal! It tastes a little plain even with additional stock/seasoning, but it’s soft and tasty and knows its place as a side dish to something greater. If you invite me to a potluck, I might make this for you if you’re really nice.
The Recipe: 15-Hour Fried Potato
Whose Version: The OG herself, Poppy O’Toole of poppycooks.com
What Makes Them Fancy: I mean the layers, the cooking, the freezing, the frying—not to mention the
TIME?
Again, hand-cutting the potatoes for this would be a nightmare. So was finding space in my freezer to store this, but that might be a me problem. The beef dripping sets outrageously quick, and fishing the potato out of it to layer it was hell, even with tongs. Also, it’s so easy to forget this in the oven since it needs to cook for two to three hours. My microwave timer doesn’t even go that long.
The Verdict:
If you want good fried potatoes, go to a fish and chip shop. If you want a fun weekend activity, make this! Is it tasty? Yes. Are all fried potato dishes tasty? Yes. Are the layers impressive though? Also yes. No chance I’m making this again, but mad respect to Poppy for creating something so insane.