Give me your favorite potato recipes, including sweet potatoes/yams

March 23, 2023 4:57 AM

I'm about to start a four-week weight loss experiment that involves eating half your daily calories from potatoes. The experiment is being crowdsourced by the bloggers over at "Slime Mold Time Mold" (yes, it's a weird name for a blog). I'm seeking recipes where potatoes are the primary ingredient.

I have experience in the common ways to cook potatoes (boiled, baked, French-fried, etc.). I'm looking for recipes that are a bit more unusual. Eating a lot of boiled potatoes for four weeks would not be pleasant, so variety is the key here. For the purposes of this diet, "potato" is defined broadly to include yams, etc.

I'm aware that I can find all sorts of recipes from Google, but I'm really looking for tried-and-true recipes suggested by MeFites. Also, I'm vegan, but I'm adept at veganizing recipes, so it's OK if your favorite recipe is made with cheese or eggs, or whatever. I can probably modify it appropriately. Also, if someone has a favorite dessert recipe made with potatoes, that would be great.

A previous community experiment suggested that eating an all-potato diet is a surprisingly good way to lose weight. The current "half-tato" trial is going to test whether a less radical diet is still effective. I'd prefer not to get into discussions of whether the diet is safe. It's only four weeks, I'll be eating a variety of other foods, and I'll also be taking vitamin/mineral supplements.

posted by alex1965 to Food & Drink (30 answers total)

I really love these vegan deviled eggs from Forks Over Knives, which are mostly potatoes.

In general, I think the Forks Over Knives website is going to be great for you.
posted by FencingGal at 5:03 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Well, it might not fit with the diet as it's pretty calorific, but I loooove Dauphinoise potatoes --

500ml cream
1 tsp nutmeg
Non-floury Potatoes
3 Garlic cloves
Cheddar

Peel and chop the potatoes into thin slices, and add to a pan with the cream, 3 crushed garlic cloves and a teaspoon of nutmeg. Bring to the boil and boil for 5-10 minutes. Use a spoon to scoop out the potato slices into an ovenproof dish, and then pour the cream mixture over the top so that it just covers the potatoes. Leave this to cool for five minutes or so (you don’t want the cheese just sinking in below)
Finely grate the cheddar and sprinkle on top of the mixture of cream and potatoes, and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 190C.
posted by BigCalm at 5:06 AM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Seeet potatoes with tahini butter (I use olive oil)
posted by warriorqueen at 5:24 AM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

You could make lefse and use it for various applications in place of tortillas, flatbread, crepes, etc.
posted by staggernation at 5:38 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Twice baked potatoes - cheddar/broccoli, vegan samosa style
Latkes
potato kugel
pickle soup (the base is potatoes)
potato knishes
kopytka (Polish potato dumplings)

Also, one from a Yiddish potato cooking class (haven't found this recipe anywhere else; most other variations seem to be more like a kugel and have eggs and flour):
Potatonik
(the plain kind, not the yeasty bread kind)
8-10 Idaho potatoes
1 TBS oil
1 TBS salt (this always seems too much to me -- maybe more like 3/4 TBS?)
1 Cast Iron Pan (important!), around 10 inches

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Preheat the cast iron pan inside.
Peel and shred the potatoes by hand with a grater. If you have an old-fashioned wire potato grater supposedly the flavor is even better. DO NOT use a shredding disk on a food processor (this was emphasize many times and I have abided by it, though I haven't sought out a potato wire).
Mix with the oil and salt.
Carefully pour the potato mix in the hothothot pan. It should be so hot it sizzles. Bake until brown and crispy on the outside and gooey and delicious on the inside. Maybe 40 minutes?

A bit hard to slice, but it is so much more than the sum of its parts. It is the essence of potato.
posted by carrioncomfort at 5:42 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

I eat a lot of potatoes for someone who is consistently and intentionally losing weight.

I don’t get tired of crispy roasted potatoes (chunks or thinly sliced, in the oven or air fryer). I probably eat those every other day, but not in the quantity you’re aiming for.

Mashed potatoes (I call them austerity mash because I don’t use salt and butter, make your own choices) live in my fridge and are repurposed into croquettes and pancakes on the regular.

I cube yams into dishes with quinoa or rice with veg and either vaguely “Mediterranean” or “Mexican” flavors. I like yams roasted with cayenne or other peppers.

I make my own potato bread with those fridge mash I keep around too.

Once I caught on to the vitamins and potassium in potatoes they got re-introduced into the weekly menu and I’ve lost 16% of my body weight since the summer by logging food and focusing on getting my micronutrients. But again, I don’t eat as much potato as you’re planning to.
posted by OrangeVelour at 6:12 AM on March 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

Microwave some red potatoes for a couple of minutes (feel them with your fingers every 30 seconds; if they're still firm, go another 30 seconds) to soften them up, then halve them and slather them in ghee/oil and your seasoning blend of choice (steak seasonings seem to work best), skewer them, and put them on the grill for 10-15 minutes.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:40 AM on March 23, 2023

whipped sweet potatos

I adore these. I tend to up the apple content and cut back on the syurp/sugar depending on how sweet the actual potatoes are. Also less cream, because using the whole amount makes things kinda runny. But they are so delicious.

Can be turned into potato pancakes the next day.
posted by dpx.mfx at 6:57 AM on March 23, 2023

*pulls up chair and sits down*

Hi, I have an Irish friend and a lot of Irish cookbooks, and I'm sure you can see the potato connection therein.

One hands-down classic preparation is called "colcannon", and there are an umpty-gabillion recipes for it; but basically all that is is, mashed potatoes with stuff in it. And if you want to gild the lily you can top it with cheese and run it under the broiler to melt it. The first time I made it I put in steamed broccoli, but now I use chopped and steamed kale instead; sometimes I add chopped cooked bacon, sometimes not.

"Champ" is very similar to "colcannon" (to the point that I question why they are considered to be two different recipes), and is mashed potato with chopped up scallions. Champ is traditionally not given the melt-cheese-on-top treatment, and is more often served with a big divot in the center of your mound of champ so you can put in a big pat of butter to gradually melt, and you dip each forkful into the puddle of melting butter. You can add other veg to either; peas, carrots, etc.

"Boxty" is a potato pancake where you take mashed potato, grate in some more raw potato, and then add flour, and use that for pancakes. You can add chopped green onion too, or use leftover champ.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:01 AM on March 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

Not a recipe, exactly, but I do have a variety of potato to recommend: the Japanese sweet potato. These are pale yellow fleshed potatoes that bake up tender and fluffy in the oven. I love to slice them lengthwise and use them as a sort of toast substitute with scrambled eggs and avocado, but they’re a delight with lots of things atop or eaten on their own. Here is a simple recipe for baking them.
posted by little mouth at 7:06 AM on March 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

Sweet potato and ginger dessert soup.

There are other sweet-potatoes-as-dessert recipes in Chinese and Japanese cuisine too, if you want to poke around for more.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:42 AM on March 23, 2023

My favourite potato-heavy recipe is Jansson's Temptation, for which you layer the potatoes with onions and anchovies or sprats before pouring cream over the lot and sticking it in the oven. (It is not the lowest-calorie of meals... some versions mitigate that a bit by replacing the cream with milk or with vegetable stock.)

The way I make it (probably very inauthentic!), for one person:

180g potatoes
Smallish onion
50ml double cream
50g tin of anchovies

Chop the potatoes into matchsticks and the onions into quarter-rings. Mix them together.
Put half of the mixture in a small casserole dish.
Drain the anchovies and mix the oil with the cream.
Layer the anchovies onto the potato mixture.
Put the rest of the potatoes on top.
Pour over the cream, covering the potatoes completely.
Cover the dish securely, using foil if you don't have a lid.
Bake in a fan oven at 200C for an hour.

It's rich and salty, so I accompany it with peas, sugar snaps or green beans.

I've seen (but not tried) recipes for vegan versions that replace the fish with capers or jackfruit, and the cream with non-dairy cream.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:52 AM on March 23, 2023

Shepherd's pie (usually made with minced lamb or beef and veg topped with mashed potato, you can obv substitute Quorn etc for the meat)
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:11 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

I really like Japanese sweet potatoes. Not the purple kind but the whitish kind with the reddish skin, they are called satsuma-imo or Murasaki. I like them cubed and roasted, lots of salt.
posted by vunder at 8:28 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

This recipe as written makes 2 to 3 generous servings.

**You could easily cut way down on the amount of egg and the amount of cheese and it would still work perfectly fine and would lower the calorie count. Also, in a nonstick pan, you could lower the amount of olive oil to 1 Tbl easily as well.

1 bunch fresh asparagus.
3 or 4 eggs, depending on size**
3/4 cup grated cheddar, white cheddar works well**
12 small/new potatoes, or 24 mini potatoes
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 - 3 Tbl. olive oil**

Cut asparagus spears into 2" pieces on slight diagonal and steam until just tender (4 - 5 min.?)
Scrub the potatoes but leave skin on, and boil until just tender (10 min. maybe for the bigger ones?, less for the minis)
Saute onion gently in olive oil in a non-stick frying pan.
Add the potatoes and saute till they get a bit golden in color
Add the steamed asparagus and continue to saute on low heat for just a bit
Whisk the eggs together in a bowl and add to the vegetable mixture in the pan.
Stir the concoction till the eggs begin to congeal and coat the vegetables.
Sprinkle the saute with the grated cheese, stirring a bit so the cheese gets melty and mixes with vegetables. Add seasoning to taste. (I tend to add just a bit of salt and pepper to the whisked egg mixture, and then add a bit more pepper after it is cooked.)
posted by gudrun at 8:44 AM on March 23, 2023

A winter standard soup for me is riffing on (one of the many riffs of the original) West African Groundnut Soup with whatever I have on hand, and sometimes it's really just stock, potatoes, peanut butter, tomato paste, and aromatics + seasonings. You can make it mild or hot, add protein or don't, use kale or spinach or even green beans or cabbage, leave it a little chunky or blend it smooth.

I routinely make thickish (1/3" maybe) slices of sweet potato to toss in oil and salt and cook in the air fryer until the outside is browned and the inside is fluffy-silky, and I intend for them to be a side dish and then eat them directly out of the air fryer. Oven will work too, and then you can also throw in a tray of broccoli to get all roasty too.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:46 AM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Another take on ground nut stew
Sweet potato red lentil and peanut stew. It's very very tasty.
posted by paradeofblimps at 8:58 AM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Sweet potato granola from Afro Vegan is one of my favorite things, especially with purple sweet potatoes. I tend to omit the glazed walnuts and just add chopped pecans to the oats.
posted by wicked_sassy at 9:11 AM on March 23, 2023

Frittata is always good.
Pan Haggarty, yum.
Rosti(potato pancakes)
Another favourite: grease a baking dish and in it layer thinly sliced potatoes, onions and carrots, using salt and pepper between layers. Top with dots of butter. Cover with foil and bake. If you're short on time, partially pre-cook in the microwave before baking in the oven.
posted by Enid Lareg at 9:13 AM on March 23, 2023

There was a recipe for a potato curry in the Guardian a little while ago. Here it is. The article is about eggs, but it will be fine without the eggs. (I eat eggs, but when I had the leftovers, I didn't bother to cook more eggs).

There are tons of recipes for potato and aubergine curries and casseroles, from India, but also from the Middle East. They are probably all very good. I don't have a link because it's my go to "put everything in a pot" food.

When potatoes cool down, they develop resistent starch, which I think is very good for you. Anyway I love cold potatoes.
You can use them in a potato salad, look for recipes for Korean potato salad, for instance.
Or make a smørrebrød with potato, the best there is.
Take a very grainy piece of rye bread. Butter it. cover it with a big pile of thin slices of cold, waxy potatoes. Decorate with mayo, raw red onions, fried onions and watercress, or chives. Eat with knife and fork.
An actual recipe

We very often make a vegan "shepherd's pie" where the meat is replaced by green or Puy lentils in a hearty stew.
Rinse your lentils, or drain the tin.
Set the potatoes to boil.
Start the stew by cutting up an onion, a carrot and a stick of celery or a piece of celeriac into small pieces. A food processor is fine here, you decide if you want mush or bits. Gently fry in olive oil till the vegetables are soft, but NOT BROWNED, not even a bit. Add crushed garlic, one or two cloves. continue cooking till the garlic mellows. Add a teaspoon of thyme and some salt, and stir. Now you can add a half cup of wine, if you have some. No big deal if you don't. If you are adding wine, let it cook till the smell of alcohol has evaporated. Then add a tin of tomatoes, juice and all. They must be unseasoned, with no additives at all. Crush the tomatoes with your wooden spoon and let simmer till the tastes have combined. Add the lentils. You can now add water or vegetable stock, about 1/2 cup. Keep some more on hand. Let the stew simmer for maybe 10-15 minutes if using tinned lentils, more like 45 minutes if using dried, so everything combines well. You will need more water with dried lentils. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Vegan Worcestershire sauce can be quite good for a bit of extra punch if you didn't have wine.
If you like, you can put a handful of frozen peas in now for a bit of freshness. They don't need to cook before baking.

Now make your mashed potatoes, and then combine the elements. I have a nice pot where I cook the lentil stew and then just put the mash on it, with some butter on top, and put the whole thing in the oven till the mashed potatoes are golden and bubbly. I prefer vegan butter to oil here, but you do you.

After you take it out of the oven, it needs to rest for 10-15 minutes. Then it is the food of gods.

IMO, potato pizza is one of the very best pizzas, but maybe it doesn't fit in a diet?

Another good thing is samosas with potatoes and peas. I rarely bother to make them from scratch, because my greengrocer makes the best on the planet. But my kids claim that the ones I made with store-bought pie dough and baked in the oven for their lunch-boxes were good.

In summer, I can eat new potatoes every day, just with a side salad. But it is a bit too early for that where I live. If you can get them: cook them gently, bring them to a boil for three minutes and then turn off the heat. Drain them when they are just right. Make a vinaigrette with olive oil, a good vinegar, mustard and very finely chopped shallots. Start by dissolving the salt in the vinegar, then add the mustard, pepper and shallots. Only then stir in the olive oil, vigorously. Mix the vinaigrette with the warm, completely drained potatoes. You can add some capers for extra.
With this pungent preparation, you want your other vegetables to be gentle. I like a salad with lettuce, finely diced cucumber, peas and blueberries, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil and a bit of salt.
Maybe add a piece of steamed cauliflower to your plate as well.
posted by mumimor at 10:23 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Make a really rich stock by roasting mushrooms, onions, garlic, and carrots to a deep brown and boiling until all the flavor is in the liquid. Salt to taste. Make a blonde roux and then add a whole bunch of really good Hungarian paprika, sweet or hot or a combo depending on preference, until it’s like a vivid orange roux. In your stock pot, add a bunch of waxy potatoes cut into bite sized pieces, and some extra water so the potatoes don’t concentrate the stock overmuch. Also add some carrots, cabbage, or one or two other simple vegetables, though this is a potato soup so don’t overwhelm it with other things. Simmer until not quite cooked through. Ladle out some of the soup and whisk into to your paprika roux to thin it out, then add that all back into your soup pot. Bring it back up to a boil and let it finish cooking the potatoes and thickening up. Top with lots of fresh dill. I add sour cream to this, unsure what the right vegan sub would be, maybe a bit of malt vinegar would add the right acidity the sour cream provides. I like to also do this with about half and half potatoes and thinly sliced mushrooms, but I brown the mushrooms in a separate pan and add them at the same time as the roux. I have no idea if this soup has a name but it supposedly comes from my Hungarian great grandmother.
posted by Mizu at 11:34 AM on March 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

Korean side dishes: Stir-fried potatoes. Braised potatoes.
posted by spamandkimchi at 11:46 AM on March 23, 2023

Smashed potatoes are a fav in my family. Boil small potatoes (new potatoes, baby potatoes or fingerling). Put them on a baking tray, smash them with the bottom of a glass. Spray or drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and garlic, and bake at 425 till golden and crispy.
posted by CleverClover at 12:00 PM on March 23, 2023

Also this chinese potato salad which is nothing like american potato salad.
posted by CleverClover at 12:06 PM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

This vegan malai kofta is so, so good even if you skip the tomato curry sauce.
posted by mygothlaundry at 12:34 PM on March 23, 2023

Cheater's yaki-imo in a microwave - put a clean pricked sweet potato on a plate, microwave for 5-7 minutes, turn over and repeat. Doesn't need any seasoning, it's so good.

And from the dumpling side, kluski śląskie go wonderfully with any thicker sauce, while knedle are a full meal, either sweet (strawberries also work well) or basically the same recipe with vegan meatball or sausage filling of your choice. Zeppelins are a fancier (and Lithuanian) version.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 1:10 PM on March 23, 2023

I like all kinds of potatoes, but a favorite that really impressed some friends is Madhur Jaffrey's Potatoes with Sesame Seeds. (I like it best made with coconut oil.)
posted by metonym at 2:12 PM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Potato Gnocchi

Simple joy in a tomato sauce.
posted by mumimor at 2:19 PM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

When I was vegan, I made a vegan potato fudge recipe a couple times - it had cocoa and confectioner's sugar and you needed to mash the potatoes very, very well. It is lost to the internet. This potato fudge might be good if you have a sweet tooth.

I also like the recipe's idea of using instant potatoes to expand your repetoire. They're very easy and acceptable when you're not trying to make the potato flavor shine.
posted by momus_window at 3:10 PM on March 23, 2023

Response by poster: I'm not going to mark any answer as "best answer", because they all look good. Thanks go out to everyone who answered. I now have my work cut out for me!
posted by alex1965 at 9:43 AM on March 28, 2023