Spanish chips (fries)

[switch007]

Hey. This might be a stupid question but those chips you get in restaurants (from the menu del dia and platos combinados), how do the spanish cook them? They were so good! Scrawny, but tasty!

[rebeca]

Hey. This might be a stupid question but those chips you get in restaurants (from the menu del dia and platos combinados), how do the spanish cook them? They were so good! Scrawny, but tasty!

I don't know a lot about cooking, but this is what I do know: you peel the potatoes, you slice them, and last, you fry them in oil until they are golden and... ready to eat!

[Pippa]

Olive oil, that is the trick. They are even better if you fry them slowly, take them off the pan, and then heat the oil until is very hot and then put them in again. They will be soft inside and with a nice golden colour.
They are really, very bad for you :naughty:

[switch007]

Hehe I know the general gist of home-made potatoes, I was just wondering what the Spanish did that was different - it must be the olive oil. I don't think many people here in the UK deep-fry with olive oil because it's expensive.

Thanks Pippa. Everything is OK in moderation :p

[ValenciaSon]

Maybe throw a tooth or two of garlic in he pan but take it out before it blackens.

[gary]

Hey. This might be a stupid question but those chips you get in restaurants (from the menu del dia and platos combinados), how do the spanish cook them? They were so good! Scrawny, but tasty!

I imagine they get them from the freezer and dump them in the deep fat fryer...

[richardksa]

I have often thought that I should start a school to teach making good chips here in Spain. Those soggy, greasy things they serve in restaurants are horrible. They are like white, oily worms and do not taste nice. :mad:

[gastephen]

Nah, forget about only chips. What you want is some good healthy wholesome traditional Scottish fayre.

Like this (http://blog.23x.net/13/what-is-a-deep-fried-pizza.html).

Or even this (http://current.com/items/76376622/deep_fried_scotland.htm). (Check out the Mars Bar at the end)

[Pippa]

I have often thought that I should start a school to teach making good chips here in Spain. Those soggy, greasy things they serve in restaurants are horrible. They are like white, oily worms and do not taste nice. :mad:
The main problem is that the potatoes have no flavour whatsoever. All fruit and most vegetables have much more flavour in Spain than in England, but not the potatoes.

[richardksa]

Not true. I can make excellent English style chips at home from Spanish potatoes. But is is true that not all potatoes grown here are up to the job. They have to be Galician! Anything else jost absorbs too much oil, won't be crispy and burn before they are cooked. Any chefs reading this, my courses are not expensive!!!! Cheap as chips, in fact. And now that HP sauce is available almost everywhere I am content. (Sorry about that. Sometimes my Guriness shows through!) ;)

[gary]

Not true. I can make excellent English style chips at home from Spanish potatoes. But is is true that not all potatoes grown here are up to the job. They have to be Galician! Anything else jost absorbs too much oil, won't be crispy and burn before they are cooked. Any chefs reading this, my courses are not expensive!!!! Cheap as chips, in fact. And now that HP sauce is available almost everywhere I am content. (Sorry about that. Sometimes my Guriness shows through!) ;)

What about the malt vinegar...?

[richardksa]

What about the malt vinegar...?
Not easy, but it can be found!;D

[ValenciaSon]

HP sauce, malt vinegar, that's not fries (chips) anymore, it's a salad. :rolleyes:

[gary]

A plate of chips is known as a Glasgow Salad

[MCP]

The main problem is that the potatoes have no flavour whatsoever. All fruit and most vegetables have much more flavour in Spain than in England, but not the potatoes.

Strawberries are much tastier in England, I think.

[greytop]

The larger supermarkets do have a wider choice of potatoes. Generally in the local shops though its white with the dirt on, washed white or pink :) The new potatoes are well worth searching for round this time of year.
We've found them OK, although having lived in the frozen North of GB I do miss the rarer breeds such as Keppleton kidney or a Shetland black. Even a good old King Edward in it's jacket would be welcome now and then.

P.S. Have a look in Decree's blog on Peru for some real variety. They know a tattie when they see one.

[Pippa]

Not true. I can make excellent English style chips at home from Spanish potatoes. But is is true that not all potatoes grown here are up to the job. They have to be Galician! Anything else jost absorbs too much oil, won't be crispy and burn before they are cooked. Any chefs reading this, my courses are not expensive!!!! Cheap as chips, in fact. And now that HP sauce is available almost everywhere I am content. (Sorry about that. Sometimes my Guriness shows through!) ;)
I am afraid that I do not usually cook chips, but I can tell you about the flavour of potatoes because I eat them boiled or mashed. The English boiled potatoes have much more flavour in England than in Spain, particularly the ones I used to buy in a country market. The flavour is much more subtle with boiled potatoes than with chips, as you can imagine.
I will have to try the galician ones.

[Pippa]

Strawberries are much tastier in England, I think.
I am going to have to disagree on that one. I love English strawberries, but I prefer Spanish ones.

[switch007]

Strawberries are much tastier in England, I think.
I have to disagree too! I used to buy a lot of strawberries from the fruit shop on the way home from work in Madrid, they were always superb. In summer, the ones in the supermarket come from nearby Hampshire, Kent and Sussex but still don't taste that great.

Thanks for the replies. Nothing can beat oven cooked sweet potatoes cooked with olive oil and some nutmeg.;D

[richardksa]

But not all stratberries are created equal. The things forced in Andalucian plastic tunnels will never be a patch on the "Cambridge Favourite", which I used to "Pick my Own" in the fields on the edge of the Fens. There is no better strawberry anywhere.
However, the Spanish habit of keeping them icy cold (at least by the Spanish famly I live with!) does nothing for their flavour. That said, it is rather nice to be enjoying the fruit now rather than wait for june.

[MCP]

Yes...pick your own is definitely the best...are there any Spanish equivalents?

[switch007]

However, the Spanish habit of keeping them icy cold (at least by the Spanish famly I live with!) does nothing for their flavour.
That is simply a crime. ;D

I haven't done PYO for yeaars and there are lots of them nearby to where I live haha I will do it this summer!

[ValenciaSon]

The small ones from Spain are the best!

[Pippa]

But not all stratberries are created equal. The things forced in Andalucian plastic tunnels will never be a patch on the "Cambridge Favourite", which I used to "Pick my Own" in the fields on the edge of the Fens. There is no better strawberry anywhere.
However, the Spanish habit of keeping them icy cold (at least by the Spanish famly I live with!) does nothing for their flavour. That said, it is rather nice to be enjoying the fruit now rather than wait for june.
I agree with you on your first statement. There is nothing like pick your own, you enjoy them more. I still find that Spanish strawberries are more tasty. The strawberries that appear in the shops from January are from those tunnels you refer to, and do not have much taste, but the real, yummy ones are in May, go to a good market and there is nothing like that.
Sobre gustos no hay disputa;)