Turned Potatoes Time: 45 minutes
these look trickier than they are but do take a bit of work and planning
2 large or 4 smaller potatoes
1 1/2 tbs butter
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
salt - sea salt if you have it
We'll start backwards. The finished product is a potato that is barrel-shaped and app. 2 inches (5cm) long by 3/4 inch (2cm) thick at the middle (like a barrel, ends will be just a bit thinner). Look at your potatoes. Ideally you should be able to cut the potato in half the short way and have two pieces a bit longer than 2 inches (5cm). Cut these halves into 4ths the long way and, as they say, 'cut away the part that's not the barrel'. Trim the pieces into something close to a barrel-shape. A large potato will give you 8 turned potatoes and a small potato will give 4 - you won't cut it in half the short way first. You will want 6 - 8 per person. Don't be overly concerned about your carving abilities, just try to keep them similar in size. A little smaller is fine. Okay, now the cooking instructions:
Peel potatoes and put into a large bowl of cool water. Select a potato and start carving, keeping the pieces that you're not working on in the water. It shouldn't take more than 5 - 10 minutes to carve the potatoes. When done, put them into a steamer basket over boiling water and steam for 10 minutes. In large nonstick skillet heat the butter and oil over medium heat. When potatoes are done steaming add them to the skillet. Brown the potatoes on all sides, about 15 minutes. Remove, sprinkle lightly with salt and serve.
Note: A good time to make soup to use up the trimmings.
Cooking for Two? Or more?
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