Potatoes, Ten Ways
Are you watching what you eat and avoiding white potatoes? Potatoes are often vilified and put on lists of foods to limit. In fact, potatoes are very healthy and a nourishing food, and you can add complementary toppings to boost flavor and limit the fat associated with traditional butter and sour cream.
Potatoes contain plentiful nutrients including protein, vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, and iron. Eat the skins to capture the most nutrients and the dietary fiber.
At the winter Saratoga Farmers’ Market, farms are bringing several types of potatoes, including the skinny, long fingerlings, as well as larger red potatoes, white potatoes, russets, and “Adirondack Blue.” (Yes, it’s a potato with blue-purple skin and flesh.)
If you are making mashed potatoes, leave the skins on for a country-style dish that is more nutritious. If you put a few cloves of peeled garlic into the pot while cooking the potatoes, those will mash easily and provide a robust flavor. You can limit the amount of extra calories you add while mashing by retaining some of the cooking water when you drain the potatoes, and then add it back, along with milk or buttermilk thereafter.
There are many delicious, wholesome things to serve on top of plain potatoes, whether the spuds have been baked, cut into chunks and oven-roasted, or mashed. Let potatoes be the star of your meal, and dress them up creatively by choosing something from the list below.
10 “Make-It-A-Meal” Potato Toppings
* Ingredients can be found at the market
Cool Toppings:
- Salsa* with chopped scallions*
- Chopped red onion*, corn, black beans, cilantro*, lime juice, cumin
- Chopped tomatoes*, basil*, cucumber*, garlic*
- Plain yogurt* with added horseradish* or herbs*
- Feta cheese*, sundried tomatoes, black olives, oregano, parsley*
Hot Toppings:
- Sauteed artichoke hearts, capers, garlic*, spinach*
- Caramelized onions* and mushrooms*
- Sauteed leeks*, carrots*, kale*, lemon zest, and lemon juice
- Beef* or pork* chili
- Chicken* or lamb* curry
