Sautéed potatoes

I used to make sautéed potatoes quite regularly, but until recently I’d fallen out of the habit.

When one of the girls has a friend round after school, the accepted thing is to feed the child some dinner before they are collected at 6pm. Our family normally eats quite late, so for playdates I’ll usually cook a separate kids’ meal.

I play it safe on these occasions, ever since I made a little girl cry by serving her a bowl of chickpea pasta soup. Schnitzel, meatballs, pesto pasta, fish fingers and chips, sausages and mash are all good bets.

To that end, I keep a bag of oven chips in the freezer. When I discovered I’d run out the other day, I decided to make sautéed potatoes instead, which I presented as “square chips”. “Actually, these are cuboids, mum,” Lyra pointed out. Our guest was more concerned about the bits of thyme, which she carefully removed from each cuboid chip before popping it into her mouth.

Sautéed potatoes
(serves 4)

• 6 waxy potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-size cubes
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tb olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• salt and pepper

1. Place the potatoes in a saucepan with the water and salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 3-4 minutes only (they should still be undercooked).
2. Drain the potatoes and pat dry with paper towel.
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, sprinkle with thyme and sauté for five minutes, stirring regularly until crisp on the outside and soft within.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tags: dairy-free, gluten-free, potatoes, vegan, vegetarian