This week we focus on all the weird and wonderful things you can do with a potato and patat aka sweet potato.
As Sam the hobbit tells Smeagol in Lord of the Rings: “Po-ta-toes! Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew. Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish.”
The humble potato was first domesticated around 8000 years ago in South America, for which we are thankful because wat is ’n gatsby dan nou sonder chips?
On the Cape Flats, the spud is a staple, and in large families, a necessity to rek that pot to feed the many mouths.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve seen stalltjies selling R2 pakkie potatoes.
Mothers had to learn to perfect a brown stew or curry which would be incomplete without potatoes.
Mashing a spud or two toward the end of the cook will also ensure a lekker thick gravy.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes are very nutritious.
These fibrous carbohydrates are excellent sources of beta carotene, vitamin C and potassium.
It’s healthier with the peel on, and can be boiled, roasted, fried and baked.
Los daai skille op, but remember to give it a lekker scrub before use.
And potatoes are not only used in savoury food, they also make excellent desserts, I mean who hasn’t had a lekker potato pudding with stewed fruit yet?
The recipes this week are simple and above all, made with things you already have in the cupboard.
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