Crash Hot Potatoes

Get ready to be delighted with these delicious Crash Hot Potatoes!

Side Delights^® potatoes sponsors this post through Kitchen PLAY; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A few months ago, I had an excellent opportunity to interview a potato farmer and learn a bit more about the industry.

I was taken aback by just how much goes into getting those potatoes from the farm to our table. I’m sure you will enjoy learning a bit about this as well.

What is Potato Farming?

I interviewed Mr. Kelly Grotte from MG Farms in North Dakota. In his family, they are a 5-generation farming family. Isn’t that amazing?

Honestly, these are the experts on farming when it’s literally been in their DNA since birth – it’s fundamentally what they know, living it every single day.

The area that Mr. Grotte lives in, known as the Red River Valley, is a productive land that does well with potatoes, which are a cash crop.

They are actually in an area that has an ancient lake bed, as the lake receded there were nutrients in the ground that benefit the potatoes. I find it interesting that literally they are being grown at the bottom of a dried-up lake too.

How do you grow potatoes?

It all starts with the potato seed. Potatoes have many diseases, so the seed has to be clean and started from a seed pod.

These grow out into what they call ‘mini tubers’ which are cut into pieces and planted.

After about 3-4 months, harvesters come and dig up the potatoes, and then they bring them into storage. Potatoes can be kept in air-conditioned storage for up to a year.

Once the potatoes are ready to ship out, they go through a wash process. They are washed with water and separated by size.

The farmer gets orders from all over the US and then semi-trucks come to get them. Fifty thousand pounds of potatoes fit on each truck! They haul them as far as southern Florida (they typically go from the East Coast to the Southern states.)

The one thing I noticed throughout learning about potato growing, is that it isn’t a quick process. It’s a very long process that takes lots of time and patience to get potatoes to our tables.

One of the biggest challenges a potato farmer faces is with the weather –. If it gets too wet or too dry, it can easily hurt the crop.

I asked Mr. Grotte if he ever gets tired of eating potatoes. He said, “no.” His family eats potatoes almost every single day and that their favorite recipe is these Crash Hot Potatoes.

My family tried this recipe, and we are hooked! It’s like a mix between potato chips and baked potatoes. They are so easy to make too.

What do you need to make Crash Hot Potatoes?

• 12 Side Delights® whole small red potatoes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Rosemary

It’s time to make these delicious Crash Hot Potatoes with Side Delights!