Boiled Potatoes

Use a waxy, salad, or general purpose potato.

1. Wash any dirt off the potatoes and (unless they are already miniature or baby new potatoes) chop them into chunks about 3-4cm square.  The smaller you make the chunks, the quicker they will cook. The potatoes in the picture below were miniature ones so some remained whole and the larger ones were halved.
   
2. Put them into a pot and fill the pot with just enough cold, salted water, to cover the potatoes.  If you have fresh mint to hand, it is nice to put a sprig or two in the water. Put the lid on and bring the pot to the boil.
   
3. Check the potatoes regularly as you don’t want to overcook them.  They are cooked when the point of a knife pierces the skin and goes into the centre of the potato easily.  This is usually around 10 minutes boiling but might be anywhere from 8-12 minutes depending on how large the chunks are and how many potatoes you are cooking. Test them after 8 minutes.
   
4. Drain the potatoes and (if desired) put them back in a pot with 1-2 Tablespoons of butter.  Let the residual heat of the pan melt the butter.  Stir the potatoes in the melted butter and add a sprinkling of salt and a grind of pepper.  You can also add some chopped fresh parsley or mint leaves.