crispy potatoes with mushrooms
I like to think that I made a smashing impression on my Russian in-laws when I met them — at the time, I didn’t eat meat or, more importantly, smoked fish. I remain staunch in my dislike of beets. And shortly after we got married I started talking about quitting my day job to… blog full time. But I took a liking to pickles immediately. I make a pretty solid eggplant caviar, because I learned from the best. I’ve since figured out Honey Cake and Russian Napoleon. And although the vegetarian options were limited at the time when we first met at the Russian Vodka Room, I quickly discovered my favorite Russian comfort food, fried potatoes and mushrooms (kartoshka s’gribami).
I’ve ordered it at every Russian restaurant since. There are about as many variations on potatoes and mushrooms as there are people scattered from Russia and the former Soviet republics who enjoy it. I don’t think I’ve ever had two of the same versions twice, but I’ve yet to find one I didn’t like. Sometimes the potatoes are baton-shaped, like french fries, sometimes diced, sometimes in chunks or discs, but they are always fried. Yet when I make it at home, although I have no quibble frying potatoes (I’ll share directions below if you’d like to) I find it easier to just roast them like oven cottage fries while I prepare the mushrooms on the stove. This dish is pure comfort food and coziness. It’s inexpensive and while it’s often served among several other dishes, zakuski-style, you absolutely can and should, given the dreary weather, have it in a big bowl for dinner tonight.
Podcast! Friends, I’m starting a podcast with none other than J. Kenji Lopez-Alt where we get to obsess over our favorite subjects: home cooking and recipes, with a heavy lean towards comfort foods and nostalgia. The Recipe With Kenji and Deb will launch later this month from PRX from Radiotopia and you’ll be able to listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts. The podcast website is coming soon, but in the meanwhile you can find updates on the Instagram.
Previously
6 months ago: Buffalo Chicken Cobb Salad
1 year ago: Cauliflower Salad with Dates and Pistachios
2 years ago: Spanakopita
3 year ago: Parmesan Oven Risotto
4 years ago: Roasted Squash and Tofu with Ginger
5 years ago: Plush Coconut Cake
6 years ago: Sheet Pan Meatballs with Crispy Turmeric Chickpeas
7 years ago: Chocolate Dutch Baby
8 years ago: Blood Orange, Almond, and Ricotta Cake and Cabbage and Sausage Casserole
9 years ago: Key Lime Pie and Make Your Own Vanilla Extract
10 years ago: Pear and Hazelnut Muffins and Warm Lentil and Potato Salad
11 years ago: Lentil Soup with Sausage, Chard, and Garlic
12 years ago: Buttermilk Roast Chicken
13 years ago: Baked Potato Soup
14 years ago: Black Bean Soup + Toasted Cumin Seed Crema and Cranberry Syrup and an Intensely Almond Cake
15 years ago: Clementine Cake and Mushroom Bourguignon
16 years ago: Chicken Caesar Salad and Fried Chicken
17 years ago: Grapefruit Yogurt Cake
Russian-Style Crispy Potatoes and Mushrooms
I’m using fingerlings and cremini mushrooms from the Union Square Greenmarket, lucky me, but I usually make this with yukon gold potatoes and any mix of mushrooms that looks good at the store.
- 1 1/2 pounds (680 grams) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled if you wish, cut into 1/4-inch slices
- Olive oil
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter, divided
- 1 small onion, diced (1 heaped cup)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound (455 grams) cremini or other mushroom, thinly sliced
- Sour cream
- A handful of fresh dill
Potatoes
Mushrooms
To serve
To roast the potatoes: [Frying directions at the end.] Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, for ease. Toss potatoes with a generous amount of olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper and spread them out on the prepared sheet in one layer. Roast for 30 minutes on the first side and 10 minutes on the second, until golden all over.
Meanwhile, make the mushrooms and onions: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once hot, add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onions are soft and deeply golden throughout, about 7 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat if they’re browning much faster. Scoop onions from the pan and set aside in a bowl.
Rewarm the empty pan (bumping back to medium-high if you reduced the heat) and once the pan is very hot, add 1 more tablespoon of butter. Once melted, add mushrooms in as flat of a layer as you can. Don’t move them for 2 to 3 minutes, until browned underneath. Stir, spread flat again, and repeat the process once or twice. Then, add the minced garlic and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and continue to cook, cooking off any liquid that’s been expelled from the mushrooms, until mushrooms are tender and delicious, a few minutes more. Add reserved onions and last tablespoon of butter and stir to combine, rewarming the mushrooms and melting the butter.
Assemble: Arrange potatoes on a platter and heap with mushrooms and onions. Sprinkle with dill and serve with a generous dollop of sour cream.
To fry your potatoes: Place potatoes in a skillet deep enough to hold them with an inch on top and pour a high-heat oil (peanut or vegetable oil work great) to just barely cover them. Turn heat to high, yes high, and bring it to a boil. Without moving the potatoes, cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re crisp and golden, adding another 5 minutes if needed. Only if necessary for even cooking, you can stir them in the last 5 to 8 minutes. Drain (the oil can be strained and reused) and spread on paper towels to blot, and season immediately with salt and pepper. Serve with the mushrooms from above.
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