Par boiling potatoes? for Moussaka

[fawn]

I'm making a dish asking for par boiled potatoes.

Do i need to peel and slice 1/4"thick (that's what it says in the recipe) for it to cook easier?

then par boil it?

If i'm correct, par boil means boiling for a short period of time, but how short?

Should i boil the water first before putting the sliced potatoes in? Or Place it in the water then let it boil?

Should i put salt to the water to season it?

 

[GB]

What dish is it that you are making? If you post the recipe that will help us answer your question.

You do not want to boil the water before you put the potatoes in or they will get mushy. I would add salt though to flavor the potatoes.

 

[fawn]

I'll be making Moussaka

1/4 cup olive oil, plus
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup chopped ripe olives, preferably kalamata
2 lbs ground beef or ground lamb
15 ounces seasoned tomato sauce
2 large onions
2 garlic cloves
2 lbs eggplants
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
Bechamel Sauce
1/4 cup butter
2 cups hot milk
2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated kefalograviera cheese (use Parmesan if unavailable)
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In large, heavy saucepan, heat 1/4 cup oil; saute finely ground meat, onion (very finely chopped) and crushed garlic until lightly browned; add crushed oregano, crushed basil, cinnamon, salt, ripe olives and tomato sauce; Cover and simmer slowly about 30 minutes; uncover and simmer slowly another 30 minutes.
2. While sauce simmers, prepare Bechamel Sauce (recipe below) and eggplant; cut ends from eggplant (1 large or 2 small) and cut in 1/2-inch-thick slices (if using large, flask-type eggplant, peel the skin off in strips with a vegetable peeler - creating a striped look - with some of the peel left on and some off. If using Japanese-style (the longish, purply-white ones), don't bother to peel at all); Place on a cookie sheet and brush with remaining olive oil; Place under broiler and broil until light brown; Remove from oven, salt lightly, turn eggplant and repeat process; Then position rack in center of oven and heat to 350 degrees.
3. There are three ways you can prepare the potatoes for this delicious casserole: 1) shallow-fry potato rounds in olive oil until golden-brown or, 2) for fewer calories, arrange the potato slices in your baking pan, brush lightly with olive oil, bake for 15 minutes, continue with assembly, or 3) if you want to cut calories further, parboil them for 8 minutes; drain well on paper towels.
4. To assemble: In 13x9x2-inch baking dish, arrange layer of potatoes, overlapping slightly, season lightly (there will be only one layer of potatoes, so use them all up); next, do a layer of eggplant; sprinkle some Parmesan, cheddar and bread crumbs over eggplant; layer meat sauce, freshly grated cheeses, crumbs and Bechamel Sauce until all is used; bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until flecked golden-brown on top.
5. To make Bechamel Sauce: In saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat; whisk in flour and cook slowly until smooth and lightly cooked (2-3 minutes); add salt and remove from heat; add milk, whisking rapidly and return to heat; cook until thick and bubbly, whisking constantly; allow to cool 5 minutes, whisking once in a while to prevent a skin from forming; incorporate slightly beaten eggs and grated cheese with wire whisk to make fluffy sauce.
6. Freezer Notes: Once the baked moussaka has completely cooked, cut serving-size pieces, double-wrap in foil and freeze. Defrost in the usual manner and reheat in microwave (or oven) for a delicious, quick meal, when there's little time to cook and dinner is ready and waiting in the freezer!

 

[GB]

You would want to par boil them before cutting them up. The re3cipe states you do that for 8 minutes. If you sliced them first then 8 minutes would be too long.

 

[fawn]

ahh, thanks for noting that out. silly me.

Do u place the potatoes in cold water, then start timing, until 8 min. then remove the potatoes?

sorry for asking too many questions

 

[GB]

LOL don't worry about asking questions. That is what we are here for

You would place them in cold (or room temp) water and turn the heat on. Start timing once the water starts to boil.

 

[fawn]

ok, got it! thanks!

 

[GB]

Let us know how it turns out

 

[RPCookin]

I have to sort of question this.... if you don't cut the potatoes first, will they actually get done evenly? I know that here in Denver (boiling temp is only 206 degrees), 8 minutes on a quartered potato is still raw except maybe for the very ourside 1/8" or so. Cut into 1/4" slices they would likely cook more evenly...

 

[Mark Webster]

I agree entirely with GB. RP, I would always peel and cut the potatoes first before par boiling them. In Fawns recipe it calls for 1/4" potatoes which are considered small diced. Thats a lot different from quartered potatoes which would take longer to par boil.
Fawn, could I ask where you found the Moussaka recipe? Having lived in Greece I can't remember seeing one quite like that.
Thanks,
Mark

 

[fawn]

I parboiled the potatoes!!

I first peel then sliced 1/4"thick, place it in cold water. Let it boil about 5min, turn off heat. Then let it sit for around 15-30min before draining. and they were done, not too mushy and not too hard either, just right.

Mark Webster I got the recipe from www.recipezaar.com. You can check it out, the recipe number's 59130. I think the recipe originated from Turkey. Try it, its fabulous, the better if you love eggplant =)

 

[patch]

I would pre-slice for convenience but the timing doesn't look too critical. The dish is getting a further 45 minutes' cooking. However, I usually make it with eggplant.

 

[fawn]

patch, you mean, you cook the potatoes with eggplant. I have to broil the eggplant , it took a lot of work.

Are cooked mouussaka's egglplant suppose to be mushy or just tender, but you can bite into it ?

 

[Michael in FtW]

Having your recipe to look at sure makes it a lot easier to answer some of your questions, fawn. Basically - follow the recipe and do what it says to do!

In the ingredients it says, "2 Large potatoes - peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds" so yes, you peel and cut them first.

As for cooking them - step 3 gives you 3 options. The thrid option is to parboil - parboiling is only partially cooking something in boiling water ... if you cook them until done they will be overcooked when the casserole is baked in the oven for another 45 minutes. The water should be brought to a boil, then the potatoes added, stirred and the timer started - at the end of the 8 minutes they should be removed from the water, drained and spread out to cool - residual heat will continue to cook them some more as they cool off.

I have a couple of Greek cookbooks that I picked up at Greek festivals and a couple I found over the internet (compiled and sold by the women of the church) that sometimes use potatoes in addition to the eggplant. But seeing cheddar cheese in this recipe was like dragging fingernails across a blackboard to my tastebuds! That's like putting ketchup on sushi!

I'll post the recipe I use a little later tonight - after the Yankee-Ranger game.

 

[fawn]

thanks michael!