America’s most popular vegetable is the potato. We enjoy them boiled, baked, fried, microwaved, steamed, roasted, and mashed, with or without their peels. By themselves potatoes are quite low in calories and loaded with nutrients.

“Creamers” or “new potatoes” are terms used to describe all small waxy potatoes, but technically it refers just to immature potatoes harvested in the spring and early summer. You can tell if a potato is truly new by its skin. Immature potatoes have flimsy, parchment-like skins that you can peel off with your fingers. Creamers are prized for their high moisture content, smooth texture, and because they can be cooked whole. They are especially good steamed or roasted.  New potatoes are more perishable than other varieties, and need to be used within a few days of buying them.

Potatoes with a high starch content, like russets, bake well and yield light and fluffy mashed potatoes.  Those with a low starch content, like red-skinned potatoes, hold their shape after cooking, and are great for making potato salads and scalloped potatoes.

Some information about Potatoes:

• 1 lb of potatoes equals 4 cups diced or 1 3/4 cups mashed.
• Best for baking is the russet potato
• Best for potato salads, gratins, and scalloping are the Yellow Finn, new, red-skinned, white round, and purple potatoes.
• Best for mashing are the russet, Yukon gold, Caribe, and purple potatoes.
• Best for soups and chowders are the Yukon gold, Yellow Finn, red-skinned, white round, and purple potatoes.
• Best for pan-frying are the red-skinned, white round, new, and fingerling potatoes.
• Best for French fries are russet, purple, and Bintje potatoes.
• Best for purees are fingerling potatoes.
• Best for roasting are new, and fingerling potatoes
• Store potatoes in a cool, dark, dry, well-ventilated location.
• Do not refrigerate uncooked potatoes, doing so converts some of the potato’s starch to sugar.
• Do not expose potatoes to direct sunlight, it will turn them green and makes them bitter.
• Scrape away any sprouts or green spots, as they might contain a mildly toxic compound called solanine.

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Creamers in Dill Sauce

Tender new potatoes and fresh spring peas in a dill cream sauce.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Eastern European

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Christoph

Ingredients

• 1 pound of creamers
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
• 1 shallot minced
• 4 tablespoon dill roughly chopped
• 2 cups medium béchamel sauce
• Salt
• White pepper

Instructions

• Cook potatoes until fork tender by gently boiling.
• Prepare the béchamel sauce. Sauté the shallot in the butter used to make the roux before adding the flour.
• Add the peas, dill and potatoes to the sauce.
• Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Baking cod is a very easy and quick method of preparing this tender flaky fish. Using a compound butter made with dill during baking keeps the fish incredibly moist, and adds a subtle flavor that works well with the mildness of the cod.

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Baked Cod with Dill

Baking cod is a very easy and quick method of preparing this tender flaky fish. Using a compound butter made with dill during baking keeps the fish incredibly moist, and adds a subtle flavor that works well with the mildness of the cod.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 22 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

Cod

• 1 lb cod fillets leave whole
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• 2 Tablespoons chopped dill

Dill Sauce

• 1 tablespoon butter - compound butter made with dill
• 1 tablespoon flour
• ½ cup white wine
• ½ cup milk or vegetable stock

Instructions

Cod

• In a small bowl mix together the butter and the dill. (Compound butter or beurre composé is made by mixing ingredients such as herbs, shallots or white wine with butter).
• Place the cod fillet in a glass baking dish lightly sprayed with cooking oil. (Cook the fillets in large pieces and cut them into 8 oz serving portions after baking. This will help to keep the fish moist).
• Spread one half of the compound butter over the top of the fish, reserving the other half to create a sauce.
• Bake the cod uncovered for about 12 minutes. Remove the fish from the oven and lightly season with salt and pepper.

Dill sauce

• Over medium heat, melt butter in sauce pan, be careful not to burn the butter.
• Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens 4 – 5 minutes. (Cooking for this amount of time will minimize flour taste).
• Add the liquids to the Roux stirring constantly. Continue cooking slowly until smooth and thickened. Stir constantly to avoid scorching.  This is also known as a Bechamel Sauce or basic white sauce.

Notes

The most common reason that baked fish is dry is overcooking. Fish is done when it turns an opaque white color. Rely more on the color and consistency of the fish than the cooking time. Your fish should flake easily with a fork, but still be “moist” between the layers. Remember all food continues to cook after it is removed them from the oven.