Title: Irish-Style Boiled Potatoes
Categories: British
Yield: 1 Servings

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Potatoes are now inextricably attached to Ireland in many people's minds. No one is really sure when potatoes came here: the story about Sir Francis Drake bringing them is apparently just that, a story, since he was dead at the time usually mentioned for his bringing the potatoes over. Whatever, *someone* brought them, and they were greeted with the usual brief period of suspicion about their possibly being poisonous. Then someone noticed that they (1) grew like anything here, (2) were easy to plant and grow, and (3) were extremely nutritious -- between them, potatoes and whole milk or buttermilk contain all the amino acids necessary for health. And indeed many people during the 18th century commented on the extraordinary health and good looks of Irish people who were living on little *but* potatoes and buttermilk. (Not that this was such a wonderful idea, especially since the people making the comments were usually eating much better themselves.)

Potatoes began to be grown extensively everywhere -- especially when tenant farmers who were having a hard enough time of it supporting their families, discovered that they could feed their family far better with three acres of potatoes than with three acres of grain. The dependence was their undoing, later, when the blight came (as is now thought, in diseased seed potatoes from America, where it had struck first) and killed the crop all over the island, and in Europe as well.

Blight has since been beaten (by spraying with copper sulfate), and Ireland is still rich in potatoes: many more breeds and kinds than can presently be found in the best supermarkets in the States. There are about twenty major breeds which come in and go out with the seasons, and each one is labeled in the stores as to what it's good for: baking, frying, roasting, french fries, boiling, or one or two of these together. The names are delightful: Golden Wonder, King Edward, Kerr's Pink (really pink-skinned, not dyed as the "red" potato now usually is in the USA), Cara, Record, Pentland Dell, Foxton, Romano, and many others.

The favorite treatment for the potato, and one which lends authenticity to any Irish meal, is to boil them in their skins ("in their jackets" as we say here), then bring them to the table steaming and peel them as you're ready for them. Here is how it's done:

Pick and scrub good boiling potatoes. (In Ireland, the magic word is "floury", or "balls of flour": potatoes that will become light-textured and fluffy when boiled. For this purpose you do *not* want "waxy" potatoes which hold their texture well when boiled -- the "potato salad" kind. Idaho- style bakers will frequently have the right texture, but they may be much too big: pick small ones, no more than the size of a small woman's fist.) Get your boiling water ready by adding a *lot* of salt -- at least a heaping tablespoon per half-gallon. This stabilizes the potatoes' skins while they boil, and very little of it actually migrates into the potato. It also helps keep the vitamins inside by sealing the skins up. If you have "new" potatoes, bring the water to a rapid boil before putting them in. If the potatoes are old or oldish, put them in the water while it's still cold and then bring it to a boil.

After twenty minutes' boiling is usually when you should check all but the youngest and thinnest-skinned potatoes. Test them with a fork or knife to check that the thickest of them is tender all the way through. If a few of them are showing cracks or their skins are coming loose, this is not a bad sign: it's called "laughing potatoes". Take the potatoes off the heat, pour off all the water, then put their pan back on the burner, with the heat turned down *very low*. There will be sizzling and steaming. This is called "drying [the potatoes] in their steam", and it helps finish the cooking process and make them lighter and fluffier. Put a dishcloth over the pot while they're drying, and leave them there for five to ten minutes: certainly until most of the steaming stops. Don't use a normal pot lid. This will keep the moisture in and make the potatoes sodden and heavy. Letting the steam out lightens them.

To serve: put the drained and dried potatoes in a basket lined with another dishtowel and put them on the table. Each person spears the potato of his choice with his fork and uses his knife to peel it like an apple, putting the peel on a side dish. Each then mashes, and seasons and butters the potato, to his liking. The rising steam, and the yelps of the slightly scorched, are all part of the traditional way of eating.

Another thing to do with these potatoes, once boiled and dried in their steam: brush them with melted butter and put them under the broiler, turning occasionally and basting with more butter if necessary, until the skins are brown and crisp. Serve. Smart guests will eat the skins too.

From: Pat Stockett Date: 03-07-95 Cooking Ä From: Gail Shipp Date: 03 Mar 97 National Cooking Echo Ä

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