We kept buying a lot of potatoes for the past 2 weeks because a lot of ideas about how to cook potatoes kept coming in, every evening at 5.30pm and during our grocery shopping trips – leek and potato soup, shepherd’s pie, potato salad, just to name a few. I realised that potatoes are really versatile to cook, and they could create a bundle of surprises, if their potential flavours are maximised.
Ingredients:
- Small Charlotte potatoes: 6 pieces, scrubbed, washed, pat dry with towel
- Boiling water: enough to cover potatoes
- Butter: 1 tbsp
- Olive oil: 1 tbsp
- Salt: 1/2 tsp
- Ground pepper: a dash
- Basil leaves: 6 pieces, chopped coarsely, half for cooking and half for garnish
- White mushrooms: 6 stalks, skin removed, washed and diced
- Tomato: 1, washed and diced
- Pesto sauce: 1 tbsp
Method:
- Add potatoes and a pinch of salt in boiling water. Microwave on high heat for 8-10 mins.
- Heat butter and olive oil in pan. Place boiled potatoes onto pan and season with salt and ground pepper.
- Squash potatoes lightly with a spoon without breaking them up. Leave potatoes in pan for 5mins, flipping them over occasionally.
- Serve potatoes onto a plate and set aside.
- Continue heating the remaining oil and butter in the pan. Add remaining ingredients and fry for 1min.
- Pour sauce onto potatoes and garnish with remaining basil leaves.
- Serve as a starter or main dish.
Tricks:
- The squashing of the potatoes will allow the fragrance of the butter to seep in and make them more flavourful.
- The basil leaves enhance the flavour of the already sinful pesto sauce. Alternatively, make your own pesto sauce with fresh basil leaves, olive oil and a pinch of salt.
- Add chilli to spice it up further! Sadly, the price of chilli here is as expensive as the price of a stalk of mint leaves back in Singapore. 🙁
Disclaimer:
- I’m not sure which continent or culture this dish belongs to, but it tastes pretty much Mediterranean and Moroccan to me.
Serving:
1 person
