Cooking tiny potatoes ... tonight.

[MMRuth]

I bought some beautiful potatoes at the Farmer's Market today - one variety is yellow, round and tiny - some are the size of my pinky fingertip - some a bit bigger - the other is fingerling shape and manages to have the most beautiful blush hue to it. I want to cook the smaller ones tonight and am not sure if I should just roast them - or can I sautee them since they are so small?

I'm pansearing some small double lambchops (I cut up a rack of lamb) which are right now tossed with some mashed garlic, thyme, rosemary and pepper. I'm also going to - for the first time - stuff some zucchini blossoms and fry them. Stuffing is French feta, nicoise olives -finely chopped and chopped parsley. Torn between Marchella's water/flour batter, and someone elses suggestion to dip in milk and then flour. Have some beautiful arugula from the market as well - may serve the zucchini blossoms on that.

Anyway - any suggestions about the potatoes would be much appreciated. TIA.

[MMRuth]

OK - here are a couple of photos. All was delicious. I used Marcella's water/flour batter and really liked it. I fried both stuffed and unstuffed zucchini flowers. Obviously, the unstuffed ones had a wonderful distinctive flavor of the flowers themselves, while the stuffed ones were more about the stuffing, and reducing the flowers to a vehicle to be stuffed, albeit a pretty one. Next time I'll work on a more subtle stuffing.

Also attaching photos of the potatoes and lambchops - note that was the serving platter, not my plate! I'll let you guess based on the photos how you think I prepared them!

The photos aren't as nice as I'd like, but nothing I can do about it now!

[MMRuth]

Well - since no one is biting (smile), I boiled the potatoes in salted water for about 6-7 minutes, then dried off. I sauteed baby leeks (well - the person at the stand at the farmer's market said they were baby leeks - I'm still not convinced they weren't scallions), then sauteed the potatoes on v. high heat and added the baby leeks back.

[chef chicklet]

It all looks good and beautiful photos! I would of thought you roasted everything.
The flowers look delicious. I don't know what they taste like and would love to try them, can you describe what they taste like?

[MMRuth]

Thank you! The flavor is hard to describe ... slightly zucchini-ish, slightly lovely fresh greens taste. You'll just have to give them a try (smile)!

[carswell]

Prolly too late but Richard Olney's method is perfect, especially with a dish like Provençal-scented lamb. Scrub the unpeeled potatoes and drop them and some unpeeled garlic cloves into a saucepan or sauté pan just large enough to hold them. Add the cooking fat of your choice (butter, duck fat and occasionally olive oil are my favourites). Season with salt. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook over very low heat, shaking the pan from time to time, until the potatoes are tender. Then, if you like, remove the lid, up the heat and sauté the potatoes, shaking the pan often, until they brown, about 5 minutes. Correct the seasoning and serve.

[MMRuth]

Love that idea - am going to tuck it away for the fingerlings - I think they might be small enough.

[pepper_mil]

Steam those babies, as plain as possible. You have too much flavour/colour and richness going on in the rest of the meal for anything more elaborate to be appreciated and they will be full of great natural flavour without overwhelming.

[bear]

You can boil or steam them until tender (salted water) and then drain, sort of squash them to flatten a bit, and then sautee them in olive oil until crispy. Add some chopped garlic and any herbs you want at the end, and taste for salt and pepper. That way, no oven, but you will get some carmelization.

[paulj]

I usually just boil small potatoes, then toss in with olive oil, pepper, and coarse salt till dry, and some what crusty.
paulj

[violabratsche]

Christine Cushing does something similar to you, paulj, but with a twist, that I just adore. She steams or boils the small potatoes (not those tiny or fingerlings) until they are just barely cooked or slightly undercooked. Then she places them on a greased baking sheet, and smashes them with the flat side of a meat mallet, or the bottom of a pot, which is what I use, then drizzles them with olive oil, coarse salt, and fresh coarse ground black pepper. (By smashing, I mean they split open, but are not flat, just flatter than they were, and gently smashed.) They are roasted until they are golden and crisp. The recipe I have, that I probably got from watching her show, says to cook at 375 for 25 minutes, then broil for another 5 minutes. I am entirely sure I don't broil them, and that they are not roasted that long. Maybe I roast them at a higher temp. Of COURSE, the skins are left on, as that's how they stay together, and it's yummy.

MMRuth, for those tiny potatoes and fingerlings, I just steam or boil them and toss them with butter or olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley or chives. YUMMMM

AnnieG

[BJE]

AnnieG . I tried this way of roasting some new potatoes tonight for dinner. They are fantastic. I did them in my convection oven set at 375 and they came so crispy and delicious. I didn't have to use the broiler.

[chef chicklet]

Did you use olive oil, butter or anything at all?

[mschow]

I made some small redskins a few weeks ago. Good olive oil, kosher salt and pepper, fresh chopped rosemary from my garden, and a few tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Toss it all together and roast. They were great, and everyone wondered about the hint of flavor they couldn't figure out (the mustard).
Well, it's 96 here today, so no roasted potatoes are being made in my tiny house!

[MMRuth]

Love the mustard idea - did you whisk it in w/ the olive oil before tossing?

[Diana]

yep. and you can marinate the lamb in the same stuff.

[mschow]

No, I am lazy. Just tossed it all together really well. I love potatoes that way, really simple and still leaves the texture of fresh potatoes come through. the ones on the edge of the pan get very crispy. Love that too!

[chef chicklet]

I have made the reds with a mustard wine and cream sauce that was used on them after roasting the potatoes, delicious.(Serve with Salmon)
The fact that they are small is nice, but usually the weather has little impact on my potato intake. After all the talk about hash browns this morning, I plugged the fryer (it's in my garage, I have this wonderful counter where I keep a commercial quality convection oven, deep fryer and my ice cream machine) and so I made crispy pommes frites., crispy, thin and golden, it was 105 degrees here. See what I mean?

[MMRuth]

Thanks all - I actually cut up the rack of lamb because I didn't want to use the oven tonight - so maybe I will try boiling them. Here's a photo by the way. Plus one of some of the produce I bought today (a lot of it is in the fridge through).

[Diana]

take my advice. Roast them. Don't boil them. that would be a waste.

[MMRuth]

Hmm .. I wonder if I could up with a compromise ... roasting them in a v. hot pan on the stove top?

[Diana]

Ummm, no, as a pan won't roast like the oven, which uses sort of indirect heat. In a pan, the heat is touching the bottom of the pan. but you could experiment and let us know! You CAN roast on the BBQ, using indirect heat and the same roasting pan.

if you do use the oven, you can roast the lamb right ON TOP of the taters and let the lamb juices mix in.

[MMRuth]

I have the same problem as mschow - except instead of a tiny house, I have a smallish NY apartment with an open kitchen and that oven makes the whole place warm - I end up putting the a/c below 65, which is terrible!

But - thanks again, and I'll report back - maybe even photos ... my husband jokes that at our house "we" take pictures of food before eating, instead of saying grace!

[4chowpups]

I would tend to disagree about the stove top method-I have Great success with pan roasted fingerling potatoes or new potatoes just by heating EVOO and a bit of butter and putting potatoes cut side down in the skillet with some garlic. Put on a lid and watch the heat, I want the crisp crust but don't want them to burn. GREAT more reliable results by par boiling for a few minutes and using the same skillet method. As I've posted before, I've often added chopped greens on top of the potatoes with some triple smoked bacon and this makes an incredible meal all by itself!

[cyberroo]

Personally, I think the tiny ones are better steamed or boiled than roasted. They don't need the carmelization for flavor, and at this time of the year, and I have no inclination to turn on the oven - I just toss them with butter and lots of salt after they cook.

[Diana]

oh, but the roasty caremelization makes them so GOOD! Steaming can't get it.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Agree with Diana. We're having the same tonight. The tiny yellow potatoes are quite Colombian. We usually roast.

[Diana]

go the easy but yummy route. Toss the little taters in a good amount of olive oil, crushed garlic, salt (kosher or flaked) fresh ground pepper and rosemary. roast in a single layer in preheated 375 degree oven in a shallow pan for about a half hour or longer if needed. Taters should yeild easily to a fork.

[pescatarian]

i agree with this route

btw, the zucchini blossoms sound amazing

[valerie]

Would this work well with red potatoes too? They are not quite as small, so how long would they need to cook?

Thanks...

[Diana]

it'll work with ANY potatoes. It will also work tihe root veggies, such as carrots, yams, trunips, rutebegas and parsnips
Cook em untill you can easily put a fork in them.

[valerie]

Thanks. I roast carrots, onions, cauliflower, etc. all the time, but just never really roasted small potatoes.

[RJJR]

Try slicing cabbage fairly small, 1/4" - 1/2" lay in a sheet pan and roast also with a little Olive oil, salt and pepper - delicious- I just found this 2 weeks ago, and have had at least 5 times since....the wife and I love asparagus this way also...I do the cabbage @ 425 for 15 - 20 minutes and the asparagus @ 425 also for 8 - 10 minute depending on the thickness...