Taters, Tatties & Spuds!
- 27th Jun 2017
A member of the nightshade family, like tomatoes and aubergines, the potato originated in South America. It wasn’t until 1536 when Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru and discovered the flavours of the potato, that they were carried back to Europe where they have been grown ever since.
This month for the Idle Rock's 'Heligan's Garden' dish, we have harvested Sharpe’s Express, which is an oldie but a goody! It was first bred in Lincolnshire where it was listed in 1901 and is still popular with many today. It is an early, versatile heritage variety that can be harvested from May onwards and has a dry, floury texture with a delicious light lemon coloured flesh. This new potato lends itself to creating the perfect roasted spuds, but is equally suited to boiling and chipping.
Potatoes are one of the most rewarding vegetables to grow. It begins with the nurturing process of chitting, planting and earthing-up; the anticipation of a good harvest as you dig through the soil and of course, the unbeatable taste of fresh, home-grown new potatoes is hard to beat.
Potatoes come under two classifications; either earlies (Sharpe’s Express) or maincrops. Early potatoes are ready to harvest much sooner than maincrops and are what we all know as ‘new potatoes’. Maincrop potatoes such as Maris Piper, King Edward and Desiree are in the ground much longer, produce larger tubers and is a higher yielding crop.
This month's ‘Heligan’s Garden’ dish on the menu at The Idle Rocks uses our Sharpe’s Express new potatoes and new season baby chard. Also within the dish is quails egg, watercress, baby carrots and decadent summer truffle.
To download the full recipe, please click the following link
