Potato

If you think mackerel is too fishy, this is the recipe that will change your mind. And if nothing else, you'll love the crispy potatoes.

Eat enough of these toxic fruits and vegetables, and you'll suffer the consequences.

In place of Stilton, you could use a creamy blue cheese, like Gorgonzola dolce, which is a little less assertive.

Losing the mashed potatoes would just be insane, but even classics can be tweaked. The tang of sour cream gives the illusion that this recipe is not as rich as the cream, butter, and milk would imply. The next day? Form leftover potatoes into cakes and fry them up—in butter, of course.

The key to gratins is having all the ingredients—whether they’re basic potatoes or the mixed root vegetables below—sliced the same thickness so they cook at the same rate. Make friends with a mandoline: It quickly yields precise, even slices.

Braising the fennel and simmering the potatoes in cream before assembling the gratin infuses them with extra flavor.

Bread and butter pickles add an appealing texture and vinegary kick; Creole mustard and a dash of hot sauce balance the sweetness. For the best flavor, chill this salad a few hours (or up to one day) before serving, so the flavors meld.

Whole grain mustard and olive oil take the place of traditional mayonnaise in this lightened version of potato salad. It’s an ideal complement to roast chicken for serving at any early fall picnic or casual Sunday supper.

Food52 founder Amanda Hesser's husband Tad makes excellent roasted potatoes, so they're often on the menu when she throws a dinner party.

This crispy potato cake is a decadent side that goes with almost everything—especially breakfast.

If you like, you can coat the pork with the coriander and chill it for an extra night before roasting for more flavor. It will also help the pork get a good sear.

Jarred kimchi delivers flavor and color in this roast chicken dish. Learn how to make this recipe and more in our online cooking class with Sur la Table.

This zesty mayo dip would also go well with sliced red bell peppers and celery sticks before dinner; it’s amazing how many vegetables kids will eat when they’re actually hungry.

Ask for the smallest lamb your butcher has (like those from New Zealand), or buy a 3½–4-lb. piece of a leg.

Salting the potatoes ahead of time draws out some of their liquid and guarantees they’re well seasoned.

Soaking the cut raw potatoes in water removes surface starch, which yields crispier fries and prevents them from clumping together as they cook. Make sure to dry them thoroughly so that they don't cause the hot oil to spatter when you add them to the pot.

Feel free to play with different herbs in the chimichurri recipe—that’s what Michael and Patrick Sheerin (brothers and co-chefs at Trenchermen, Chicago) have always done: “When we were younger, our mom would buy lots of herbs, but she’d never use them,” says Michael. “So we’d just blend them with garlic, oil, and vinegar.”

Use a metal cake tester or thin paring knife to check the potatoes; they should still hold their shape but offer no resistance when pierced.

Parcooking in vinegar water helps set the starches so the potatoes get crisp, rather than floury, when roasted.

For a hash with plenty of crisp texture, cook it over moderately high heat scraping and folding in the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as it cooks.

When cooked just right, the potatoes will be tender but should still hold their shape.

Here's a skillet hash browns recipe that justifies the existence of that food processor grating disk (you didn't throw it out, we hope). If you don't have one, a box grater will do.

No food is more associated with Ireland than the spud—which didn't appear there before the late 1600s. So what did people eat till then?