As the title says, anyone got a cheap recipe for potatoes? I want to learn how to cook and I want to start from potatoes since fried potatoes are my favorite snack.

Well, you can buy potatoes pretty cheaply in most countries, right? So just scrub the potatoes really really well and rinse them, first, until there's no dirt or anything left on the peel. When they're clean, pat them dry, cut them into either slices or wedges, and then put them in a pan with a little vegetable oil. You can use whatever seasoning you want, but if it's a dark seasoning then you should probably wait until after cooking, so that you can see the potato's color and tell when it's done. Just turn the heat to about medium, stand back a little so you don't get popped with oil, and watch them carefully! When they start sizzling gently, let them be for a few moments and then check for doneness. When the slices start getting golden brown, or a little darker I that's how you like them, flip them over and do it again! If they're not tender yet but are getting brown, try adding a lid to your pan for a short while as they cook. Steaming them like this can help cook them well. When both sides are cooked nicely, add salt and pepper as you like! If you used too much oil on the potatoes you might need to drain them, so put them carefully on some paper towels for a few minutes. Then unless you want more seasonings, you're just about done! Transfer to a dish and eat them up with ketchup or dip or whatever you eat fried potatoes with. :) I like mine with ketchup and a sandwich.

This isn't anything like fried potatoes, but norwegian potato cakes are really good, and besides potatoes require only flour, a pinch of salt, and a very tiny amount of water or milk. I'll link a recipe below but essentially all you need to do is:

- Boil potatoes and let them rest until they're cold. Using leftover potatoes is also fine. Some kinds are easier to knead and mix with the flour (like almond potatoes), but you can probably use most sorts.

- Mash them thouroughly; the more they're mashed, the easier it will to mix the potatoes with the flour. Add half a teaspoon of salt. How much flour you want to add depend highly on taste (as in, there is no "right" amount of flour to add relative to the potatoes), but don't add more than 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix with the potatoes. Of course, if you use too much flour, the cakes won't taste of anything, so be a bit careful.

- Knead it until you have something resembling a dough. If you're having trouble with making a proper dough, then add tiny amounts of water or milk until you're satisfied. Your dough should still be really dry though (alternatively, try another potato sort if you cant make it work. making these cakes can be really hard, and does take some practice to get right).

- Divide your dough into parts and roll them out into the size of a small tortilla. The thinner they are, the tastier they usually will be. It depends on a bit on taste, but potato cakes generally should not be thicker than a crepe.

- Finally, fry them on a griddle or a frying pan. Use butter on the griddle/pan, never oil. Flip the cakes a lot while they fry; depending on thickness, they shouldn't need more than 2-3 minutes on the pan. Eat them while they're warm.

Potato cakes these days are usually eaten as a desert or as a breakfast/"snack" item, so they tend to be served with jam, butter and sugar, or brown cheese.


https://recipereminiscing.wordpress.com/traditional-norwegian-potato-cakes/

https://goldilockskitchen.com/2018/02/norwegian-lefse-potato-flatbread.html

I deleted my earlier reply because I misread the post. However, hotteok is a simple and cheap dish to make with potatoes. It is a popular korean street food which is like a potato pancake filled with cheese. I will leave a link to recipe below. The recipe calls for rice flour to give the potato dough the chewy consistency but I find that using tapioca flour works just fine as a substitute. Also as I have a preference for savory foods, I cut back on the sugar the recipe recommends. The process is similar to making a croquette so if you ever want to make potato croquettes, I suppose hotteok skills are transferable. Anyway, heres the recipe.Luck.

https://jajabakes.com/korean-potato-cheese-pancakes/

I know it's super basic but mashed potatoes are probably the easiest potato dish I can think of.

Simply peel the potatoes and boil them in water until they're soft (you can leave the skins on if you're feeling rustic). If you're using medium or large potatoes, cut them up into smaller chunks so they cook faster. Then when they're soft enough for a fork to smush, drain the water out and season it in a separate bowl or even in the same pot. From there it's up to you how mashed/smooth/chunky you want it to be and how you want it to taste.

Some basic things to add are butter, salt and pepper, and some milk/cream for smoothness. All the measurements are to taste so put in a little bit at a time until you get what you want flavor- and texture-wise. Some other things you can add if you want to make the mashed potatoes more interesting is cheese, sour cream, chives, bacon bits, basically anything else that can go on a loaded baked potato.

Once you know what type of mashed potatoes you like, you can use it as a side for most any other dish, eat it on its own with other stuff mixed in, use it to top shepherd's pie, etc.