All potatoes steam well, but this gentle way of cooking is particularly good for very starchy potatoes and those that fall apart easily. Small potatoes, such as new potatoes, taste really delicious when they are steamed in their skins. Make sure that larger potatoes are cut quite small, in even-size chunks or thick slices. Leaving cooked potatoes over a steaming pan of water is also a good way to keep them warm.
1. Place the prepared potatoes in a sieve, colander, or vegetable steamer over a deep pan of boiling, salted water. Cover as tightly as possible and steam for 5–7 minutes. For smaller cuts or slices, increase the time to 20 minutes or more if the potatoes are in large pieces.
2. Towards the end of the cooking time, test a few of the potatoes with the tines of a fork. If they are cooked, turn off the heat and leave until you are ready to serve them. They will keep warm above the water.
Boiling is the simplest way of cooking potatoes. Place potatoes of a similar size, either whole or cut into chunks, with or without their skins, in a pan with suffi cient water to cover them.