Gebakken Aardappelen

My grandmother never called leftovers leftovers. In her kitchen they were morgenwerk, tomorrow's work, which is a more civilized way to speak about cold boiled potatoes sitting under a cloth. Gebakken aardappelen, fried potatoes, belonged to the evening after the proper potato meal, when the pan came out, the onion was cut small, and the house learned that thrift has a smell: butter, spek, and browning starch.

The name already tells you most of it, and that is its honesty. Aardappel means earth-apple, the Dutch name given to the potato when Europe was still deciding what to make of this strange tuber from across the Atlantic. Gebakken only means fried or baked, no poetry there. But let me tell you a secret: the poetry is in the second use. A boiled potato sliced cold fries better than a fresh one, because its starch has set overnight and its surface dries enough to take colour.

So don't fuss. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple. Use a wide pan, give the slices room, and resist the deeply human urge to stir every twenty seconds. The crust forms while you leave things alone, which is a lesson Dutch kitchens have been teaching longer than most books have been advising otherwise. Paprika is not ancient here, but it is now very much at home, a little red warmth in a frugal pan.