After any holiday, it seems like there is always a ton of leftover potatoes.  I am maniacal about not wasting food, and potatoes have a lot of good nutrition.  Ignore the carb-haters: potatoes include vitamin C, thiamin, niacin, folate, magnesium, potassium, and a number of other key vitamins.  (According to Wikipedia, the vitamins are distributed evenly between the skin and the flesh, although "almost all the protein content of a potato is contained in a thin layer just under its skin."

Whether you are being overwhelmed by leftover baked potatoes or leftover mashed potatoes, let's take a look at what you can do with them!

Potato Pancakes

My favorite thing to do with leftover potatoes is to scrape out the fluffy stuff and make potato pancakes.  My grandmother's potato pancake recipe was simple: mix leftover potato with enough egg to hold it together, add salt and pepper, and fry until crispy on both sides.

Latkes are the canonical potato pancake, of course.  You can make your own latkes by grating onion into a bowl of leftover potato, and adding a bit of flour and salt.  Latkes are also usually fried in a bit more oil than plain old potato pancakes, which gives them a wonderful color and crisp!

Potato Soup

If the weather is cold and damp, then potato soup will set you right!  As a general rule of thumb you want to use two parts potato, two parts broth, and one part cream (heavy cream or half and half).  Puree together, or just mash it up and let it simmer for a while.  

I find the best approach to potato soup is to choose ONE flavoring.  Whether it's leeks, rosemary, shrimp, or red bell pepper.  I have made some potato soups with too many flavors, and the effect can be jarring.  The best thing about a potato soup is its simplicity, so keep it simple!

Shepherd's Pie

This is the progenitor of our oven baked pot pies.  Shepherd's pie is practically an institution in the UK, although I find it is not very well known here in the United States.  It is a kind of casserole, with mixed vegetables and savory sauces on the bottom, and a layer of mashed potato on top.

There are as many ways to make shepherd's pie as there are shepherds!  As with all casseroles, this one is an excellent way to use up leftovers.  Here is a basic recipe that you can adapt to suit whatever leftovers you happen to have on hand.

Twice Baked Potatoes

If you have leftover untouched baked potatoes, why not stuff them and bake them again?  Split them carefully and scoop out the delicious fluff.  Blend it with your favorite potato toppings (sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, minced chives, etc) then spoon the mixture back into the potato skins.  Bake them again for about 15 minutes at 350, then top them with a little bit more cheese and chives and serve.  Delicious!

Creative Commons-licensed image courtesy of Flickr user Dr. Hemmert