Farm store NOW OPEN.  See details →
🔍

Category: Potatoes

  • Boiling Potatoes

    I was at the Red Wagon booth at the Farmer’s Market Saturday getting some new potatoes. The same type of potatoes you will be getting this week, and someone asked me how to cook new potatoes.

    I said, I would probably just boil them and put some herb butter on them. New potatoes are so yummy you don’t want to mess too much with them.
    They said, how long do you boil them?
    I said, until they fall off a knife when I stab them.
    They said, can I over cook them, will they fall apart?
    I said, check the Red Wagon Blog on Monday and I’ll explain with pictures.

    So, where you go inquisitive person at the Farmers Market.
    Boiled potatoes 101

    Start with some beautiful potatoes from Red Wagon Farm, scrub the dirt off. No need to peel. Different sizes are OK if you have fingerling or new potatoes they will be different sizes, that is just how they are.
    If you have larger potatoes cut them into similar sizes for even cooking. If they are small and different sizes just pull the little ones out as they are done.

    Put your potatoes in enough COLD salted water to cover the potatoes by an inch or so, and bring to a boil. Don’t start with warm or hot water, it makes for a weird texture of potato and the outside will cook faster than the inside and you will have a mess.

    Potatoes in pot

    After 10 minutes or so check one of the smaller potatoes to see if it is done. It will probably take longer, more like 15 minutes but check, you don’t want over cooked potatoes.
    Get a SHARP knife, like a paring knife. Not a table knife, it’s too thick.
    Stab one of the potatoes and if it slides off the knife it is done. If it stays on the knife put it back and check again in a few minutes.
    Check out my video of a perfectly done potato in slow motion.

    Riveting huh? The shadow of the potato falling is funny.

    I just put some salt and pepper and butter and some herbs from the garden on these potatoes and they were perfectly delicious.
    Dressed Potatoes

    This picture is why I did the video. I kept trying to show the potato falling and couldn’t get it in still photography. No potato, just splash, splash,splash.
    It made me lol. Hope you all are having fun with your food!

    Knife

  • Two Potato Salad Recipes

    red potatoes
    How pretty are those? Yum. Way to GROW Red Wagon Farm Crew!!

    Here are two of my go-to potato salad recipes. The first one is mayo based. The addition of vinegar and mustard dials back the gloppy high calorie factor and coats the potatoes and other vegetables lightly.
    The second is a classic “French” potato salad. I have found the ‘trick’ to not having dry potato salad, without a ton of mayonnaise or oil, is to save and add back some of the water you boiled the potatoes in.

    Both recipes use the same preparation, the dressing are the only difference. I am usually OK with substituting ingredients like red wine vinegar for white or apple vinegar (it’s a recipe, not a contract, right Toti?).
    But in this first recipe the wine vinegar and whole grain mustard shouldn’t be substituted, especially the mustard. Trust me on this one.

    Potato Salad

    1 1/2 to 2 pounds  potatoes scrubbed (new spring potatoes work great here)
    2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    1/2 cup mayonnaise
    3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
    6 scallions, chopped
    1 onion, diced
    1 tablespoons sugar (optional, taste and see if you are ok with the tangyness of your vinegar and mustard)
    Salt and pepper
    2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

    French Potato Salad

    1 1/2 to 2 pounds potatoes, any kind
    1/3 cup olive oil
    2 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
    1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
    1 teaspoon each, fresh dill or basil, and garlic
    6 scallions, chopped
    1 onion, diced
    salt and pepper

    Directions for both recipes

    Place potatoes in cold water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to medium, letting them cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes, maybe more depending on your potatoes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and set it in the drained pan to cool a bit.Cover potatoes with a kitchen cloth, and save the potato water. What you don’t add back to the potato salad use for bread making or water your plants or throw it away after you are happy with your potato salad.

    boil potatoes

    While the potatoes are cooking, combine the dressing ingredients, scallions, onion, salt and pepper.

    Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces when they are cool enough to handle. Put potatoes,and about 1/4 cup potato water, dressing, hard boiled eggs (I added some basil I had too) into a bowl and fold that all together. Add more potato water when you serve the salad if it isn’t as moist as you like.

    potato salad ingredients

    I didn’t make both salads since they are basically the same.

    Here is the first one all mixed up.

    finished potato salad

    Such pretty potatoes. How lucky are we to have this great food?

  • Hasselback Potatoes

    This is one of my favorite ways to make potatoes. By cutting them you get more roasted crunchiness to contrast the creamy inside of the potato.

    Set your oven to 400F.  Make even cuts in your potatoes (don’t cut all the way through) and place them on an oven proof pan. Brush the potatoes with olive oil. Carefully brush oil inside the cuts you made and salt and pepper them. The potatoes will fan out and all the surface areas will crisp up so you want to get oil on all the surfaces.
    Hasselback Potatoes

    Roast them about 35 to 45 minutes, depending how big your potatoes are. Just keep an eye on them. When they are done to your liking you can eat them as is or add some cheese or herbs. I added a little cheese and some rosemary and let that melt down and inside the cuts.
    Hasselback Slices

    Oh my goodness are these easy to make and so good.