How to cook potatoes in a saucepan. Potato recipes

It would seem that it could be simpler to prepare potatoes - peel the root vegetables, put them in boiling water, wait a certain time and the product is ready. But in fact, there are some subtleties in this simple process. Starting from the choice of cooking method - in a microwave oven, a saucepan, a slow cooker, ending with the time of cooking potatoes for a particular dish. Let's take a closer look at how to cook potatoes and how much time it will take. So.

How long to cook potatoes

Cooking time depends on the weight, size and age of the root vegetables. Using this diagram you will be able to quickly navigate:

Young potatoes in their jackets are boiled for 15 minutes, and the cooking time for old root vegetables must be increased to 30 minutes.
Whole peeled potatoes are boiled in a saucepan for 20 minutes, and cut into medium pieces for 15 minutes.
Potatoes in soup (chopped) - 7 minutes.

Important. The average cooking time is indicated here - some root vegetables take a very long time to cook, while early potatoes, on the contrary, cook quickly. It is better to check the readiness with a toothpick or fork - if the vegetables are easily pierced, then they are ready.

Other options

We have already figured out how to cook potatoes in their skins and without skins, but there are still many options for preparing them.

For example, delicious, satisfying and healthy stewed potatoes with meat, which is very simple and cheap to prepare. Or another simple meat cooking option - potatoes with minced meat in the oven, which you will not be able to remain indifferent to.
You can also cook French fries in a slow cooker, so much so that you can’t tell them apart from a KFC dish.
You can also make a healthier version of country-style potatoes in the oven, which can be used both as a side dish and as an appetizer.

So there are a lot of options, you just need to try at least a couple of them, and you will understand that cooking is simple.

What did you serve your potatoes with? If you have favorite options, write us in the comments.

Cooking technology

There are no strict rules for cooking potatoes, but there are techniques that simplify the cooking process and improve the taste of the final dish:

The ideal weight of root vegetables for cooking in their jackets is up to 150 grams. Very large potatoes lose their taste, have voids in the middle, and take a long time to cook.
Only young potatoes boiled in their skins turn out tasty; old root vegetables are suitable only for making purees and soups.
Before cooking, be sure to wash the potatoes under running water and cut off the damaged areas.
Potatoes for salad or frying are peeled after cooking. This helps keep the flesh firm. After all, peeled vegetables become saturated with water during cooking, become too soft and are only suitable for making purees.
Vegetables for soup are washed well, peeled and cut into slices. In this form, add to the soup 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
You can check the readiness of root vegetables using a knife or fork - if the potatoes are pierced with minimal effort, then they are ready and can be removed from the stove.

How to cook delicious potatoes

To understand how to cook potatoes, you need to remember when to salt the potatoes during cooking and how much salt to add. It is always salted before putting it on the fire. For half a kilo of the finished dish you need a teaspoon of salt. Be sure to completely fill the food with water and close the dish with a lid, since it is impossible to boil potatoes without liquid - they simply will not cook completely.

In a saucepan

Having placed the potatoes (amount of 4-5 pieces), they should be filled with cold water. For faster cooking, they can be cut into slices or pieces. Then add salt, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Then you need to reduce the heat and cook for another 15-20 minutes until done. To check whether a dish should be cooked longer, you can pierce the vegetables with a fork or knife: pierce it easily and softly to the middle - the dish is ready. Here's how to boil potatoes.

In the microwave

As a rule, microwave ovens are trusted only to heat up dishes, without thinking about how to cook potatoes in the microwave, although cooking them there is easier and faster, and a wide range of different dishes will please any housewife. Let's talk about one interesting way to prepare a vegetable that is familiar to everyone - potatoes in a bag. A big plus is that you don’t need to use any additional utensils when preparing the dish. Recipe:

Wash, peel, cut the vegetables into equal pieces.
Take a bag (there should be no drawings or patterns on it), put vegetables in it. Salt, add spices, add sunflower oil. You can add pieces of bacon - it will add aroma and taste.
Tie the bag and mix thoroughly.
Make 2-3 holes to allow air to escape, and let cook for 5-8 minutes. Turn on maximum power.
After cooking, carefully cut the bag, do not get burned by the hot air! Place the dish on a plate. It can be decorated with greenery.

In a slow cooker

The method of cooking potatoes in a slow cooker is not much different from cooking on the stove. Peel, cut, salt and add water. Turn on the “Soup” mode and cook for 40 minutes. If there are too many tubers, the bowl of the device is filled to the brim, then you can add 10-15 minutes to the standard mode. To improve the taste, you can add spices to taste. If you cook potatoes using an iron container, then you can beat them with a blender and make a puree.

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How to boil jacket potatoes

It is not recommended to peel young potatoes before cooking - after all, the peel contains a lot of vitamins (A, B1, B3, B6), and is also rich in potassium, iron, fiber and proteins. By peeling the soft skin immediately before cooking, you are depriving yourself of the most beneficial properties of this product.

To boil potatoes in a saucepan, you must first rinse them well under running water (heavily soiled ones should be cleaned with a hard sponge or cloth). You need to put root vegetables of the same size in the pan, because the cooking time for small and large vegetables varies greatly.

Place the peeled root vegetables in a saucepan. Fill with cold water so that it completely covers the vegetables, cover tightly with a lid, put on fire, and bring to a boil. Salt - for 1 liter of liquid you need to take 0.5 tablespoon of table salt. When the water boils, open the lid slightly so that the liquid does not run out over the edge during the cooking process.

Cook small tubers over medium heat for 15 minutes (medium-sized vegetables for 20 minutes, and the largest specimens for half an hour). We check the readiness - pierce the potatoes with a fork or knife; if they are soft, then they are already cooked. Next, drain the water, cool the vegetables and serve.

Jacket potato

Kitchen utensils and appliances: knife, pan.

Ingredients

Potato	6-7 pcs.
Lemon	1/4 pcs.

Cooking process

Wash 6-7 potatoes well and place in a saucepan.
Add enough water to cover all the potatoes.
Squeeze the juice out of a quarter of a lemon and put it in water. Turn on the fire.
When the water starts to boil, turn the heat down a little and cook for another 15-20 minutes until done.

Recipe video

Although everything is very simple, learn how to deliciously cook jacket potatoes in a saucepan by watching this video. Everything is clear, short, and it immediately becomes clear how to boil potatoes in a saucepan so that they turn out soft and tender.

How to cook peeled potatoes

Peeled and boiled potatoes are suitable for salads; they make a very tasty puree, which can be complemented with any meat or fish dishes. This method of cooking takes more time, because first you need to get rid of all the eyes, skin, cut off the green areas, and only then proceed directly to cooking the vegetables.

We clean the tubers from dirt using a sponge or cloth - wash the vegetables under running water.
We carefully inspect the potatoes, cut off the green parts, remove all sprouts and cut out the black spots.
We peel the tubers - it is convenient to carry out this procedure using a vegetable peeler. This kitchen tool greatly simplifies the process of preparing vegetables for cooking.
Rinse the peeled potatoes in water, cut them into 2-4 parts, put them in a saucepan, and fill them with water.
Place the dishes with vegetables on the stove and set the power to maximum. Reduce the heat only when the boiling process begins.
As soon as bubbles appear on the surface, immediately remove the lid. If this is not done, the foam formed during the cooking process will float out of the pan directly onto the stove.
We monitor the cooking process, regularly check the readiness of the root vegetables with a fork - if the flesh is easily pierced or even broken, this indicates that it is time to remove the pan from the stove - our potatoes are ready.
Cover the dish with a lid and then drain the broth. Remove the lid, lightly dry the potatoes and use them for their intended purpose.

How to select and prepare potatoes for boiling

To choose the right products, you need to understand what dish you will prepare. For purees, varieties with a high percentage of starch are suitable. They boil better; some of them have skins that burst during cooking; they cannot be used for cooking jacket potatoes. The following varieties are perfect for boiling or pureeing: blue-eye, blueberry or lorch. They should be cooked for 20-25 minutes.

If you are preparing soup or salad for lunch or dinner, for example, Olivier, then the vegetable should not be boiled, for this the percentage of starch should be 15 percent or less. These varieties include “Leader”, “Red Scarlett” or “Nevsky” potatoes. To avoid the food being cooked unevenly, you should choose tubers of equal size. If small potatoes are boiled together with large ones, then the latter must be cut into pieces.

In order to make puree, vegetables need to be peeled, and for jacket potatoes, simply rub with a brush to remove dirt or scrape off debris with a knife. After such simple preparation, you can put them in water and cook. Advice for those who do not know how to peel vegetables with a knife: there is a special vegetable cutter, thanks to its help, the process of preparing food is accelerated and simplified many times.

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A couple of recipes

Someone is waiting for spring to once again breathe in the smell of flowers and green grass. And someone - to finally enjoy the taste of boiled new potatoes with butter and dill. Also interesting is the method from Syracuse (New York), promoted at one time by the resourceful entrepreneur John Heinerwadel.

Spring delicacy

Peculiarities. Peeling young potatoes is a thankless task. This is a long and not the most pleasant process. The peel peels off reluctantly, leaving characteristic brown spots on the skin of the hands. You may not know, but peeling a young vegetable is not at all necessary. It can be thoroughly rinsed under running water and placed in a pan for further cooking directly in the peel. Young potatoes in their jackets are cooked quite quickly - about 20 minutes. And it gets eaten even faster.

You will need:

young potatoes - 5-6 tubers;
dill - half a bunch;
butter - 70 g

Cooking algorithm

Bring the water in the pan to a boil.
Throw vegetables into it.
Reduce heat and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
To understand the degree of readiness, use a fork or toothpick: if the tubers are easily pierced, then the pan can be removed from the heat.
Season with finely chopped herbs and butter. Mix gently and let sit for five minutes.
We do not use a knife to check the readiness of potatoes. A cooked tuber may fall apart under a knife blade. This means that the finished dish will not look so aesthetically pleasing on the plate.

Potatoes can be placed in the pan immediately, without waiting for the water to boil. But some varieties of vegetables cooked this way end up being too watery.

In Syracuse

Peculiarity. Syracuse potatoes are essentially our jacket potatoes, only boiled in brine. The taste of the dish is a little peculiar due to the large amount of salt. But they add it in abundance for a reason. Salt is a substance that can raise the boiling point. This means that potato tubers cook faster in brine than in lightly salted water.

You will need:

a lot of salt;
small potatoes - 10-15 pieces.

Cooking algorithm

Pour water into the pan and add salt until it stops dissolving.
Make sure that during the cooking process the water always covers the vegetables by two fingers. If necessary, add boiling water to the pan, adding a little salt at the same time.
After boiling, reduce the heat and leave the potatoes to cook for about half an hour.

Salt in large quantities is good because it forms an invisible film on the surface of the vegetable, which serves as additional protection for nutrients and prevents their destruction.

How to cook potatoes in a saucepan (in pieces for a side dish)

The traditional way of preparing potatoes for a side dish is to boil them in cubes in a saucepan, so next we will consider this particular option for boiling potatoes (you can then make mashed potatoes from boiled potatoes, if necessary).

For cooking we need the following ingredients:

Potatoes – 4-5 pcs;
Water – 1 l;
Salt – 0.5 tsp.

Total prep time: 25 minutes, prep time: 5 minutes, cook time: 20 minutes.
Calorie content: 82 calories (per 100 grams of product).
Cuisine: European. Type of dish: side dish. Number of servings: 2.

Cooking potatoes consists of two stages, namely preparing the potatoes for cooking and the cooking itself in a saucepan. Let's take a closer look at how to boil potatoes in a saucepan:

We select the required amount of potatoes for cooking and rinse thoroughly in cold water (to remove dust and dirt).
Peel the washed potatoes using a knife or a special potato peeler, cut out all the darkened areas and the so-called “eyes”. Wash the peeled potatoes again in cold water, then cut them into several parts (cut large tubers into 4-6 cubes).

We wash the potatoes, cut into pieces, again to remove any released starch and fill them with cold water in a saucepan of a suitable size. The water should completely cover the potatoes and be 2-3 cm above them in level.
Place the pan over high heat and bring the water to a boil, after adding salt to the water (1 level teaspoon of salt per 1 kg of peeled potatoes covered in water).

After the water boils in the pan, reduce the heat (the water should not boil too much), then use a spoon to remove the foam that has formed on the surface of the water.

After boiling water in a saucepan, the potatoes need to be cooked for an average of 15-20 minutes until cooked (you can check whether the potatoes are cooked or not, using a knife or fork, piercing the largest pieces; if they are soft and easily pierced, then they are cooked).

Be sure to drain all the water from the pan with boiled potatoes, otherwise they will soften in it and begin to crumble. The finished boiled potatoes can then be used as a ready-made side dish by adding butter and chopped herbs, or mashed them.

Note: it is not recommended to store peeled potatoes for a long time and must be filled with cold water, as they darken with prolonged contact with air. It is better to peel the potatoes immediately before cooking.

Potatoes in skin

Potatoes boiled in their skins, or as they say differently - in their skins, are considered very healthy, since thanks to the skin, vitamins remain in the tubers and are not boiled down. In addition, unpeeled boiled potatoes have a special aroma and elasticity. Let's find out how to cook potatoes in their skins correctly.

Select potatoes of the same size, wash them with a brush, put them in a saucepan and fill them with water. Potatoes must be salted. If the volume of the container in which it is cooked is 2-3 liters, then you will need 1 teaspoon of salt. Salt will not only give the potatoes a better taste, but will also prevent them from cracking. Next, bring the potatoes to a boil over maximum heat and immediately reduce the heat. Cook vegetables for 25-30 minutes. Once the tubers are ready, remove the pan from the heat and drain the water.

Cooking potatoes for salad

Many young housewives are wondering how to cook potatoes for salad so that they remain strong. If the potatoes turn out to be soft and crumbly, then they cannot be cut into even and uniform cubes, which is completely unacceptable for a properly prepared salad. Boiled tubers are only suitable for making puree.

So, to cook potatoes for salad, you need to boil them in their skins. And exclusively in its entirety! We already know how to cook potatoes in a saucepan and that the peel helps preserve the elasticity of the tubers, so we will focus on which vegetables to choose for the salad so that they are cooked at their best.

Potatoes will not crack during cooking if the selected tubers are pierced with a fork on all sides and the water in the pan is salted. Boiling time will depend on the type of potato. If you need a product specifically for salad, then buy potatoes that have a low starch content.

Immediately after cooking, pour cold water over the tubers, which will make it easy to peel them. And, of course, an important rule: you cannot leave boiled potatoes in water. As a result, it acquires an unpleasant odor, a bad taste, and will fall apart when cut.