These small, naturally buttery potatoes could be served plain, but they are
absolutely delicious with a smattering of dill and a dollop of garlicky sour cream.
You could say that the delicate golden-skinned potatoes in Helsinki’s Kauppatori market are the essence of… potato-ness.
Or you might not.
But in these little tubers—most are the size of ping pong balls—the sublime nature of the potato is revealed. They are most certainly not biogenetically engineered, steroidal, tasteless lumps of starch that require slatherings of butter and generous pinches of salt for any sort of flavor.
No, these are potatoes that could be eaten naked. Sautee them whole, in a few drops of olive oil, over a low flame until they yield gently to your touch and their skins are wrinkly and lightly browned. Now bite. Their pale yellow flesh is soft and creamy, with a taste that is both buttery and earthy. There is an undertone of sweetness, as if the potato has put every bit of its energy into reaching the peak of flavor during the short summer growing season.
There are all sorts of Finnish potatoes with wonderful names. I was at Kauppatori in June, so I might have eaten an early potato called Hankkja Timo. There are also Van Goghs and Nicolas, and in the fall, an “almond potato” called Lapin Puikula, traditionally served with reindeer stew and lingonberry jam in Lapland, Finland’s northernmost province.
But whatever their names, Finnish potatoes fall squarely into the “waxy” category, due to the high level of a polymer known as amylopectin. This makes them good for roasting and for potato salads, but not for baking or French fries. (Starchy russets have lots of another polymer called amylose.)
Back in the nineties, the Waldorf Astoria apparently served Finnish potatoes with lobster, foie gras and truffle vinaigrette. They are that good. But at Kauppatori, you can get them the way they really should be eaten—on a paper plate, sizzling hot from a saute pan, sprinkled with a little salt, flecked with fresh dill, and drizzled with garlicky sour cream. Bliss.
The Finns, by the way, do love their potatoes. (They eat about 60 kilos annually.) The Times of London recently quoted a 36-year-old divorcee on her affair with Finland’s Prime Minister: “Oven baked potatoes are what Matti loves above all else….Once after kissing me he said I taste better than an oven-baked potato. That was great!”
Two kinds of potatoes for sale outside a food stall at Helsinki's Kauppatori market.
Recipe: Almost Naked Finnish Potatoes with Dill and Garlicky Sour Cream
I didn't bother to peel the potatoes since their skins are so fragile and delicious. But you can certainly peel them, if you wish, as they do in the food stalls at Kauppatori.
To serve 4 as a side dish:
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds of very small Finnish potatoes (see note)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large clove garlic, grated, or to taste
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
Method:
1. Rinse the potatoes and dry them well. Coat the bottom of large sautee pan with the olive oil. Warm the pan over medium heat. When it is hot, add the potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium low and sauté the potatoes for 3 minutes, tossing and coating them with oil on all sides.
2. Cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Turn them every 5 minutes to prevent them from browning too quickly. If necessary, add a few drops more olive oil and reduce the heat to low to keep them from burning.
3. While they are cooking, mix the sour cream and garlic in a bowl and set aside.
4. When the potatoes are soft and their skins are wrinkly and slightly browned, toss them in the pan with salt and pepper to taste. Add the dill and toss again. Cook for another minute and remove from the flame.
5. Serve the potatoes in a bowl with garlic sour cream on the side. They are delicious with grilled or roasted salmon and a salad of frisee, endive and raddiccio dressed with olive oil and white balsamic vinegar.
Note: I used Melissa’s Yellow Baby Dutch Potatoes. Maybe they are Dutch, but they have a buttery sweet flavor similar to the Finnish potatoes I tasted in Helsinki. You could substitute baby Yukon Gold potatoes or wait for the yellow Finnish potatoes that will appear in markets this fall. Whichever potatoes you use, they should be no larger than 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter.