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Potato Recipes
This section provides a list of tasty potato recipes that have been eaten and enjoyed by us, our families and friends, plus links to recipes on other websites. It is aimed at helping you to find some new and exciting ways to eat your potatoes, because when you have a glut of any fruit or vegetable it is easy to get bored with eating them presented the same way every day.
We usually serve potatoes steamed, roasted or mashed. Occasionally we will consider adding a little something to the mash to jazz it up, garlic, truffle oil or a little wholegrain mustard for example. Potatoes appear on our dinner plates at least 5 times a week, even when we have salad, buttery new potatoes or a potato salad will be there. Of course the humble spud makes a great snack too, many of us eat crips. The most unusual potato snack I have come across was served at The Watchet Music Festival. The spuds where scewered, then cut into a spiral and deep fried. The finishing touch being the addition of flavours like garlic salt, salt and pepper or cheese and onion made them a delicious and unusual treat. Here are some ideas to help you make your daily spuds a little different.
Happy eating!
Recipes eaten and enjoyed by us, our family and friends.
This recipe for potato salad is quick, easy, tasty and only has 3 ingredients. Give it a go then try adding hard boiled eggs. Once you've tried the "Eggy potato" version you're ready for the "Fully Loaded Jacket Potato" version!
The Jacket wedge creates a good low fat substitute for a chunky chip with your oven fish and mushy peas. Yummy!
Pommes Darphin Aux Oignons - or Potatoes with onions
Having been chopped into matchstick pieces the potatoes cook quickly and whilst you still get a soft centre to the potato dish it benefits from a crunchy outer crust and that sweet flavour you get from baked onions.
This as close as you can get to mashed new potatoes, with the waxy texture mash is a non-starter. We look forward to the new potato season each year and this recipe has brought Simon into the new potato fan club too.
This is a great one pot meal that can be made ahead and cooked when you need it. There are plenty of things you can do to adapt it to whatever ingredients you have to hand so the only thing you really need is potatoes.
This potato dish is great to offer at a BBQ when you want to offer something different to potato salad. The spuds are cooked and prepared in advance so all you need to do is reheat them over the coals and serve. Fantastic!
If you like these recipes, we have a whole section dedicated to sharing recipes with you. Our recipe of the week is linked to our Facebook page so Like Us to keep updated of anything new. If you have a potato based reciepe to share, send it in, we would love to hear from you.
Links to other Potato recipes
We have researched a number of potato recipies for you and have them stored on our Pinterest board "Recipes using potatoes". Follow this Pinterest link and browse through for more tasty ideas or check out the websites below
Eat and enjoy!
Potato Gallery
Here are some photographs I have taken through each stage of the potatoe growing season. Starting with chitting through the plants as they grow providing the nutrients for their tubers, the last stages of the plants life , lifting your crop and storing them ready to use.
Potatoes
Potatoes are one of those vegetables that need little introduction. Very few people don’t know what they are, as they are a staple in most diets these days. However if you are one of the few, potatoes grow under the soil surface from the roots of the plant which swell to produce a number of tubers. These tubers can be as small as peas and in extreme cases as large as a rugby ball. They are shaped from round through to oval on to kidney shaped, some are knobbly and others are smooth. The flesh is generally creamy white but the skins can be brown, red or even blue. Potatoes make a great addition to a meal, they add bulk and are filling. There are hundreds of tasty recipes which make use of the humble spud but the simplest are the best and one of my favourites is to have it baked in it’s jacket with a knob of butter and some cheese.
Whilst Potatoes need a fair amount of space they are easy to grow and can be grown successfully in pots as well as in a vegetable patch. So, when thinking about what you want to grow potatoes should be high on your list, the next question is what variety to grow. There are two phrases you need to be familiar with relating to varieties of potatoes, earlies and main crop, after this there are hundreds of different varieties to choose from. You may also come across second earlies which are basically main crop lifted early and are essentially a larger new potato.
Early varieties produce the waxy new potatoes that appear in shops from May. They tend to be no bigger than a large hens egg, have flaky papery skin that scrapes away easily with a knife when dampened. As they have a waxy texture these potatoes make great salad potatoes and taste great boiled or steamed in their skins, served covered in butter and chopped parsley. Main crop potatoes take a little longer to mature, tend to be larger than early varieties and have tougher skins which, depending upon how you plan to cook them, we usually peel away before they are cooked. Main crop potatoes store well over winter providing tasty potatoes well into the spring when the early varieties are ready to be lifted. They tend to be fluffy or flowery in texture once cooked so are ideal for roasting, mashing and baking in their jackets. If boiled or steamed flowery potatoes will start to disintegrate in the pan so care needs to be taken not to over cook them.
Each potato plant can grow enough potatoes to feed a family of 4 for a week if you eat potatoes every meal and have a good crop. As with any plant it will provide a better crop if it is looked after well, in the case of potatoes space and water will benefit them, they will grow in almost any soil type.
Timings for the best crop
- Seed potatoes need to be chatted before you plant them, particularly if they are earlies. This means laying them out in a light,frost free place and allowing them to shoot, this can take up to 6 weeks. Start chitting your seed potatoes between February and April.
- When the shoots are 2-3 cm long you can plant the seed poatatoes out, March to June. Pile soil around the plants, as the shoots grow to cover any potatoes growing near the surface.
- Your crop should be ready to start harvesting between June and October depending upon whether they are early or main crop potatoes.
- Potatoes are half hardy so frost in spring may damage the new shoots and ruin your crop, the autumn frosts will kill off plants but your potatoes will be fine left under ground, check for slug damage when you lift them thouigh.
- It is possible to grow an extra late crop in pots in the green house if you want new potatoes for Christmas day, use the tiny sprout sized potatoes you find when you lift your main crop, they are too small to peel anyway.
- If you dont have much space potatoes grow well in a bag, bucket or planter.
Time to enjoy potatoes!
Grow potatoes
When planning to grow potatoes there are a two things to bear in mind before you start.
- Do you want early, late or both varieties.
- What space do you have.
Early varieties take up less space as the tubers are smaller, approx 20 cm between each plant and 50cm between each row. They are ideal for growing in pots, potato sacks or large buckets, will be lifted by the end of June providing space in the vegetable patch for a crop of something else. Late varieties need plenty of space, approx 30cm between each plant and 60cm between each row and will be in place until September. They will grow in pots but the crop will be less productive and you will get smaller tubers.
How many plants do you need?
In a good season each potato planted should produce enough tubers to feed a family of 4 for a week having 1 meal with potatoes each day. As potatoes store well the number of plants you grow will really be down to the amount of space you have available for them, bear in mind you might want to grow other vegetables as well so a bit of planning is necessary here. If you fancy growing early and late varieties and space is limiting then I suggest you grow your earlies in pots. Once grown the patch of soil should not be used for potatoes again for 2 seasons so if you really love spuds don’t fill you whole plot with them you need to plan in crop rotation.
Soil preparation
Potatoes will grow in almost any soil type and are particularly good for growing in uncultivated soil as the tubers swell they break up and loosen the soil, earthing up helps turn the top soil and the dense leafy plants shade out most weed seeds. If possible dig in compost or well rotted manure to the patch in the autumn. Remove any weeds in spring.
Sewing the seeds
Seed potatoes are usually available from late January. There are loads of varieties to choose from so have a look around and find the best for your culinary choices. Lay the seed potatoes out, preferably with the rose end upper most, the end with the most eyes in it, an egg box is ideal for this. They should be left in a light, but not sunny, frost free place. We use the shed or garage, my father in law uses his spare bedroom. Leave them there until the shoots start to appear and have grown to approx 5cm long.
When your seed potatoes are ready lay them in a trench approx 10 cm deep with the shoots uppermost then cover them with soil. Early varieties need approx 20 cm between each plant and 50cm between each row, main crop varieties need approx 30cm between each plant and 60cm between each row.
Plant care
Your plants will soon start to push shoots through searching for light. If there is a risk of frost cover the young tender leaves with soil to protect them. Once the leaf stem or haulm is approx 20 cm long it is time to earth up, this means building up the soil around the plant to ensure any tubers are covered by a protective layer of soil. If exposed the tubers will be green and poisonous, earthing up is important. Use the loose soil available between the rows for earthing up, use a hoe to build a ridge around the plant stems 10 – 15 cm high.
As the plants mature, if the weather is dry, water them regularly, this is the time when the tubers are maturing. Additional water will help you to produce a better crop of larger potatoes.
Growing potatoes in containers
Container growing is ideal for new potatoes and fine for main crop if you don’t mind a smaller potato. You will need 1 container per seed potato for the best success, plant no more than 3 if you have containers large enough. When your seed potatoes have been chitted three quarters fill your container with compost or soil, place the seed potato in and cover with a 10cm layer of soil/compost. As the plant grows above the top of the container add more soil/compost to just below the container rim. Water them regularly.
Happy growing!
Harvest and store potatoes
The time to harvest potatoes depends upon the varieties you have chosen. Early varieties are ready to harvest when the flowers have appeared, main crop once the plants start to die back, main crop for over winter storage should have the plants trimmed when they start to die back and be left in the ground approx 2 weeks before they are lifted. If you want to double check your potatoes are ready and a reasonable size scrape away the soil near to the plant and you will unearth the tubers growing near the surface. If they are a good size then lift away, if not cover them up and leave a little longer.
How to harvest
Your main aims when lifting potatoes are to cause as little damage as possible to the tubers and to get them all out of the ground, no matter how small. Any tubers left behind will grow next season so you will soon find out if you have been successful, do not leave them in though as you will be storing up problems with pests and diseases in future. Use a flat tined fork if possible, a normal fork or spade will do otherwise.
Harvesting is best done in the dry weather as lifting wet soil is an unpleasant task and your potatoes will be muddy. When ready to harvest cut the plant stems away to approx 10 cm above soil level. If you are lifting main crop potatoes and planning to store them for winter, leave the tubers in the ground for another 10 – 14 days at this point. Push the fork into the soil a little distance from the plant and lift the roots into the trench, you will need to dig down a good spade depth to find all the tubers. Take a hold of the remaining stem and shake off the potatoes and soil, pick over the crop and gather in your harvest brushing off any loose soil.
Separate any; fork/spade damaged tubers, they are fine to eat so use these up first. diseased potatoes, should be disposed of, do not add them to your compost heap. green potatoes, are poisonous and should not be eaten.
Small potatoes look like pebbles so don’t be fooled, check through the soil thoroughly. Once found, if you can’t use them, dispose of them. The best way to do this is to cut them into tiny pieces and put them in your compost heap. If you add them to your compost heap whole they will probably grow.
What to use the old plants for
You guessed it, they make great compost.
Storing your harvest
Dirty potatoes store better than washed, once lifted brush off the loose soil and allow them to dry. Your potatoes will then need to be placed somewhere dark and dry. if the light gets to them they will start to go green and at that point they should not be eaten.
Short term storage
It is best to place your potatoes in a potato bag in a cool, dry place until you are ready to use them, Potatoes should not be stored in a refrigerator. If you want to wash them make sure they are properly dry before you store them as they might start to rot and the smell is truly awful.
New potatoes will keep fine in a potato bag for up to 2 weeks, after this the skins start to toughen and the potatoes start to soften. As they get older “new” potatoes will keep in a potato bag for 1 month or so. They will need to be peeled rather than scraped but the potatoes themselves will taste fine once cooked, they are not as nice as the freshly dug treats though
Main crop potatoes will also keep well short term and should be treated in the same way as new potatoes. When first dug the skins may not have set and therefore they can be scraped..
Longer term storage
Main crop potatoes store well long term. Any surplus, lifted for immediate use, will keep in a potato bag in a cool place for many weeks before they start to soften. If storing longer term it is best to place the tubers in a covered wooden box, hessian or paper potato sack and keep them in a cool dark place such as a shed or garage. If exposed to light they will go green and should not be eaten. As the winter turns to spring the tubers will start to grow and you will need to start using them up, cut out the growing tips then peel and cook as usual. If they grow beyond this initial sprouting stage then the energy stored in the tuber will be used producing the new plant and will no longer be good to eat. Either dispose of them or grow them.
Frozen – fresh new potatoes freeze well but need to be blanched first, either in boiling water or oil, for 3 mins. Allow to cool completely before they are placed in ridged containers or freezer bags, label, date and place in the freezer.
Dried – yes perfectly possible but I wouldn’t go there, instant mash is freeze dried potato
Prserved - Potatoes are not ideal for pickles and chutney.
Canned and bottled - New potatoes can be bottled or tinned but don’t taste as good so unless you really need to I wouldn’t bother.
Happy harvesting!