Dorothy Parker - Cooking with Potatoes

by Dorothy Parker

The primeval origins of the potato one of the most important of the worlds vegetables (in fact, more potatoes are grown worldwide than any other vegetable) are unknown to us; we can only speculate. But the first ones known to Westerners were discovered in the highlands of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The Spaniards came upon the potato among the Incans in the early 1500s and introduced it to Europe, where it was for a long time considered unfit for human consumption until it was discovered yet again by aristocratic British gourmets. (In sorry truth, so bad a reputation did the potato have that it was suspected of causing numerous diseases and, considered unChristian, sometimes even put on trial and burned at the stake.)

In 1663 the Royal Society of England recommended the potato as the answer to the famines that periodically ravaged Ireland, but what an answer it proved to be: Ireland became so dependent on the potato that the blight that struck it in 1846 caused the death by starvation of 600,000 people. In the early 18th century the Irish introduced the white potato into the United States as fitting recognition of this great boon, its known here as the Irish potato and it has swelled in popularity. Today it is big agricultural business. Most are grown in California, Idaho, and Maine, but there isnt a state in the continental U.S. that doesnt raise it as a money crop New Yorks Long Island, for one example.

Not a root vegetable, the tuber we call potato (Solanum tuberosum) is an underground stem, a member of the night-shade family, which includes tomato and eggplant. It is wonderfully nutritious, yielding an easily digestible source of protein, vitamin C, fiber, and trace minerals, besides the carbohydrate our myth-ridden grandparents worried about. Actually, potatoes are no more fattening than many fruits: one medium-size white potato contains about one hundred calories, the same as a large apple or orange. It is by all odds one of the worlds best values, from the standpoint of both nutrition and economy, not to mention sheer goodness.

Varieties of the Irish or white-fleshed potato grown in the United States have some resonant names (Chippewa, Katahdin, Pontiac, and Russet Burbank being some), but for cooking purposes they divide into two general groups, distinguished in the markets as all-purpose or baking potatoes. (In these pages, if not designated baking or new, the potatoes specified are all-purpose.). Most bakers come from west of the Mississippi; two of the better-known California varieties are named White Rose and Shafter Whites.

The sweet potato (Impomoea batatas), an orange-fleshed member of the morning-glory family (unlikely as that may seem), grows in the American South. Here it is grown principally in two varieties: one has lighter-colored flesh that is denser and takes longer to cook; the other variety, of a deeper orange hue and less fibrous, is usually (though inaccurately) called yam. (The true yam, which originated in Africa, is seldom seen in this country.) A white-fleshed sweet potato is sometimes seen in tropical areas of the U.S. Yellow-fleshed potatoes, sometimes called Finnish, have recently been imported from Canada and Europe, but so far they are an oddity from the world of exotica and very expensive more useful for talking about than for eating.

Whether you are shopping for large baking potatoes, all-purpose whites, sweets, or tiny new potatoes, always handle them in the market, turn them over, and examine them closely. Choose those that are firm and well shaped with an unmarred, unbroken skin. Avoid any with green sunburn spots. New potatoes should be cooked soon. The larger, older white or sweet potatoes will keep rather a long time in a cool, dry place and dont need your limited refrigerator space.

About this Bulletin

On equipment: If you have a food processor, you wont need this advice, but if not, the two pieces of old-style special equipment Id recommend are a squarish metal slicer-grater and a ricer. If you have a microwave, you will of course make your own adjustments; baking temperatures (in Fahrenheit) are for the traditional gas or electric oven.

On ingredients: In the interest of a healthful diet, Ive used no cream, mayonnaise, butter (a buttered griddle or baking dish means whatever light oil or even spray you customarily use), and few eggs (and fewer yolks). Other seasonings replace salt in cooking (with one to taste exception). No red meat, bacon only once, likewise ham. The oil used in cooking is almost invariably olive oil, because its flavor combines so well with potatoes, but naturally you may substitute whatever vegetable oil you prefer.

The potato is an incomparably versatile vegetable: It augments immeasurably soups, salads, and main dishes; it provides the basis for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, accompaniments for meat, fish, and fowl entres even wines and desserts. It is indispensable. And except for wine, youll find in the pages that follow examples of all these uses.

A versatile dish suitable for breakfast, lunch, or dinner or even an after-the-theatre, or midnight supper. In an earlier time, when we were likely to be heedless of such matters, this souffl would have been made with heavy cream and whole eggs (and possibly even extra yolks; you will find that the creamy effect has not been diminished by the elimination of cream and all but one of the egg yolks.

3 or 4 large potatoes (about 2 pounds)

1 medium-size onion

3 tablespoons watercress

1 egg yolk

4 tablespoons margarine

3 tablespoons yogurt

3 tablespoons sour cream

cup crumbled goat cheese

teaspoon pepper

teaspoon paprika

teaspoon cumin

4 egg whites

Scrub the potatoes, halve them, and boil for about 20 minutes, or until they are tender. While they are boiling, peel and quarter the onion, then mince it. Mince the watercress. Beat the egg yolk lightly. Melt the margarine and let it cool.

Drain, cool, and peel the potatoes. Mash or put them through a ricer. In a large bowl, add to the potatoes the minced onion, cress, egg yolk, and margarine, blending well. Stir in the yogurt, sour cream, cheese, and spices, again mixing well.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold them into the potato mixture. Pour or spoon the souffl mixture into a lightly buttered souffl or baking dish. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the souffl is puffed up and pretty and serve immediately.

YIELD: 5 TO 6 SERVINGS

Note on boiling potatoes: You may find that potatoes cook more quickly if you cover the pot, and some nutritionists claim that fewer nutrients are lost in cooking that way.

This is as good a moment as any to celebrate the wondrous flavor produced by combining apples and sweet potatoes. Be sure to leave a half inch or so of the apple flesh adhering to the skins when you hollow out the apples.

4 medium-size sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons margarine

1 tablespoon brown sugar