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Spuds, taters, tatties, the humble potato is a worldwide favourite that comes in countless culinary forms. There are millions of recipes; potato-starring main dishes, supporting sides, and bit-part ingredients in soups and stews. But to get the best results from any recipe, you have to start with the right type of tuber.
Did you know there are over 4000 varieties of potato to choose from? Fortunately, they can be easily sorted into three basic categories: floury or starchy, waxy, or all-purpose. So how do you know which to use? Use my ultimate guide:
- Floury/ starchy potatoes are fluff-filled and absorbent. They’re best for mash, roasties, jackets and fries. In the US, choose Yukon Gold, Russet/ Idaho, and in the UK go for Maris Piper of King Edward.
- Waxy potatoes are slick-textured and firm. As they hold their shape well, use them in potato salads, as boilers, thin-sliced gratins, soups and stews. Look for red potatoes and fingerling (US) or Jersey Royals, Desiree or Charlotte (UK).
- All-purpose are a bit of both, you can use them for any recipe with good results and they tend to be the most accessible and affordable. In the US, choose Yukon Gold and in the UK, Maris Piper or King Edward. NB. these three are often classed as floury, but will work for starchy recipes if necessary!
Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Two types of fresh herbs; fragrant parsley and anise-y dill, and a whole head of sticky, sweet oven-roasted garlic are the mash-elevating ingredients in this punchy potato take on a standard side dish. Serve with: meaty, sauce-soaked mains, like Steak Diane or Chicken a la Normande.
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Traditional Colcannon Recipe
Green as the Emerald Isle itself, Irish colcannon mashed potato is bright with sliced bitey spring onions and soft, buttery ribbons of Savoy cabbage. Boom! Potatoes and vegetables in one.Serve with: Irish stew or humble chicken stew.
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Hasselback Potatoes with Gremolata
Skin-on, seasoned, and dressed with a fresh herb and citrus sauce, these showstopping mini baked potatoes are a light and elegant side. Serve with: salmon with lemon and dill sauce or roasted summer vegetable salad.
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Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
A generous cup of tangy Italian hard cheese is added to your usual mashed potato recipe. This one is low-prep and high impact! Serve with: Italian beef stew or vegetarian Tuscan butter beans.
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Rosemary Potatoes au Gratin
Slim slices of potatoes are layered with bay and rosemary-scented cream then topped with nutty Comté cheese before being baked to golden, crispy-edged deliciousness.Serve with: baked ham with blackcurrant compote or roast lamb.
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Mashed Potato Casserole with Mushrooms and Caramelised Onions
Get ahead with this holiday favourite by preparing a day in advance. These slick, caramelised onions and sautéed savoury mushrooms are topped with a sour cream mash and fragrant fried sage leaves.Serve with: roast turkey and all the trimmings.
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Irish Mashed Potatoes (Champ Recipe)
Green onions are steeped, softened and sweetened in warm milk before the mixture is added to hot buttered potatoes. Use a ricer for the creamiest-textured mash.Serve with: sausages and lashings of gravy.
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Jacket Potatoes with Spicy Baked Beans and Chimichurri Sauce
This time potatoes are taking centre stage! Big, beefy bakers get stuffed with South American-style black beans and drenched in vibrant chimichurri dressing. Easily substitute for sweet potatoes if they’re more your thing.Serve with: guacamole and salad.
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Perfect Roast Potatoes
There are a few golden rules when it comes to enviable roasties. The boiled potatoes must be steam-dry and the fat spitting hot to name just two! Check out the recipe for more spuddy secrets…Serve with: your family’s favourite Sunday roast. Ours is honey mustard roast beef.
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Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
Brown butter is an upscale restaurant staple. But it’s so easy to achieve at home. I’ve used it to create a deeply divine hazelnut-and-caramel-flavoured mash. Serve with: classy fish dishes like sole in lemon butter.
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Parmesan Crusted Potatoes
These crispy-edged, feather-centred beauties are irresistibly cheesy and only one small step more than regular roast potatoes. Serve with: slow-cooked and melt-in-the-mouth pork osso buco.
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Oven Fried Potatoes with Mushrooms and Onions
Fry shy? Me too!! Which is why I developed the ‘oven-fry’ method. All the slick deliciousness of a sautéed potato with none of the clingy oil smell. This lighter version (using far less oil) picks up bonus plants points too.Serve with: juicy ribeye steak or pork loins in shallot sauce.
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Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelised Shallots
Fancy and frilly, this dish of pretty potatoes is a breathtaking one. Perched on a bed of jammy shallots, the cream-soaked slices of potato stand on their tiptoes like a snow-white prima ballerina. Serve with: a stand-out centrepiece like vegetarian mushroom Wellington.
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Creamy Celeriac and Potato Mash with Brown Butter
Equal parts celeriac and potato make this a more nutritious and lighter mash option. The brown butter adds nuttiness and a little chic.Serve with: gravy-heavy and fragrant goulash.
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Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese
Using an Instant Pot is a virtually effortless route to mashed potatoes. I’ve enriched these super smooth ones with a pack of cool cream cheese.Serve with: Russian stew, smoky sausage and paprika meets thick, creamy mashed potato. Sigh!
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Chipotle Mayo Roasted Potato Wedges
Skin-on baby potatoes get slathered in sauce and THEN roasted! The result? Sticky-edged, spicy nuggets of summer barbecue bliss. Add extra garlic or chilli flakes for more pow wow.Serve with: homemade burgers fresh off the grill.
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Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes
Ready in 20 minutes, fast track your roast potatoes with your air fryer. What’s more, it’ll cut calories and free up valuable oven space for that Sunday roast. Absolute no-brainer. For extra zshuzsh sprinkle on your favourite seasoning, i.e. Cajun or plain paprika.Serve with: mustard-glazed pork tenderloin.
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Perfectly Spiced Roasted Baby Potatoes
Cumin, fennel, coriander, garam masala and chilli make up this heady spice seasoning. The boiled, skin-on, baby potatoes are broiled (grilled) and then coated in the fragrant mix made slick with plenty of butter and tangy lime.Serve with: mango chutney glazed whole roast chicken.
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Cheesy Potato Soufflé
A puffy potato dish made with two types of cool, creamy cheese. This recipe is virtually error-resistant (unlike some other soufflés) so why not give it a try? Serve with: a celebratory honey roast ham.
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Tartiflette
The famous Alpine-style gratin, made with whole wheels of molten camembert (if not the elusive reblochon), is a skillet-based après-ski snack with dangerous levels of stinky cheese, cream, butter, bacon, onion and garlic. Serve with: vinegary pickles, crusty bread and saucisson, and wash down with gluhwein (mulled) wine to warm the cockles.
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