Perfect boiled potatoes: cooking times and tips for peeling them quickly

How to cook and peel boiled potatoes in the right way: cooking methods and times for a perfect result.

Boiled potatoes are among the most popular foods in the kitchen and are excellent if eaten alone or if used to prepare timbales and flans. If they are not cooked in the right way there is a risk that they will remain raw or that they are overcooked and flake. When they are too hot or if they remain hard inside it can happen that they break or that the peel does not come off easily and you burn .

Let’s see how to cook boiled potatoes in the right way, following some effective and very fast methods.

How to make boiled potatoes

1. The first step to boiling potatoes in the best way is to make a slight incision in the skin with a knife. Do not cut into the pulp, otherwise the potato will fall apart during cooking.
2. The second step is to completely immerse the potatoes in water with a pinch of salt . The secret to perfect cooking is to immerse the potatoes in cold , not hot water.
3. As for the cooking mode, it is important to keep the flame to a minimum , so that the potatoes can cook evenly. The cooking time of boiled potatoes, on the other hand, is about 30 or 40 minutes after the start of boiling. However, the minutes may vary according to the size of the potatoes. The smaller they are, the shorter the cooking time.
4. Finally, to check if the boiled potatoes have finished cooking you have to skewer them with a fork , if the prongs pierce the potato easily enough but without breaking it it means that the potatoes are cooked.

How to peel potatoes the right way

When they are cooked, take a flat ladle with holes and remove one potato at a time. Then immerse them in a container full of cold water and ice . Wait about 20 seconds and you will see that, with a slight pressure, the peel will come off by itself. Place your fingertips in the middle of the potato and remove the peel outwards. This trick is also used to cool them in a short time, so you can peel them one by one without losing a few fingers.

Boiled potatoes in the microwave

If you are looking for a way to make this dish even faster and easier, you can use the microwave.

1. Once peeled, cut the potatoes into equal pieces.
2. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and then cover them with water. At this point close with a sheet of transparent film and make holes on the surface, so as to let the steam escape.
3. Cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, and enjoy your meal!

Recipes with boiled potatoes

At this point you can use the potatoes to eat them with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt, or to prepare delicious timbales, salads or savory pies together with fresh seasonal vegetables.

If you want to make a potato salad you can dress them with a homemade sauce with mayonnaise, lemon, mustard and chives, or using the yogurt sauce .

For a classic, however, you can prepare fantastic octopus with potatoes, blanching the octopus and then seasoning to taste!

Calories from Boiled Potatoes: Do They Make You Fat?

The nutritional values of boiled potatoes (per 100 g of product) are:

• Energy: 86 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 20 g
• Of which sugars: 1 g
• Fat: 0 g
• Proteins: 2 g
• Dietary fiber: 2 g

If consumed in reasonable quantities, boiled and peeled potatoes are definitely a food suitable for a diet!

Photo source: https://pixabay.com/it/patate-verdure-di-patate-timo-olio-3012769/