potty about potatoes (Potatoes)

Member Name: freud

Product:	Potatoes
Date:	21/10/08 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap, versatile & can be really tasty

Disadvantages: none

I'm no expert on this humble & rather plain-looking vegetable by any means, but I do like to eat them!

I don't know the difference between the Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes as I tend to buy the cheapest good-looking ones as we rarely eat them plain.

The last time I bought some was 20th Oct on Tesco.com & they only cost £1.28 for 2.5kg so it's good to find such a versatile vegetable for a reasonable price.

I've found these white potatoes good so far for mashing, boiling, baking, adding to stews & curries as well as making wedges & chips etc.

My favourite one is the new potato - washed, boiled & served with Lurpak butter - delicious! I saw some new potatoes on sale at our local greengrocers last week but I didn't want to pay £1 per kilo as I personally think they taste their very best in summer.

No British roast dinner or Christmas lunch would be the same without a big bowl of roasted potatoes - I tend to put a little oil in a roasting tin on a high temperature oven before peeling a big panful & parboiling for about 4 minutes. Then I drain them & add to the hot tin for about 40 minutes. Eat your heart out Aunt Bessie!

There are great cookery books on the market which just do recipes for potatoes so we don't have to be limited to just baked, boiled or mashed.

In the summer I often make potato salad - chopped cooked potatoes mixed with Hellman's mayo & some chopped gherkins & a little gherkin juice. This is also nice with onion & is a great dish for parties, BBQs etc.

Last week I saw some frozen potatoes, very finely chopped,in Iceland for £1 so I copied this idea by chopping my own - it's amazing how far 1 potato will stretch!

I also saw some mashed potato packs in Iceland for £1 so I think I might peel extra ones next time I'm cooking a lot & mash them ready for the freezer - handy if you're making shepherd's pies or fish pies etc?

I guess one of main reasons we buy so many potatoes in this country is our love of chips - I love 'chippy' chips but it's so easy to make them at home & saves a little bit of cash?

summary
~
- still relatively cheap to buy
- very versatile
- can be part of a healthy meal ( baked) or not (roasted, or chipped)
- a 'must have' in our house!

Summary: a 'must have' vegetable to have in stock