What could be easier than potatoes? Boiled, fried and mashed ... But the most simple meals, as you know, are the most difficult to check. So, in order to fry potatoes deliciously or prepare tender mashed potatoes, you should know some culinary tricks, without which it is better not to approach the tubers.

AiF.ru has collected for you culinary secrets How to cook perfect potato dishes.

Preparation

When peeling potatoes, so that they do not darken, they should be put in water with the addition of a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice.

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How to cook

How to fry

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To get crispy potatoes, you need to remove the starch from the slices. To do this, chopped potatoes are washed with water. Then dry with a paper towel.

To get a crust, you can also roll the slices in flour.

Put the potatoes in a preheated pan and in hot oil.

Do not put wet potatoes in hot oil. It will splatter.

When frying, the potatoes should be salted when the slices are browned on all sides.

To make the potatoes crispy, you do not need to cover it with a lid. And you don't need to stir it often.

How to puree

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For mashed potatoes, you need to take potatoes, which are well boiled and contain a lot of starch.

Only hot milk should be added to mashed potatoes; cold mashed potatoes become gray and tasteless.

If the puree is too runny, adjust to desired consistency by adding a tablespoon of potato starch.

The puree will turn out to be especially tasty if, at the last moment before serving, add whipped egg white to it.

To make the puree tender and fluffy, the potatoes need to be not only crushed and rubbed, but also whipped with a blender or mixer.

How to cook pancakes

When cooking potato pancakes or draniki. To remove excess mucus from grated potatoes, it must be properly squeezed through cheesecloth.

Miscellaneous

If you steam a cold jacket potato, it will become as if freshly cooked.

Potatoes boiled in their skins will become as fresh again if they are steamed.

Boiled potatoes will be easier to peel if they are immediately covered with cold water for a couple of minutes.

To make the puree homogeneous and airy, choose starchy varieties. It is a round potato with a light brown skin and light flesh. Starchy potatoes are very soft during cooking, which provides a delicate texture of mashed potatoes.

But it is better not to use potatoes with a red skin. It does not boil so much, and the puree may turn out with lumps.

What to put in mashed potatoes, except for potatoes

Classic mashed potatoes can not do without or cream. If you want the dish to have an exquisite flavor, add a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary or other sprigs to the liquid. herbs and heat over low heat.

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Another product that makes mashed potatoes tasty and airy is butter. Do not feel sorry for him and do not be stingy when buying: the oil should be high in fat. Alternatively, you can take refined sunflower or olive oil. However, the taste of puree in this case will be slightly different.

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Both milk and butter should be at room temperature. If they are cold, the potatoes will cool faster and the mashed potatoes will take longer to mix. Which means it can be sticky.

Some put a few tablespoons of sour cream, mayonnaise, natural yogurt or grated cheese in mashed potatoes. For taste, you can also add a raw egg, fried onions or mushrooms.

If you want to give the puree an unusual color, boil the potatoes with beets, carrots or pumpkin.

Fresh greens will add a special aroma to the finished puree. It can be mixed with the rest of the ingredients or sprinkled on a dish.

How to make mashed potatoes

Peel the tubers and cut them into equal large cubes. Thus, the potatoes will boil more evenly and.

Put the cubes in a saucepan and cover with cold water so that it covers them by about 1 cm. Salt and put on fire.

By the way, about when to salt mashed potatoes, they are still arguing. Alone Perfect Mashed Potatoes , Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk, Black Pepper and Green Onion chefs salt at the beginning, others Emeril Lagasse's Garlic Mashed Potatoes- at the end, third Mashed Potatoes, Kind Of Robuchon-Style- after boiling water. Opinions were divided among famous professionals about what water to put potatoes in: in cold Perfect Mashed Potatoes or already boiling How to make mashed potatoes.

One thing can be said for sure: the potatoes should be completely boiled. It is easier to check the degree of readiness with a knife. It should easily pierce a cube of potatoes.

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When the potatoes are ready, drain the liquid from the pan, put the cubes in a colander and dry them slightly. To do this, put them again in a hot pan and leave for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. This will evaporate excess liquid from the potatoes, which is not needed at all in mashed potatoes.

Remember: the colder the potatoes, the more difficult it is to mash them.

Puree should not be mixed in a blender: because of this, it can become viscous, sticky and, of course, tasteless. It is better to mash by hand using a pusher with holes. This won't take much effort from you, because starchy potatoes become very soft after boiling.

To purée more hard varieties You can use a potato press. It will help get rid of lumps.

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Then add the rest of the ingredients to the puree and mix well. Do not spare time and effort on this if you want the puree to turn out airy. At the end, you can season the puree with spices to taste and mix everything again.

Bonus: 4 Unusual Mashed Potato Recipes

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Ingredients

• 400 g potatoes;
• 400 g of cauliflower;
• 1 tablespoon of butter;
• ½ cup cream;
• ¼ cup grated cheese;
• salt - to taste;
• a few sprigs of green onions.

Cooking

Put the potatoes to boil. 10 minutes after the water boils, add the cauliflower florets and cook until tender.

Put butter, cream, cheese, salt into the mashed vegetables and mix well until smooth.

Sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving.

Ernesto Andrade/flickr.com

Ingredients

• 1 kg of potatoes;
• 1 onion;
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil;
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar;
• a few teaspoons of salt;
• ½ teaspoon of sugar;
• 2 cups unsalted coconut milk;
• 1 tablespoon dried garlic.

Cooking

Boil potatoes. Put the chopped onion in a frying pan drizzled with oil, add vinegar, a teaspoon of salt and sugar and cook for a few minutes. The onion should soften and become golden brown.

In crushed potatoes, add garlic and fried onions. Mix well until smooth.

3. Mashed Baked Potatoes and Celery - Jamie Oliver's Recipe

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Ingredients

• 4 potatoes;
• sea ​​salt - to taste;
• 300 g of celery root;
• 1 head of garlic;
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil;
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme;
• spices - to taste.

Cooking

Rinse potatoes and sprinkle with salt. Pierce the skin with a fork and place the tubers on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 190°C.

Cut the celery root into large pieces. Place it and the garlic cloves on baking paper, sprinkle with salt, pepper, drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil and toss with your hands. Wrap the paper so that you get a bundle.

Half an hour after the start of cooking potatoes, put the bundle on a baking sheet and bake for another 20-30 minutes. Potatoes and celery root should be completely baked.

Peel the potatoes, squeeze out the pulp of the baked garlic and mix these ingredients with the celery. Add thyme leaves, olive oil and mix well. Season the puree with spices.

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Ingredients

• 800 g potatoes;
• 500 g pumpkin;
• a little melted butter;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• salt - to taste;
• 125 ml of milk;
• 100 ml cream;
• 2 tablespoons of butter;
• ground black pepper - to taste;
• a little nutmeg;

Cooking

Peeled potatoes and cut into cubes and boil for 25-30 minutes. Heat the ghee in a frying pan and fry the chopped garlic in it.

Drain the liquid from the pan, dry the vegetables and add milk, cream and butter to them. Mix well, season with salt, pepper, garlic and nutmeg and mix again.

What can be prepared from mashed potatoes left over from dinner or lunch?! Today I will tell you another recipe for how mashed potatoes turn into very tasty and original dish. I propose to make potato dough and fry amazingly tasty and fragrant potato cakes in a pan. And to make it easier and more convenient to fry them, make such even and beautiful potato triangles.

It is convenient to take such potato cakes for a walk or to work, they can be eaten with soup or broth, you can spread pate on them or dip them in sauce.

Mashed potatoes 1 tbsp. Provence herbs 1/2 tsp Green onion 2-3 feathers Salt Ground black pepper Baking powder 1 tsp Flour 3/4 tbsp.

Warm the mashed potatoes slightly, add salt, pepper and Provence herbs. Throw in finely chopped green onions.
Add flour and baking powder to the mass, quickly knead a soft dough.
Divide the dough into two equal parts, sprinkle with flour, knead with your hands into a cake about 7-8 mm thick. Cut each cake into 6 pieces.
Fry potato cakes in a preheated pan on both sides until lightly browned.
Serve ready-made cakes on the table warm or cold.

Mdya. Today I was at home, I got bored and I decided to cook something. He didn’t go too far, and prepared two dishes that, in my opinion, any person should be able to cook. Because they are tasty, fast and simple.

Thing 1st. Draniki are the simplest, that is, real Belarusian ones.

What do we need:
6 potatoes,
1 onion
1 egg
salt,
garlic,
a spoonful of sour cream
baking soda,
vinegar.

We take a potato, peel it and begin to rub it on the smallest grater. We also rub the onion into the resulting mass - the trick is that while the onion is being peeled, do not cut off the garbage from where the root grew from it)) So that when it is killed on a grater, it does not fall apart. Squeeze out the garlic.
There - salt, an egg, a spoonful of sour cream. We mix. One third of a teaspoon baking soda quench with vinegar, add to this puree.
Do not be afraid if the mass turns black - this is a potato, it should turn black.

We heat the pan - and go ahead and with the song!
By the way, here is the most natural flight of fancy: you can fry potato pancakes thin and crispy, you can thick and tender. It all depends on the thickness and amount of oil.

Although I lied to you, ladies and gentlemen. Real potato pancakes are prepared without vinegar. But it does not matter absolutely - just try to cook.

Gizmo 2. An extra-quick canned bean side dish.

Well, this is no longer a dish .. It’s true, it doesn’t even pull on a side dish. But nevertheless, I will litter the friendline.

If there is no time, but you need some kind of side dish, you can simply open canned beans. And you can do even cooler: cut onion, chop the garlic a couple of heads finely-finely - and into the pan.
Let's fry this whole thing up golden brown, and throw out the jar there canned beans. Add a spoonful of sour cream, or pour in milk. Salt, pepper - lots of spices. As a result, delicious crap ...))))))