I tell my old farmer friend, who grew up poor, regularly eating potatoes and not much else, that I’m crazy for them. My favorite vegetable! “Fine, please pass the steak,” he says.
But I’ve been potato-smitten from the first. For that matter, I’m farinaceous at heart, and so I’m wild about bread and savory pastries, too, and I love pasta.
What’s more, I happily eat them together. It’s the starch-on-starch principle, and it can be absolutely delightful, even if its original purpose was as a frugal filling meal.
For instance, is there a problem with mashed-potato-filled ravioli? It’s a heavenly combination, tossed with olive oil, garlic and herbs, showered with grated cheese and maybe a few toasted bread crumbs.
Or another traditional Italian delight, trenette al pesto, pasta and potatoes tossed liberally with a garlicky Genovese bright green sauce. Or a fragrant crisp pizza with ultrathin slices of potato, some pancetta and rosemary, drizzled with fruity olive oil.
I grew up on potato cakes, essentially last night’s mashed potatoes repurposed, rolled in cracker crumbs and fried in margarine. And though I didn’t grow up with potato-chip sandwiches on white bread, I love the idea of it. For snacking in India, there are toasted sandwiches filled with cooked potatoes and hot chutney. I may riff off both themes and combine elements, actually, or forget the sandwich and just have a hot potato samosa at the corner place where all the taxi drivers go. Right in my neighborhood, I can also get a knish or a bowl of pierogi, those Eastern European two-starch treats, whenever I want.
There is no doubt French cooks have contributed enormously to the potato’s advancement. A most elegant potato dish is the classic gratin dauphinois, sliced potatoes bathed in cream and baked in a low earthenware dish until the surface is beautifully browned. It’s delicious seasoned simply with just salt and pepper, but a little nutmeg, a touch of garlic and some chopped thyme give it more depth of flavor.
But suppose we apply the starch-on-starch approach and bake the gratin en croûte? Line a fluted tart pan with pastry dough and fill it with the seasoned potato-and-cream mixture. Lay another piece of pastry on top, brush it with egg glaze and bake for an hour or so.
This is indeed a savory pie. With its flaky buttery golden exterior and creamy filling, it feels decadent, and perhaps it is. In reality, though, it’s a couple of pounds of spuds, all dressed up.