Tired of the same old boiled or mashed potatoes? I wanted to share a very simple way of preparing potatoes and two tasty recipes to go along. Anyone can do it, it's that simple. Almost no cooking skill needed.
In my country potatoes prepared in this way are called pole (it's an abbreviation from polovice, or "halves"). It's a traditional meal in the mountainous region of Lika, where potatoes have been the nutritional mainstay since the 18th century.
You'll need potatoes, some salt, an oven and a baking tray. Wash the potatoes and cut them in half. If the potatoes are organic/haven't been treated, you don't have to peel their skin! Spread some salt on the flat top of each half and rub it in. Lay the potato halves on the baking tray, flat side up (baking paper optional). Put the tray in the oven, preheated to 200 °C. Baking time depends on the size of the potatoes and can range anywhere between 30 and 50 minutes. When they're done, the upper half should get a gold-brown color, like this:
![[Image: licki_11poleivposuda.jpg]](http://oblizeki.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/licki_11poleivposuda.jpg)
When they're done, remove the tray from the oven and let the potato halves cool off a bit. And that's it! As you can see, simplicity is the best thing about this recipe - if you use baking paper, you don't even have to wash the tray. Whereas when preparing boiled or mashed potatoes, you'll always have a pot to wash afterwards.
Pole can be eaten in many ways (with sour cream, cheese, bacon etc), but let me share two handy little recipes:
Pole with cottage cheese spread
The ingredients for the spread are:
-cottage cheese
-chopped cucumbers
-chopped garlic
-some olive oil
-some chopped bacon (of course, if you're cutting, you'll probably have to do without it)
-parsley, salt is optional since you've already salted the potato halves
Simply mix everything together and the spread is done. You can eat pole with this spread in two ways - you can put the spread on top of them and eat with hand; or, you can peel the potato skin, chop them into small cubes and mix with the spread, and eat everything with a spoon. The spread will be cold, but you don't necessarily have to cool the potatoes as well.
Potato-fish salad (of sorts)
As the name implies, it's a potato and fish salad. I just tried this out for dinner, it tasted pretty well. Ingredients:
-pole, chopped into small cubes (but they must be cooled off)
-smoked fish fillet from your local supermarket, chopped into pieces. You can use tuna, salmon, trout...any fish will do.
-some chopped vegetables. I personally prefer tomatoes and/or cucumbers.
-chopped garlic and onion
-salt, pepper, parsley
-a tablespoon or two of yogurt, plain or Greek, to bind the ingredients together.
-some olive oil.
Mix everything in a bowl and that's it.
As you've probably noticed, for both recipes I didn't specify the amount of each ingredient. You'll have to experiment and find out what's your ideal combination. You can also add/remove ingredients as you wish. In any way, you'll get a simple, hassle-free nutritious meal. Enjoy!
In my country potatoes prepared in this way are called pole (it's an abbreviation from polovice, or "halves"). It's a traditional meal in the mountainous region of Lika, where potatoes have been the nutritional mainstay since the 18th century.
You'll need potatoes, some salt, an oven and a baking tray. Wash the potatoes and cut them in half. If the potatoes are organic/haven't been treated, you don't have to peel their skin! Spread some salt on the flat top of each half and rub it in. Lay the potato halves on the baking tray, flat side up (baking paper optional). Put the tray in the oven, preheated to 200 °C. Baking time depends on the size of the potatoes and can range anywhere between 30 and 50 minutes. When they're done, the upper half should get a gold-brown color, like this:
When they're done, remove the tray from the oven and let the potato halves cool off a bit. And that's it! As you can see, simplicity is the best thing about this recipe - if you use baking paper, you don't even have to wash the tray. Whereas when preparing boiled or mashed potatoes, you'll always have a pot to wash afterwards.
Pole can be eaten in many ways (with sour cream, cheese, bacon etc), but let me share two handy little recipes:
Pole with cottage cheese spread
The ingredients for the spread are:
-cottage cheese
-chopped cucumbers
-chopped garlic
-some olive oil
-some chopped bacon (of course, if you're cutting, you'll probably have to do without it)
-parsley, salt is optional since you've already salted the potato halves
Simply mix everything together and the spread is done. You can eat pole with this spread in two ways - you can put the spread on top of them and eat with hand; or, you can peel the potato skin, chop them into small cubes and mix with the spread, and eat everything with a spoon. The spread will be cold, but you don't necessarily have to cool the potatoes as well.
Potato-fish salad (of sorts)
As the name implies, it's a potato and fish salad. I just tried this out for dinner, it tasted pretty well. Ingredients:
-pole, chopped into small cubes (but they must be cooled off)
-smoked fish fillet from your local supermarket, chopped into pieces. You can use tuna, salmon, trout...any fish will do.
-some chopped vegetables. I personally prefer tomatoes and/or cucumbers.
-chopped garlic and onion
-salt, pepper, parsley
-a tablespoon or two of yogurt, plain or Greek, to bind the ingredients together.
-some olive oil.
Mix everything in a bowl and that's it.
As you've probably noticed, for both recipes I didn't specify the amount of each ingredient. You'll have to experiment and find out what's your ideal combination. You can also add/remove ingredients as you wish. In any way, you'll get a simple, hassle-free nutritious meal. Enjoy!