Instructions
Seasonality is the blessing and the bane of a chef’s life.
The joy we feel at the first glimpse we get of our favourite ingredients is matched only by our downcast mourning as they pass along again, not to been enjoyed for another of the earth’s cycles.
For example, each year I make a cook’s oath to remember that first perfect sweetness of the year’s initial mango, but by Christmas my world is always a blur of tropical flavours, and that opening fascination has become mired in overindulgence.
But just occasionally, and it is all too rare, we are permitted to relish one special ingredient twice in the same season. Perhaps we don’t include them often enough in our diet, or maybe they’ve been too pricey. Or perhaps, as is the case with kipfler potatoes this year, we are blessed with a second helping courtesy of a longer than expected growing season and a bumper crop from the Southern Highlands.
Whatever the cause I’m delighted, because the kipfler is the highest point in the world of spuds. And my second discovery of them for the year was just a engaging as the first.
But whenever I talk about this delicious finger potato, the same question is always asked – how do you peel them. Well the answer is stranger than you might expect. You don’t. At least you don’t peel them while they’re raw.
The best way to peel a kipfler (or any very fine-skinned potato) is to do it when they’ve been cooked. This is because the skin lifts slightly, and separates from the starchy flesh below. Steam them over a saucepan of simmering water for 20 minutes, until they are tender and a knife can be inserted easily. Then, using a kitchen cloth to protect your hand, hold them steady while you use a small knife to gently peel away the skin.
Once you’ve got that done, they’re up for pretty much anything. But my favourite way to enjoy a kipfler is one of the most traditional. Pommes meuniere – spuds cooked with parsley, lemon and garlic. Deliciously simple, and simply delicious.
Kipfler potatoes Meuniere