So between my epic Culinary Tours, I like to try to do some more cost saving challenges. Last time I did a Rice and Beans challenge, attempting to see how diverse Rice and Bean dishes can get.

This time I got excited about seeing how the simple Potato is prepared across the world.

Colcannon – Ireland

Cabbage, Leeks, Mashed Potatoes and lots of Butter.

Hasselback Potatoes – Sweden

I’m not sure I did them correctly, as they really just ended up tasting like a simple baked potato.

Pierogies – Poland

Mashed Potato filled Dumplings that are boiled and fried.

Warm Potato Salad – Germany

Light and tangy from a vinegar sauce rather than mayo.

Potato Leek Gratin – France

So cheesy and delicious, but I did not soak my leeks long enough to really clean them. So some bites were a bit gritty..

Sweet Potato Pie – The South

I was afraid I had added too much sugar, (actually, I did…) but it turned out really well.

Beer Battered Halibut and Chips – England

Because my fryer was occupied, I tried to bake my chips. I seemed to fail that and my chips turned out floppy rather than crispy..

Gnocchi with White Beans and Sauteed Kale – Italy

Dum Aloo – India

Indian Potato Curry. So so so failed. I did not have a mortar and pestle, my “gravy” turned out extremely thick and gritty with herbs. Tastewise, Indian curries are so delicious.

Yellow Curry – Thailand

Olivier Salad – Russia

It takes so damned long to cube all your ingredients perfectly. Once you do it though, you are left with a lovely potato salad. It calls to let your pickles drain well so they don’t over power the salad. In lieu, I think I ended up needing a smidge more salt.

In the end, it was a pretty fun challenge. Admittedly, I learned one thing: I really suck at cooking Potatoes! Half of them were not cooked long enough, and the other half were over cooked!

I also found there were far too many ways to cook them all. After a month, I was tired of potatoes! So I called it quits. I still have my eye on some recipes though. I focused mostly on European style potatoes. I think next time, for round 2, there are alot of interesting looking Central and South American styles I’d love to try.

Though the variance in flavors and styles was vast, its amazing how all across the world we still love our potatoes equally.