May 25 2020 27 mins
Food writer Jenny Linford talks floury versus waxy and reveals her favourite potato treats, Oscar Ortiz gives us the low-down on Peru's National Potato Day and we learn why to be described as 'a potato' is quite the compliment in Norway. All this, plus the C-name varieties from the Outer Hebrides...
Oooh recipe alert! Jenny Linford has very kindly let us have the delicious-sounding recipe below for Kimchi Potato Cakes, taken from her wonderful book Potatoes, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£14.99) - Clare Winfield's photo of the potato cakes, from the book and © Ryland Peters & Small, is shown above
KIMCHI POTATO CAKES
These small potato cakes – a piquant riff on classic potato dishes, such as Britain’s bubble and squeak or Ireland’s colcannon – are very tasty indeed. Serve with fried eggs, and topped with sliced spring onions for a satisfying breakfast or brunch.
700 g potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
25 g butter
150 g kimchi, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
vegetable or sunflower oil, for shallow-frying
SERVES 4
Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water until tender. As they cook, gently fry the spring onions in the butter in a frying pan until softened but not browned.
Drain the cooked potatoes, add in the fried spring onion with its butter and mash well. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Mix in the kimchi.
Working with oiled hands, take tablespoons of the mixture and shape into 16 small, even-sized potato cakes.
Pour enough oil into a large frying pan so that it forms a shallow layer in the pan and heat through over a medium heat. Add in the potato cakes, frying in batches if need be, and cook for a few minutes on each side until browned. Remove, drain on paper towels and serve at once.