by Julia Child
When you are buying potatoes, choose those that look clean and healthy, that are firm to the touch, smooth, dry, free from cracks, and with no suggestion of sprouting (greenish-white nubbins of growth appearing at the small depressions called the eyes). Be sure, also, that the potatoes are potato-colored, that is, uniformly brownish or reddish with no hint of green. Green means that they have been exposed to sun or light, either in the field or in storage, and green potatoes develop a bitter taste. Potatoes are sometimes waxed and sometimes colored reddish, a harmless cosmetic treatment designed to enhance their customer appeal; if so, this fact should be indicated clearly on the bin or package.
Unless you happen to have a proper root cellar where you can store potatoes in the dark at a temperature of 55 degrees and at a humidity of 85 to 90 per cent, buy only what you will use within a week or so. Potatoes kept at 60 to 70 degrees have the best cooking flavor, but they begin to sprout after a few weeks. Potatoes stored at below 40 degrees, the temperature of your refrigerator, resist sprouting and withering but gradually develop a sweet taste because the potato starches transform themselves into sugar. Thus, keep your small store of potatoes at normal room temperature in heavy brown paper sacks so they will be protected from light. Separate different types or you will run into cooking irregularities.
POTATO TYPES
Potatoes are a far more complicated vegetable to grow, harvest, store, and classify than any of us who are not in the business would ever dream. New varieties are constantly being tested out that will survive in specific climates, that will resist the myriad viruses and diseases which attack potato plants, and that will more perfectly meet public tastes and the specific demands of dehydrators, chip manufacturers, and other industrial users. Potatoes of one variety can vary from one year to the next in a certain growing locality because of weather, or the same variety will be mealy in one area and not in another because of soil and climatic differences. The tradition of choosing old potatoes for baking and mashing, and new potatoes for boiling still holds true in part, but so much has happened to the potato since grandmother’s day that a list of varieties classified according to buying areas and uses would be out of date almost as soon as it appeared in print. Thus we shall go no further than specify “boiling” potatoes when we mean the type that holds its shape in cooking, and “baking” potatoes when we want a mealy, floury potato for baking or mashing. If your market does not have its potatoes clearly labeled as to baking and mashing, frying, boiling, or all-purpose, ask the head of the vegetable department to help you.
POMMES DE TERRE AU BASILIC
[Sliced Potatoes Simmered in Cream and Basil]
This is a top-of-the-stove recipe in which sliced potatoes are boiled briefly in water to neutralize any milk-curdling properties they may possess, then simmered until tender in a cream sauce with garlic and basil. You may set them aside and reheat again just before turning them into a vegetable dish with more basil, parsley, and butter. Serve with roast red meats, steaks, chops, or broiled chicken.
For 4 to 6 people
2 lbs. “boiling” potatoes
A large saucepan of boiling salted water
A colander
Peel the potatoes. Cut into slices about ¼ inch thick and 1¼ inches in diameter. You should have around 7 cups. Drop them into the boiling water, bring rapidly back to the boil again, and boil for 3 minutes. Drain immediately.
3 Tb butter
A heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan (no-stick recommended)
1½ Tb flour
A wooden spoon and a wire whip
1½ cups milk heated in a small saucepan
¾ cup heavy cream; more cream (or milk) if needed
About 1 Tb fresh minced basil; or ½ tsp fragrant dried basil (or oregano)
1 to 2 large cloves of mashed garlic
½ tsp salt
Big pinch of white pepper
A cover for the pan
Make a white roux as follows: Melt the butter in the saucepan, blend in the flour, and stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes to cook the flour without browning. Remove from heat, and when roux has stopped bubbling, vigorously blend in all of the hot milk at once with your wire whip, beating until mixture is perfectly smooth. Blend in the ¾ cup of cream, the herb, garlic, salt, and pepper. Return over moderately high heat, stirring with whip as sauce thickens very lightly and comes to the boil. Simmer 2 minutes, then fold in the potatoes. Sauce should just cover potatoes; add a little more cream or milk if necessary. Bring to simmer, correct seasoning, cover pan, and simmer very slowly for 10 to 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Stir up gently from bottom once or twice to be sure potatoes are not sticking; they will have absorbed half of the liquid before they are done and if sauce seems too thick you may always add a little more milk.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: May be completed in advance to this point. Spoon a little milk or cream over top of potatoes and either set aside uncovered or keep warm, partially covered, in a pan of simmering water.
2 to 4 Tb soft butter
2 to 3 Tb fresh minced basil and parsley, or parsley only
A warm, lighdy buttered vegetable dish
Reheat potatoes just before serving. Carefully correct seasoning. Gently fold in the butter and ⅔ of the herbs with a rubber spatula. Turn into vegetable dish, decorate with the remaining herbs, and serve at once.
A different herb—Tarragon
The preceding potatoes are delicious with tarragon rather than basil, a good solution for wintertime, since dried tarragon is usually far more fragrant than dried basil.
GRATIN DAUPHINOIS AUX ENDIVES
[Gratin of Sliced Potatoes and Endives]
Both endives and potatoes go beautifully with chicken or veal, and here they are combined into one dish. For each cup of sliced raw potatoes you will need 2 cups of sliced raw Belgian endives. The natural moisture in the endives provides enough liquid for the potatoes, while the butter, lemon juice, shallots, and cheese that bake along with them contribute delicious additional flavors.
For 8 people—baking time about 1¼ hours
2½ lbs. very fresh, white, firm Belgian endive with leaves tightly closed at the tips
1¼ lbs. “boiling” potatoes
2 Tb soft butter
A 3½- to 4-quart baking dish about 2½ inches deep (such as a 12-inch round one, or an 11- by 16-inch oval)
1 Tb lemon juice
½ cup melted butter
Salt and white pepper
⅔ cup coarsely grated Swiss cheese
¼ cup finely minced shallots or scallions
Buttered waxed paper
A cover for the dish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim root ends, and wash endives rapidly under cold running water. Slice cross-wise into pieces ¾ inch thick and set aside. You should have 8 cups. Wash and peel potatoes, cut into slices ¼ inch thick and about 1¼ inches in diameter. You should have 4 cups. Smear the butter in the baking dish and arrange in it half the sliced endives. Sprinkle with half the lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and spread on half the cheese. Over this arrange the 4 cups of potatoes in layers, sprinkling each with salt and pepper, a little of the butter, and the minced shallots or scallions. Spread the rest of the endives over the potatoes, seasoning them with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and all but 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter. Omit the cheese, reserving for later.
Lay the buttered waxed paper over the endives, cover the dish, and bake in middle level of 400-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until you can hear the contents bubbling. Turn oven down to 350 or even 325 degrees for the rest of the baking, regulating heat so that vegetables simmer slowly throughout the rest of the cooking, which will be 1 to 1¼ hours. When potatoes are tender if pierced with a fork, remove dish from oven, and reset thermostat to 425 degrees. Spread remaining ⅓ cup of cheese over the vegetables and dribble on the remaining butter.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: Dish may be completed an hour or so in advance up to this p
oint. Set partially uncovered in a 100- to 120-degree warming oven, or over a pan of almost simmering water. As long as potatoes are warm and have a little ventilation, they will not lose their fresh-tasting quality.
About 15 minutes before serving, set dish uncovered in upper third of preheated 425-degree oven until contents are bubbling hot and cheese topping has browned lightly.
POMMES DE TERRE SAUTÉES, CALABRAISE
[Sliced Potatoes Sautéed with Lemon and Garlic]
This excellent, crusty sauté of potatoes needs to be done in a large non-sticking pan where the potatoes have room to toss, turn, and crust. Serve them with eggs, sausages, pork chops, broiled chicken, steaks, or fish.
For 6 servings
2 lbs. “boiling” potatoes all of a size for even slices
A large saucepan with just enough boiling salted water to cover potatoes
Olive oil (or 3 Tb butter and 2 or more Tb olive oil or cooking oil)
A large (11-inch) frying pan (no-stick recommended especially for this recipe)
The grated peel of ½ lemon
2 large cloves of garlic, mashed
Big pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Peel the potatoes, cut into slices ¼ inch thick and 1¼ inches in diameter (or cut into ½-inch dice, if you prefer); you should have 6 to 7 cups. Drop into boiling, salted water, and boil about 5 minutes, or until barely tender. (Eat a piece to check; do not overcook.) Drain thoroughly. Film frying pan with a ⅛-inch layer of oil (or butter and oil), set over moderately high heat, and when very hot but not smoking add enough potatoes to make 1 full layer. Toss and turn frequently for several minutes, shaking and swirling the pan by its handle, until potatoes are beginning to brown lightly. Add some more potatoes, and continue to toss them in the pan until the new addition is beginning to brown. If necessary, add a little more oil and continue with more potatoes; however, about ¾ inch of potatoes will be the maximum you can handle in the pan.
When all potatoes are lightly brown, toss with the lemon peel, garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Continue sautéing and tossing several minutes more until potatoes are as brown as you wish them to be.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: May be kept warm at this point, pan set partially covered over 2 asbestos mats over low heat. As long as they are warm and ventilated, potatoes will retain their fresh taste for at least half an hour.
If available: 1 Tb minced fresh basil
2 to 3 Tb minced fresh parsley
2 or more Tb butter
About 1 Tb lemon juice
A hot serving plate or the meat platter
Just before you are ready to serve, reheat to sizzling and toss with the herbs and butter. Check seasoning again, and toss with lemon juice to taste. Turn out onto plate and serve immediately.
GALETTE DE POMMES DE TERRE AUX TOMATES
[Hashed Brown Potatoes with Tomatoes and Herbs]
Another recipe for sautéed potatoes, this time with pork bits, onions, and tomatoes, calls for the potatoes to be mashed down with a fork when soft so that they look like an omelette when turned out onto their serving plate. Arrange sausages, sautéed chicken, chops, hamburgers, or poached or fried eggs around the potatoes, and you need only a green vegetable or salad for the perfect informal meal.
For 6 servings
1) The pork and onions
4 to 5 ounces (about ⅔ cup) bacon chunk or lean salt pork cut into ¼-inch dice
A pan with 2 quarts water
1 Tb olive oil or cooking oil
A large (11-inch) frying pan (no-stick recommended especially for this recipe)
⅔ cup minced onions
A cover for the pan
A sieve set over a small bowl
Simmer the diced bacon or pork in the water for 10 minutes, drain and dry in paper towels. Cook for several minutes with the olive oil in the frying pan until it begins to brown lightly. Stir in the onions, cover the pan, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes until onions are tender. Raise heat and cook, stirring, to brown the onions very lightly. Scrape into sieve, pressing fat out of ingredients into bowl. Return fat to frying pan; reserve pork and onions for Step 3.
2) Sautéing the potatoes
About 2 lbs. “boiling” potatoes (7 cups, sliced)
Paper towels
More oil as needed
A mixing fork or a wooden spoon
Salt and pepper
While onions are cooking, peel the potatoes, cut into slices about ⅛ inch thick and 1¼ inches in diameter. Dry thoroughly in paper towels. Add more oil to pan if needed, to film it by 1⁄16 inch. Raise heat to moderately high, and when fat is very hot but not smoking, add the potatoes. Toss and turn frequently for several minutes, shaking and swirling the pan by its handle, until potatoes begin to brown. Lower heat slightly, cover pan, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, tossing frequently, until potatoes are tender. Uncover, mash roughly with mixing fork or wooden spoon, and season to taste.
3) Finishing the recipe
1 lb. tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced, and chopped (1½ cups tomato pulp)
1 to 2 large cloves mashed garlic
¼ tsp mixed herbs such as herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning
The cooked pork bits and minced onion
A hot serving dish
Raise heat to high. Fold in the tomatoes, garlic, and herbs along with the cooked pork bits and onions. Season again to taste, and sauté uncovered for several minutes to brown. Potatoes should slide around in a mass, and you may be able to flip them over, to brown both sides.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: If you are not ready to serve, set partially uncovered over low heat and 2 asbestos mats, where potatoes will keep warm without harm for half an hour at least. Reheat to sizzling just before serving.
If you have browned top and bottom of the potato mass, you may serve it like a flat cake, sliding potatoes from pan onto plate. Otherwise they will be most attractive in the form of an oval omelette: flip the two sides over the middle, and reverse the pan onto the serving plate so the potatoes land browned side up.
POMMES ANNA
Pommes Anna looks like a brown cake 6 to 8 inches in diameter and 2 inches high, and it smells marvelously of potatoes and butter. That, in effect, is all it is: thinly sliced potatoes packed in layers in a heavy pan, bathed in clarified butter, and baked in a very hot oven so that the outside crusts enough for the potatoes to be unmolded without collapsing. The contrast of crusty exterior and tender, buttery interior is quite unlike anything else in potato cookery, and to many pommes Anna is the supreme potato recipe of all time. It was created during the era of Napoleon III and named, as were many culinary triumphs in those days, after one of the grandes cocottes of the period. Whether it was an Anna Deslions, an Anna Judic, or simply Anna Untel, she has also immortalized the special double baking dish itself, la cocotte à pommes Anna, which is still being made and which you can still buy at a fancy price. It is of heavy copper.
A thick, flameproof baking dish of some sort is actually one of the keys to pommes Anna, because it must be an excellent heat conductor. Although the copper cocotte Anna is a beautiful object, its absolutely vertical sides, 3-inch depth, and frequent tendency to sticky-bottom troubles make it less easy to use than other possibilities.
The familiar American cast-iron frying pan with its fairly vertical sides and short, straight handle is actually the best of all for pommes Anna. The potatoes are easier to unmold from this than from the French type of iron frying pan with its sloping sides and long handle. However, either will do, as will a thick, flameproof, ceramic baking dish or a thick cast-aluminum one with no-stick interior. The essential is to have a material that will get thoroughly hot all over, to brown and crust the outside of the potatoes.
Having furnished yourself with the right pan, you then want to make sure the potato slices will not stick to it, because you must be able to unmold them at the end of the cooking. Therefore, use clarified butter, dry the potatoes thoroughly before the
cooking begins, and finish the cooking once you have begun it, or else the potatoes will exude moisture and stick to the pan. As you will note in the recipe, cooking begins at once, on the top of the stove as you are arranging the potatoes in the pan; this is to dry the bottom layers and start the brown crust forming. In the classic recipe you then finish the cooking in a hot oven, which usually gives a more professional result, but you may complete the cooking on top of the stove, as suggested in the cheese variation following the Master Recipe.
Pommes Anna and its variations go especially well with roast saddle of lamb, leg of lamb, roast beef, chops, sautéed chicken, plain or fancy steaks, and roast game.
POMMES ANNA
[Mold of Sliced Potatoes Baked in Butter]
Your object, in arranging the sliced potatoes in their dish for this very special recipe, is not only to fill the dish but to make a reasonably neat design in the bottom and around the sides so that when the potatoes are unmolded they will present a handsome exterior. For the sides you may either arrange an edging of overlapping upright slices braced by horizontal interior layers, or build up a wall of evenly spaced horizontal slices as you fill the pan. We have suggested the latter, simpler, system here.
For about 8 cups of sliced potatoes, serving 6 people
1) Preliminaries
½ lb. (2 sticks) butter
3 lbs. “boiling” potatoes (more if needed)