Description of Saute The closest translation of this generic term is 'to jump', and the precise way to saute is to heat some oil or clarified butter in a wide shallow pan (called a sauteuse) and to quick fry small pieces of food while giving the pan the occasional shake.
While some dishes lend themselves to this a la minute treatment, many saute or pan-fried dishes require long, slow cooking after the initial stage of cooking at a high temperature to seal.
Potatoes should either be parboiled or rinsed and dried.
Any frying pan is suitable for saute dishes but there is less chance of food burning if the pan is thick and heavy, and many recipes require that the pan is covered.
An asbestos mat gives an even distribution of heat.
Heating the pan before adding the oil helps prevent food sticking to the pan.
What Are The Suitable Fats And Oils To Saute Potatoes

• Ordinary butter is not suitable for saute dishes because it burns at a low temperature, turns brown, smokes and ruins the food.
  
• Mixed with a little oil (2-4 tsp of oil to 2 oz/50 g butter) butter can reach a higher temperature without burning.
  
• When heated the mixture will begin to foam and that is the right moment to start cooking.
  
• Salt burns easily in the saute pan so always use salt-free butter and don't season the food.
  
• If a recipe demands butter, it should be clarified.
  This is a simple and worthwhile chore but clarified butter is widely available in Indian and Middle Eastern food shops, where its called ghee.
  
• To clarify butter, melt it in a frying pan over a low heat.
  When the whole surface is bubbling, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before you pour it through muslin, cheesecloth or a coffee filter paper into a storage jar.
  The impurities that make butter go rancid are now removed and the ghee will keep indefinitely.
  
• Rendered bacon fat also bums at a low temperature but, like butter, is 'saved' when mixed with a little oil.
  Bake or fry streaky bacon or thick fatty rinds until the fat begins to run.
  This takes 10-15 minutes.
  Strain through muslin and store.
  
• Duck, goose and foie-gras fat are the ultimate for roasting and sauteeing potatoes.
  
• The fat can be collected during the cooking, poured into a jar and stored.
  
• In France goose fat is bottled and tinned and widely available.
  In this country the only retail outlet is Harrods, who import it from France.
  It costs about half the price of the bird! Game butchers can be persuaded to sell goose fat pulled from inside the bird, in which case it should be rendered before use.
  
• Chop the fat into 1/2-inch pieces and simmer for 20 minutes in a covered saucepan with 1/2 pint water (275 ml) to draw the fat out of the tissues.
  Uncover the pan and boil slowly to evaporate the water.
  When the spluttering is finished you will end up with a pale yellow liquor dotted with globules.
  Strain and reserve.
  
• Olive oil, beef dripping, lard (pork fat), groundnut (peanut), sunflower and corn oil are all suitable for saute dishes.
  

Best Varieties Of Potatoes For Sauteeing Any potato can be sauteed but firm-fleshed varieties are most suitable.
Any Dutch, Egyptian or Cyprus variety, Pink Fir Apple, Charlotte, Cornichon, La Ratte, Kipfler or Belle de Fontenay.
Looking for a simple and fast potato recipe? Check out Spiced Sauteed Potatoes.