Darina Allen: One potato, two potato, three (kinds of) potato — Yum!

Delicious with cold meats on St. Stephen’s Day, creamy gratin is a well-loved spontaneous accompaniment to a meal at any time over the holiday season

Darina Allen: "I LOVE potatoes. I could write a whole book of delicious potato recipes."

You can't imagine how many requests I get for a foolproof recipe for roast spuds, so I’m going to devote this entire column to my favourite potato dishes including crisp, shaggy roasties to enjoy over Christmas and beyond.

I LOVE potatoes. I could write a whole book of delicious potato recipes.

For me, it’s the hero of the vegetable world. I wince every time I hear it referred to as the humble spud! Perhaps it’s taken for granted just because it’s so inexpensive, super versatile and readily available.

I’ll include my favourite recipe for roasties with lots of riffs, but the secret, as ever, is to source really terrific potatoes with a high starch content. My favourites are Golden Wonders but Maris Piper, King Edward and Dutch Creams are also known for their floury texture and crisp, shaggy crust.

Choose unwashed potatoes, organic if possible.

Scrub them under the cold tap, save the peels for potato peel crisps to nibble with Christmas drinks or sprinkle over salads. Par-boil in well-salted water for 2-3 minutes and drain.

The next, super important consideration…what fat or oil? For maximum flavour, avoid vegetable oil, use extra virgin olive oil or better still, duck, goose, turkey, chicken, pork or beef fat.

The difference in flavour will be phenomenal (save fats in little containers in the fridge during the year, they keep for months).

I also love squashed roasties. Drizzle the roasting pan with one of the above. I often use extra virgin olive oil for this, an irresistible way to use leftover boiled potatoes. My family argue vociferously over them!

My last one, a creamy gratin with or without cheese is a must to have in your fridge or freezer to pop into the oven over Christmas (check out the potato and mushroom gratin in my Irish Examiner column from October 11).

Delicious with cold meats on St. Stephen’s Day, it’s a well-loved spontaneous accompaniment to a meal at any time over the holiday season.

The secret of fluffy mash is another frequently asked question. Here again, the potato variety is super important, seek out a starchy rather than waxy potato, e.g., King Edward, Golden Wonder, Maris Piper, Yukon Gold or Désirée.

Boil in their jackets in well-salted water for max flavour. Peel while hot and beat well in a food mixer, add boiling milk, loads of butter, a good dollop of cream and lots of seasoning.

The latest edition to my potato recipe repertoire is this hybrid hasselback gratin. Starchy Russet potatoes are best. This could be a comforting dish on its own or a side with forgotten treasures from your fridge.

Always keep leftover boiled potatoes, brilliant for sautéing or arrange thick slices on a well-oiled roasting tin. Season well, pop into a hot oven, flip over when golden, scatter generously with grated cheese and continue to cook until melty and crusty at the edges. You could add a few crispy bacon lardons, a sprinkling of chilli flakes…

Scatter some freshly chopped fresh herbs over the top just before you serve, a delicious one-pan supper.

Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

Everyone loves a bowl of fluffy mash — a perfect side for so many dishes but I’ll happily tuck into a bowl with a melting butter in the centre —so comforting!

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 900g unpeeled potatoes, preferably

• Golden Wonders or Kerr’s Pink

• 300ml creamy milk

• 1-2 egg whites or 1 whole egg and 1 egg white

• 25-50g butter

• 2 tbsp freshly chopped herbs e.g. parsley, chives, thyme, lemon balm

Method

1. Scrub the potatoes well. Put them into a saucepan of cold water, add a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil.

2. When the potatoes are about half cooked, 15 minutes approx (for old potatoes), strain off two-thirds of the water, replace the lid on the saucepan, put on to a gentle heat and allow the potatoes to steam until they are cooked.

3. Peel immediately by just pulling off the skins, so you have as little waste as possible, mash while hot (see below). (If you have a large quantity, put the potatoes into the bowl of a food mixer and beat with the spade).

4. While the potatoes are being peeled, bring about 300ml of milk to the boil (or better still, use half milk, half cream). Beat the egg whites into the hot mashed potatoes and add enough boiling creamy milk to mix to a soft light consistency suitable for piping, add the herbs and then beat in the butter, the amount depending on how rich you like your potatoes.

5. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

6. Note: If the potatoes are not peeled and mashed while hot and if the boiling milk is not added immediately, the potato will be lumpy and gluey.

7. Add chopped scallions for champ, cooked kale or cabbage for colcannon, peas and parsley for Ulster champ.

Best Roasties

recipe by:Darina Allen

This is my go-to recipe for crispy, shaggy roasties. Cut into halves or quarters if you’re after a crisper surface. If you fancy, scatter with fresh thyme leaves or freshly chopped rosemary, halfway through cooking.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 8 potatoes, unwashed Golden Wonders or Kerr’s Pink

• Oil or fat

Method

1. Choose medium to large potatoes of even size. Scrub and peel.

2. Put into a saucepan, cover with cold salted water and bring to the boil just for 1 or 2 minutes.

3. Drain thoroughly.

4. Lightly scratch the surface with a fork and season with salt.

5. Preheat the oven to 230°C/Gas 8.

6. Put the potatoes into smoking hot fat or olive oil. Baste occasionally. Roast until soft in the hot oven for 30-45 minutes depending on the size.

7. Drain well on kitchen paper. Serve immediately.

8. Alternatively, put the potatoes into smoking hot fat in the same tin as the meat, 40-45 minutes before the meat is fully cooked and baste well.

9. Cook until soft. (Baste the potatoes when you baste the meat and turn them over after 25 minutes). Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately.

Cheesy Hasselback Potato Gratin

recipe by:Darina Allen

Inspired by a recipe by J. Kenji López-Alt in The New York Times. The main difference here is placing the well-seasoned sliced potatoes in the casserole dish vertically. Arrange them on their edges rather than laying them flat. This will result in crisp r

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 3 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 75g finely grated Gruyère or Comté cheese

• 50g finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

• 450ml cream

• 2 medium cloves garlic, crushe

• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped

• Lots of salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1.5 – 1.75kg Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 3mm thick on a mandolin slicer (12-14 medium potatoes approx.)

• 10g butter for greasing the casserole dish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6.

2. Combine the cheeses in a large bowl. Keep 40g of the grated cheese aside for later. Add the cream, garlic and thyme to the cheese mixture.

3. Season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the potato slices and toss with your hands until every slice is coated with the cream mixture.

4. Making sure to separate any slices that are sticking together to get the cream mixture in between them.

5. Grease a casserole dish (20.5cm x 20.5cm and 5cm depth) with butter.

6. Pick up a handful of potatoes, organise them into a neat stack, and lay them in the casserole dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue placing potatoes in the dish, working around the perimeter and into the centre until all the potatoes have been added.

7. The potatoes should be very tightly packed. Add an additional potato if necessary.

8. Pour the excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over the potatoes until the mixture comes halfway up the sides of the casserole. You may not need all the liquid, but I like it nice and juicy.

9. Cover the dish tightly with damp parchment paper.

10. Transfer to the oven and cook for 30 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven. Remove the parchment paper and continue to bake until the top is pale golden brown, about 30 minutes.

11. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and return to the oven. Cook until rich golden brown and crisp on top and around the edges, 30-40 minutes approx. Remove from the oven, allow to rest for a few minutes and serve.

Darina's Christmas present suggestions for your foodie friend

Still scratching your head for a Christmas pressie for a foodie friend? Here are a few suggestions:

• Around the Table - 52 Essays on Food & Life by Diana Henry
• An Irish Kitchen by Eunice Power
• The Mexican Table by Thomasina Miers
• Good Things by Samin Nosrat
• Bored of Lunch – Healthy Fakeaways by Nathan Anthony

As stocking fillers, any of the excellent Nine Bean Rows series Messy by Aoife McElwain; Jibrin by Izzeddeen Alkarajeh and Eman Aburabi and Tango by Facundo Rodulfo and Pam Neumann. Congratulations to Sophie Morris whose cookbook Sophie Swaps won the Lifestyle Book of the Year Award 2025 at the recent Irish Book Awards.

Irish Heritage Seeds

Stocking fillers that make a world of difference… The seeds of the world are owned by fewer and fewer enormous seed companies, a dangerous situation. Now more than ever we need seeds suited to different climatic conditions. A few heroic small Irish seed companies have been saving Irish heritage seed varieties for posterity.

Each one has been carefully chosen for its adaptability to our changing climate, exceptional taste, nutrition, beauty and its role in supporting biodiversity.

• Irish Seed Savers, irishseedsavers.ie
• Brown Envelope Seeds, brownenvelopeseeds.ie
• The Organic Centre, theorganiccentre.ie
• Fruit Hill Farm, fruithillfarm.com
• Green Vegetable Seeds (seeds selected by organic grower Klaus Laitenberger), greenvegetableseeds.com