Cottage fries start with pressure cooked Idaho russets. Add green onions and fry in grassfed ghee, olive oil, and LFG copycat Lawry's salt. Get the recipe!
Cottage fries are tender, savory and satisfying, but they involve lectin-laden Idaho russet potatoes. I'll show you how to have your potatoes and eat them too.
Start with real Idaho russets, and "de-lectinize" them in the pressure cooker. It's an easy step that lets you enjoy an occasional potato if you just can't live without them.
Dr. Gundry, the founder of the Plant Paradox plan, says potatoes are on the NO list for a couple of reasons. Potatoes are night shades. Nobody ate a potato until 500 years ago. They contain potato starch, which doesn't have lectin, but has the wrong kind of resistant starch known as R2. Just as there are good and bad lectins, there are also good and bad resistant starches.
R2 starch is known to feed only our bad gut bugs. And when these bad guys take over, things can really go "sour" in our digestive tract. Best to stick with foods that contain the resistant starches our good gut buddies like to eat, like those in sweet potatoes and other tubers and roots.
But if you miss your old cottage fries made with real Idaho russets, there is a way! Enter our old friend the pressure cooker. Now, it took me a little while to accept the modern pressure cooker. I grew up with an original, manual-sealing pressure cooker with the spinning, spitting hockey puck that sometimes flew off and hit people in the eye. Then the Boston Marathon terrorists used this same device to blow up an event.
Needless to say, I was a bit scared of pressure cooking when I first adopted a lectin free lifestyle. But I'm over it. The Instant Pot is now one of my favorite tools in my lectin free kitchen. It enables me to eliminate lectins and enjoy beans, potatoes, tomatoes, squash and all kinds of other lectin bombs. A few minutes in the pressure cooker can zap most lectins (except corn and wheat). So fear not, my friends, the pressure cooker is a good thing.
If you don't yet own one, here's a basic model I like from Amazon. And, it's on sale! You can buy this one, or search Amazon for other models with more features. But for me, this one is all I need.
Now, to eliminate lectins in russet potatoes you'll need about 30 minutes on normal pressure. No peeling required as the pressure cooking will take care of the lectins, peel and all.
Simple, fill the bottom of the pressure cooker container with 2 cups water. Insert the rack on the bottom, over the water. Set two Idaho russets on the rack. Seal the top and be sure to turn the steam dial to "sealing" position. Then push the pressure cooking button, and cook 30 minutest at normal pressure. That is it! You'll have twe de-lectinized potatoes to make delicious LFG cottage fries.
Ready to make this recipe? Let's do it!
The Recipe
LFG Lectin Light Cottage Fries
2 Pressure Cooked Idaho Russets (cut into cubes)
2 Green Onions (sliced)
1/4 Cup Grassfed Ghee
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp. LFG Lawry's Copcat Seasoned Salt
LFG Lawry's Copycat Seasoned Salt
1⁄3 Cup Iodized Salt
1 Tbsp Lakanto Classic Monk Fruit Sweetener 1 tsp Sweet Potato Starch
1 tsp Celery Salt
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Cayenne Powder
1/8 tsp Citric Acid (provides that tang)
Step 1: Mix up the Seasoned Salt
In a medium bowl, whisk together salt, sweetener, starch, herbs and spices, and citric acid until well incorporated. If you don't have citric acid, use ascorbic acid (vitamin C powder) or crush up a small, unflavored vitamin C tablet). This gives it this blend that signature "umami" savory tang of Lawry's seasoned salt.
Step 2: Fry the Potatoes
In a large skillet, melt ghee and olive oil together over medium heat until bubbly. Drop in cubed potatoes. Let brown on one side for three minutes. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon seasoned salt onto the potatoes or season to taste. Save the rest of the seasoned salt to rub on grassfed steaks and burgers.
Next, get under the cottage fries with a spatular to lift and flip. Brown the fries on at least two more sides for three minutes. Add more olive oil if necessary to keep from potatoes from sticking to pan. The potatoes are already cooked, so this doesn't take long to fry these babies. Once your fries are browned, sprinkle with sliced green onion. Shake the pan for about 30 seconds to distribute green onion and allow to soak in some of the oil and seasoning.
Serve these cottage fries with your choice brand of hot sauce. I like the smoky flavor or Tabasco Chipotle on mine.
These lectin light cottage make a great addition to your classic bacon and eggs breakfast. Remember, potatoes don't provide us with much benefit as far as gut health goes, so consume these in moderation. I make them about once a month.
ENJOY!