Ingredients: 6 medium sized sweet potatoes, 1 red pepper, sliced, 1 small onion, sliced, 1 tsp. green peppercorns from a can, 1 tbsp. brown sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. roasted red pepper and garlic seasoning, 2 oz. butter, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme.
Recipe: Peel and slice the sweet potatoes to approximately 1/3-inch thick slices. Put them in a mixing bowl and toss them with the rest of the ingredients until they are evenly seasoned. Arrange the sweet potatoes on a baking tray over parchment paper.
Bake them in a preheated oven at 375 F for about 25 minutes or until they are soft to touch but not mushy. When the roasted sweet potatoes are ready, lift a portion of them with a spatula, without stirring them, and serve it like that.
CRISPY PHYLLO-WRAPPED POTATO CROQUETTES RECIPE
Ingredients: 6 medium sized potatoes, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1 tbsp. chopped parsley, 1 tbsp. butter, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 4 sheets of phyllo pastry, olive oil for greasing, as needed.
Recipe: Peel, cut and boil the potatoes. Strain the boiled potatoes and place them in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the phyllo and olive oil, and mush the potatoes well. Let the mashed potatoes cool down a bit, and then form balls the size of a golf ball. Cut the phyllo sheets to 6-inch squares. Place each mashed potato ball in the middle of a phyllo square and fold. Shape the potato croquettes with both hands, similar to making a snow ball. Drizzle with olive oil and bake the croquettes until crispy.
SCALLOPED POTATO RECIPE
Ingredients: 1 kg. potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly, 4 tbsp. butter, 1 large onion, sliced, 3 tablespoons butter, 2 cups milk, 1 cup half-half, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, 1/2 cup grated white Cheddar, 1/2 cup chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe: In a large skillet heat the butter and saute the sliced onion. Add the flour and stir until bubbly and golden in color. Keep stirring and add the liquids and Parmesan cheese. Arrange the sliced potatoes in a baking dish and pour the sauce over them. Season to taste and cover with foil. Bake the scalloped potatoes for 45 minutes at medium heat, uncover and sprinkle them with the cheddar cheese. Bake for additional 10 minutes uncovered.
DOUBLE BAKED SWEET POTATO RECIPE
Ingredients: 4 medium sized sweet potatoes, 2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 egg yolk, 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 pinch freshly chopped thyme, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Recipe: Wrap each sweet potato with aluminum foil and bake them at 400 F for about an hour, or until soft. Unwrap and let the baked sweet potatoes sit out of the oven for 10 minutes or so. Cut each sweet potato lengthwise to 2 pieces and scoop the inside to leave about 1/2-inch thick potato skin.
Mash and mix the sweet potato scrapings with the remaining ingredients and fill them into a piping bag. Pipe some staffing into each sweet potato skin using the star-shaped tip for the piping bag. Bake the stuffed potatoes at 375 F for 10 minutes. The double baked sweet potato is particularly good served with salmon or pork dishes.
MASHED POTATO RECIPE
Ingredients: 1 kg. red skin potato, 1 cup table cream, 3 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 1 pinch dried basil, 1 pinch dried oregano, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe: Wash and quarter the potatoes and boil them until soft. Strain the potatoes and put them in a mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients and mash with a potato masher.
DOUBLE BAKED STUFFED MEXICAN POTATOES
Ingredients: 4 baking potatoes, 1 small sweet potato, 1 roasted red pepper, 1 tbsp. butter, 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. cumin powder, 1 tbsp. finely chopped onion, 1 tbsp. bacon fat if available, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Recipe: Bake the potatoes, including the sweet potato. Let them stand until they cool sufficiently until you can cut them in half. Using a soup spoon, scrape the inside of each potato half. Place all the scrapings in a bowl, add the sweet potato and the rest of the ingredients, and mash everyting together with a potato masher.
Spoon the mixture in the potato boats, and bake them again in a preheated oven until they are hot and lightly browned on top. Serve the double baked potatoes as a side, accompanied by some salsa and sour cream, if desired.
HERBED ROASTED RED POTATOES
Ingredients: 2 kg. small to medium red skin potatoes, 2 tbsp. butter, 1 tbsp. dry red pepper and garlic seasoning, 1 tsp. each of fresh chopped thyme, rosemary and cilantro, 1 large pinch dry basil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Recipe: Cut each red potato to half, and boil them until soft but not falling apart. It usually takes 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size. Strain the boiled potatoes and place them in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss well, until the potatoes are coated evenly with all the herbs and seasonings.
Put the red potatoes on a roasting pan and roast them in a preheated oven at 375 F for about 25-30 minutes, or until they are nicely soft. Serve the roasted red potatoes as a side with lamb or beef dishes.
SWEET POTATO RECIPE - SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES
Ingredients: 4 sweet potatoes, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 eggs, 1 cup flour, 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste, vegetable oil for frying.
Recipe: Peel, dice and boil the sweet potatoes. Mash them with the butter and season to taste. Let them chill down and then form patties (3" in diameter and 1" thick) or other forms with them. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the heavy cream. Dip each sweet potato patty in the flour, egg mixture and breadcrumbs and pan-fry them on both sides in the oil. You may deep-fry them if you prefer.
HONEYCOMB POTATO
Recipe: For this recipe you need only several larger potatoes, and some cooking oil. Wash and cut the potatoes in the same way from the picture on the right. Be careful not to cut the potatoes all the way through. Deep-fry the potatoes at 325 F for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft on the inside, and golden and crispy on the outside. By this time each potato should have opened like a honeycomb. At this point you can either serve them like that, topped with some cheese sauce, or season them with your favorite seasoning and bake them in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes. This kind of potato is suitable for keeping in a warmer for later serving. It is a good side for prime rib, steaks and ribs dishes.
POTATO PANCAKE RECIPE
Ingredients: 2 lb. potatoes, 2 eggs, 3 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 cup half-half, 1 dash Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper to taste, vegetable oil.
Recipe: Peel, grate and squeeze the potatoes. Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Heat some oil in a large cast iron pan and spoon several patties of the mixture into the hot oil. Fry the potato pancakes on both sides and drain them on tissue paper. The potato pancakes can be cooked over a flat top grill, as well.
ROASTED SWEET POTATO RECIPE #2
Ingredients:
2 pounds sweet potatoes,
1 red bell pepper,
3 sundried tomatoes,
1 cup chicken stock,
1 tbsp. chopped parsley,
1 teaspoon sea salt,
1 tbsp. sugar,
1/2 small onion, sliced,
1 tbsp. garlic butter,
1 tbsp. olive oil,
black pepper to taste.
Recipe: Peel and slice the sweet potato to about 1/2-inch thick slices. Slice the red pepper and sundried tomato to strips. Spread the garlic butter on the bottom of a roasting pan. Toss all the remaining ingredients together, except the chicken stock, and place them in the roasting pan. Pour in the chicken stock and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 325 F for about 35-40 minutes, or until the potatoes are nicely soft. Remove from oven and let the roasted sweet potato stand for about 10 minutes before serving. By this time the chicken stock should be all absorbed by the sweet potatoes. The roasted sweet potato goes especially well as a side for rack of lamb or stuffed chicken breast dishes.
Recipe: Get red skin or new potatoes and cut them to chunks. Boil them, strain and let them cool down. Mix the potatoes with the remaining ingredients, cover and refrigerate for about an hour before serving.
ROASTED POTATO RECIPE - BASIC ROASTED POTATOES
Ingredients: 1 kg. potatoes, 1 tablespoon paprika (or smoked paprika if you have it), 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 tablespoon Greek seasoning spice mix, 3 oz. olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, salt to taste.
Recipe: Scrub the potatoes and cut them to 1" chunks. In a mixing bowl toss the potatoes with the seasonings and then put them in a shallow baking pan, big enough for the potatoes to be on one layer. Roast in a preheated oven at medium-high temperature until soft. Stir the potatoes every 10 minutes during cooking to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
BAKED STUFFED POTATOES RECIPE
Ingredients: 4 large baked potatoes, 1 plum tomato, diced, 3 tbsp. butter, 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper, 1/2 bunch scallions, chopped (only the green part), 1 garlic clove, pressed, 1 cooked diced chicken breast, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, salt and white pepper to taste.
Recipe: Bake potatoes at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour, until soft when pierced with fork. Cut each lengthwise and scoop out centers. Heat the butter in a frying pan and saute the scallions, diced chicken, tomato, bell pepper, and garlic for about 5 minutes. Season the potato halves and the stuffing with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff potato skins with saute mixture. Top with the grated cheese and bake in a preheated oven until the cheese is nicely melted. Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired.
BAKED POTATO RECIPE - BAKED POTATO WITH SOUR CREAM
Recipe: Wash and scrub the potatoes under running water. Pierce them with a fork several times, sprinkle with coarse salt and wrap them in aluminum foil. Bake at 425 F for about 45 minutes or until ready. Let the baked potatoes rest for about 5 minutes, then make a slice and open them like a clam. Put in each slit 1 tablespoon sour cream and sprinkle with coarsely ground black pepper and chives.
About the author: George Krumov is a Red Seal certified chef with many years of culinary experience working around the world in Europe, the Middle East, the cruise line industry and North America. In the last two decades he has headed the kitchens of several restaurants in Canada, and ran his own restaurant.
