Last week I started a series called Tuesday Techniques, a series where I cook my way through Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques the same way that Top Chef Judge Tom Colicchio did at the start of his career. Already, I'm on shaky ground: (1) my Tuesday techniques posts always show up on Wednesday, but Wednesday Techniques doesn't have quite the same ring to it; (2) this week I didn't really use the Pepin book to work my chosen technique, I chose the technique first and picked up the book later.
The technique I chose was "home fries." I chose home fries because it was Sunday morning and I was going to make scrambled eggs and there were Yukon gold potatoes sitting on the counter. Now my normal Sunday breakfast fare is scrambled eggs with homemade biscuits or buttermilk pancakes. I don't make home fries, normally, because the truth is I don't know how to make home fries. They're a staple on your plate at a brunch restaurant, but I always take them for granted. Often they're disappointing: limp, greasy, under-seasoned.
So this Sunday I began my research. I did lots of Googling, I did open the Pepin book but his recipes for fried potato balls and soap-shaped potatoes didn't really fit the bill. He did speak eloquently about my chosen ingredient, though: "The potato is probably the greatest food contribution that the New World made to the Old....The potato is a versatile vegetable; it can be boiled, sauteed, baked, fried, steamed, broiled, stewed and so on."
The secret to making home fries, I soon discovered (after all my research) is a combination of two of those techniques: boiling and frying. First you boil, then you fry. It's that easy.
Here's how I did it:
1. I brought a big pot of water to a boil. I added salt and then dropped in five medium-sized Yukon gold potatoes and lowered the water to a simmer, covering the pot and walking away for 12 minutes. At that point, I started stabbing the potatoes with a knife to see if they were done. When the knife went in easily (another 5 mintutes later) I took the potatoes out and let them cool slightly.
2. I cut the cooled potatoes into wedges.
3. In a skillet, I heated a glug of olive oil (half a cup?) and 2 Tbs of butter (the butter for flavor). When it was bursting with heat, though before the butter burned, I added the potatoes which I dried with paper towels. Once the potaotes hit the hot fat I didn't move them at all. That's the secret to getting a perfect crust: not moving them.
4. While they sizzled and crackled, I took half an onion and chopped it into bits.
5. When the potatoes were golden and crusty on the bottom (about five minutes later), I flipped all the potato pieces and added the onion. I also sprinkled the whole thing with lots of salt and pepper.
6. I let the potatoes cook on the bottom (I made scrambled eggs in the meantime) and when everything was done, I plated. (I made the scrambled eggs with ramps I got from the green market the day before.)
Pretty, huh?
Amazing how something that seems so complex at a restaurant can be so easy at home. And now that it's been demystified, I feel like I can be much more discerning about the sub-standard home fries I'm frequently served on weekends. So thank you, Tuesday techniques. And sorry, Jacques Pepin. Next week I'm back to your book for more tutelage... readers, which technique would you like to see me tackle next?
Comments (13)
Turducken? No? How about some good basic buttermilk biscuits or cornbread?
Posted by Kitt | April 23, 2008 2:12 AM
Oh how my mom taught me well, as she use to boil then pan fry the potatoes. I have the best recipe for savory corn muffins to go with your breakfast, if you want it?
As far as Jacques goes,I'm all for a surprise.
Posted by Kim | April 23, 2008 6:38 AM
agreed. I would like to see some basic biscuits. I'm clueless. P.s. Please define technique? It seems like with the homefries you are just cooking. What's the special technique employed here?
Posted by Mary | April 23, 2008 7:50 AM
SOUFFLE!!
Posted by Loriana | April 23, 2008 9:58 AM
Kitt & Mary: click the words "buttermilk biscuits" in the post above and you'll see my favorite biscuit recipe. As for defining technique, the way Pepin structures his book each chapter is either a specific technique (using a knife, making a sauce) or a recipe that is so standard the mastery of it becomes a technique in itself. Making home fries fits into category two, I think. Pouring milk on cereal, though, wouldn't be a technique... so I guess there is a line somewhere.
Posted by Adam | April 23, 2008 10:13 AM
The homefries look great. I made some similar but didn't boil them first, just cut them up into very small sqaures -- maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch? And then fried them in tons of olive oil (and a bit of fresh sage) in a heavy iron skillet. They came out really good -- served with a flank steak. Oh, just a helpful hint for the photo... you may want to set the plate down next time so your thumb isn't in the picture! :)
Posted by Janet | April 23, 2008 10:21 AM
The homefries look great. I made some similar but didn't boil them first, just cut them up into very small sqaures -- maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch? And then fried them in tons of olive oil (and a bit of fresh sage) in a heavy iron skillet. They came out really good -- served with a flank steak. Oh, just a helpful hint for the photo... you may want to set the plate down next time so your thumb isn't in the picture! :)
Posted by Janet | April 23, 2008 10:21 AM
This doesn't seem like a "technique". I can see a recipe being considered a technique if it is fundamental (or a recipe that is a basic building-block for other recipes). "Home fries" doesn't seem even near that fundamental.
Still, very good post and those home-fries look tasty.
Posted by brian | April 23, 2008 11:25 AM
They look delicious. I may have to try to make them myself soon.
Posted by Emily | April 23, 2008 12:03 PM
How about making an omelette? Done the Jacques Pepin's way. I believe it's the traditional French method but I saw it on one of Pepin's show. Oh and on the movie Tampopo too.
Posted by Alvin | April 23, 2008 12:13 PM
I'm gonna try this tonight. I wanted to read about your demi glace but the link doesn't work.
Posted by Sam | April 23, 2008 5:45 PM
I am on a Chorizo kick now so I will have to mix this recipe with some cooked up Chorizo. Thank you for the recipe!
Posted by kevin@opfor-paintball.com | April 23, 2008 8:03 PM
Very nice. Somewhere in the Hamptons Ina Garten feels betrayed.
Posted by angeline | April 23, 2008 10:28 PM