There are many potato varieties in our lives and, as is logical, we know very little about them at the user level. Monalisa, kennebec, yellow, sour, spunta, red pontiac… In fact it is estimated that In our country we usually work with about 150 different varietiesalthough producers and distribution end up bringing them together to make their use easier.
To fry, to cook, to roast or for all uses These are names that we usually see in new potatoes and old potatoes in our markets and supermarkets, overlooking the variety itself, which can be appreciated.
From there we take out the recipe book and we can think of an endless number of preparations such as fried potatoes, boiled potatoes, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes or the entire collection of preparations that carry them as protagonists or as secondary actresses.
However, chef Karlos Arguiñano is clear about what kind of potatoes we should not use in our stews. Not because they are going to make us feel bad, obviously, but the popular and television chef is clear that there is a certain type of potato that he does not deserve to use in stews or casseroles.
It doesn’t matter if they are vegetable stews, meat stews or fish stews; and it doesn’t even matter if they are stewed potatoes, because the result will not be perfect. It is logical that it will not be bad, but the chef from Beasain is clear that he is not going to be the best.
This is how he maintained it almost 30 years ago when he published the book The menu of each dayedited by RTVE and Ediciones del Serval, which was a real bestseller in the 90’s and that was even replicated by Círculo de Lectores.
In it, Karlos Arguiñano stipulated in his tricks section a key to choose the best potatoes for stews. Also, as is logical, remember the importance that the potatoes for these types of recipes should be cracked and not cut, as this will allow the starch to thicken our dishes.
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For this reason, the Gipuzkoan chef left in writing that “new potatoes are more whole, and therefore they thicken stews less”, which is why he did not recommend that they be used —unless there is no other option— to prepare stews.
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