Do you like potatoes? Of course you do. They are the most widely consumed vegetable in the United States and the fourth most consumed vegetable in the world, so chances are you love the starch.
Yesterday was potato night so we peeled, blanched, poached, and deep fried all night long. I love potatoes, but by the end of the night I was saying no to french fries, a very rare occurrence for me, especially when they are out there for the taking. Each dish had a French name and used more precise knife cuts than what I’m used to doing back home. For thin cuts we used the frightening mandoline, a device precise enough to make a gaufrette, and sharp enough to slice off a piece of your palm.
I was only able to catch a picture of one dish, probably the most overindulgent of the evening. Whoever thought of putting potato puree made with whole milk, cream, and butter inside of a deep-fried potato basket is either a junk food genius or completely out of their mind. On top of the puree I placed a few pieces of the gravlax our instructor made. After a couple of days curing in salt and herbs, we were finally able to taste the salmon and it was soft and surprisingly not salty. Flavorful and keeping with my month long obsession of eating lots of raw or semi-cured fish.
We made the potato puree (fancy way of saying mashed potatoes) by taking boiled potatoes and mixing them through a potato ricer. I’ve never heard of a potato ricer before, preferring the traditional way of mashing potatoes with little more than a fork. The contraption really creates smooth, mashed potatoes. The potato basket was deep fried after we used the mandoline to make gaufrettes. While I wouldn’t stick more potatoes inside a potato basket, overkill if you ask me, I have considered many other possibilities: shredded beef like Cuban ropa vieja or maybe some ceviche, a different interpretation of traditional fish and chips. Ideas are welcome.
