River Cottage A-Z

‘Fresh’ is the watchword with tender, thin-skinned little new spuds. Grow them yourself or buy them locally if you can. Earth-covered is fine – a little dirt helps keep them moist and fresh. When you get them home, wash off the bulk of the earth then give the spuds a bit of a scrape with a small knife, or a gentle scrub, to remove any stubborn dirt. In either case, don’t damage the surface or you’ll open it up to absorb cooking water. And, whatever you do, don’t peel them: there is so much flavour in the flesh just below the skin. Cut the potatoes up if they are large, though any below the size of a small egg are best left whole. Put them in a pan of water, add salt and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 7 minutes before you start checking them with the tip of a sharp knife. Very fresh new potatoes cook surprisingly quickly. Test every minute or two until the flesh takes the knifepoint with just the merest hint of resistance, then drain immediately. Lubricate with oil or butter or soured cream, add plenty of salt and pepper and some fresh herbs if possible and off you go.

Slightly later in the season, try roasting larger new potatoes. Keep them in fairly large pieces and coat well in oil and seasoning. Roast at 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5 for around 20–30 minutes until golden and tender, but not overbrowned.

For mash, you need floury potatoes. Cut them into large chunks, no smaller than a large egg. Bring to the boil in well-salted water and simmer until completely tender when tested with a knife. Drain your potatoes in your largest colander and let them sit in it for several minutes, turning once or twice. This allows water on their surfaces to evaporate – you don’t want that water in your mash. Meanwhile, heat some butter and milk in a large pan. The proportion of these ingredients to the potatoes is up to you, but I find 75g butter to 1kg raw potato weight, and 100–200ml whole milk to be about right. You can use other fats – cream or crème fraîche are very good and produce a less sweet mash. Unrefined oils add unique flavours. Try an olive oil mash with white fish, or a hemp oil mash with a spice-encrusted roast chicken.

Now mash your steamed-off spuds into the pan of molten butter and milk, adding plenty of salt and pepper. A potato ricer will give you the smoothest result (rubbing through a sieve does the same, but is rather labour-intensive). A good old-fashioned masher works fine as long as your potatoes are completely tender. Check the seasoning before you serve. A little freshly grated nutmeg can be an excellent addition.

The best roasties are made from floury spuds, such as King Edward, and roasted in goose or duck fat, though rapeseed oil is good too. Cut the potatoes into large-egg size pieces, put them in a pan, bring to the boil and cook for just 3–4 minutes, then steam-off as for mash (see above). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Heat the fat or oil (3–4 tbsp for 1kg potatoes) in a roasting tray big enough to allow plenty of space for the potatoes to crisp up until very hot.

Rough up the surface of your part-cooked potatoes by putting them back in the saucepan, replacing the lid, adding some seasoning and giving them a vigorous shake. (Or scratch up the surfaces with a fork.) Tip them into the searing hot fat, turn them over in it until well coated and season again. Then roast for 40–50 minutes, turning the potatoes over at least once.

POPULAR POTATO VARIETIES

Anya A cross between Desiree and Pink Fir Apple, this is a lovely, knobbly, waxy, finger-shaped spud, ideal in salads or lightly roasted. It’s in season early, from May.

Belle de Fontenay These early potatoes are an old French variety. Good in July and August, they are deliciously waxy, with a nutty flavour that improves with keeping if they are carefully stored.

Charlotte One of the most commonly available salad varieties, these are waxy and firm, though they lack the lovely, earthy-sweet flavour of Jersey Royals or Pink Fir Apple.

Cornish Earlies Describing the time of harvesting, rather than a specific variety, these are rivals to Jersey Royals. Small and earthy-tasting, they are sometimes sold ‘dirty’ to protect their fragile skins. They are available as early as late April, and through to early July.

Desiree These red-skinned potatoes have a firm, creamy flesh that mashes beautifully and also roasts and bakes well.

Estima The ubiquitous supermarket spud, these are large, smooth-skinned, mild and inoffensive all-rounders with a texture on the waxy side of centre.

Golden Wonder A really well-flavoured, super-floury spud for great mash and chips.

Jersey Royals These magnificent, buttery, waxy new potatoes are among the first to appear, finding their way to the shops as early as March and being finished by early July. The potatoes are a widely available variety known as International Kidney, but when grown on Jersey carry a PDO (the only British vegetable to do so), recognising their unique status. They are the produce of only a score or so of Jersey farmers, and much of the crop is lifted by hand because the steeply sloping fields in which they grow cannot accommodate tractors. Local seaweed is used as fertiliser.

King Edward Pale-skinned with characteristic tinges of pink, this is the ultimate floury, maincrop spud. It makes superb, fluffy-centred roasties and a magnificent mash.

Marfona A large, slightly waxy potato, this is often sold as a baking potato.

Maris Peer This is from the same breeding programme as ‘Maris Piper’ (see below), but quite different. Usually it is grown to produce small, round salad potatoes with an excellent flavour. Harvested May–October.

Maris Piper A fluffy, floury variety, rivalling King Edwards for its mashing, roasting and chipping abilities.

Nectar Popular with retailers because it pre-packs well, this firm potato will hold its shape in a curry.

Nicola A superb salad potato – nutty, buttery and sweet. Very easy to use as it holds its shape well, even if subjected to a little over-cooking. Crops from June to August.

Pink Fir Apple Long, knobbly, blush-skinned tuber, which looks more like some alien root than a humble spud. It has a delicious, uniquely waxy, nutty flesh, which is highly prized for salads, and rightly so. I like the fact that these are a maincrop spud – potato salads aren’t just for summer.

Ratte A classic, waxy French potato, typically used for salads but also sometimes for a particularly silky pommes purée.

Wilja Once a supermarket favourite until it was usurped by Estima, the Wilja has a much better flavour and more robust, slightly waxier texture. It mashes well but also holds its shape nicely in a curry or pasty filling.

Yukon Gold Very popular in the US, this has a fantastic buttery flavour and fluffy flesh. It makes great mash and roasties, as well as superb fries.