my shopping mantra is simple first rely
on your senses make sure whatever you're
buying that it looks smells and really
feels good second is to recognize that
knowledge is crucial the more you know
personally about where your ingredients
are from and how they produce the better
so don't be scared ask lots of questions
and learn
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and when it comes to buying potatoes a
great ingredient if you're cooking on a
budget one green grocer who can always
spot a duds bud is borough market
royalty fred foster it's all about
flavour it's all about
choosing the right variety for the right
fish he's been selling top quality veg
for over 15 years and really knows he
king edwards from his duke of yorks
basically there's two types of potatoes
there's early season
and a main crop potato early season is
basically round about may time
you can't store them they cannot be
stored you have to buy them and use them
within two to three days when you're
buying an early season potato you must
avoid green looking potatoes at all
costs it really is important and the way
you can tell that is if you just brush
the potato the skin comes off really
really easy and then you want you want a
yellowy or whitey looking potato the new
seasoned potato is a superb potato to
use
new season types include rocket home
guard and marist bard but my favorite is
the classic jersey royal it has a
delicate sweet flavor it's packed with
vitamin c and is great in salads or
simply boiled and mixed with olive oil
and fresh mint
jersey potatoes early crop are
phenomenal
look at that
keep the skin on it's really important
just wash it
boil it it's a beautiful beautiful
potato and that's what we're talking
about we're talking about i know it's a
potato i know it's a bit sad but we're
talking about flavour
right then what is a main crop potato
it's the crop that is grown specifically
for
nine months of the year use when you're
looking at a main crop potato you need
to see that the eyes aren't too large
because they tend to go right through
the potato they've got to be firm
it's very very important if a potato in
any way feels a little bit soft
discard it storage wise dark place cool
place
dry place and that will last until you
eat it simple as that
both early season and main crop potatoes
come in two main types waxy and flowery
waxy potatoes have a smooth dense flesh
and because they're low in starch they
stay firm when cooked
types include anya and pink fur but i
love charlotte which has an amazing
buttery taste and a great sauteed in
stews or serves whole with roast chicken
floury potatoes have a fluffy dry
texture when cooked which makes them
great for mashing roasting or cutting
into chips
types include king edward whose smooth
creamy flesh is perfect for potato
gratins or with rich meats like beef and
desiree which have an amazing red skin
and are great for bacon or as delicious
potato wedges
old-fashioned types known as heritage
potatoes are now widely available and
have fantastic colors and distinctive
tastes that are great when you want
something different
this one's called salad blue when you
cut it
you then see the most amazing color
and it's perfect it looks stunning on
the plate
are really popular
it's so important when you're going out
to pick your potatoes you already know
in advance what you're going to do with
that potato
so whether you're going to put it in a
salad whether it's a masher or a chipper
or even a baking potato each variety has
a unique flavor fred's spot on whether
new season main crop waxy or flowery
potatoes are incredibly versatile and
packed with great flavor the perfect
ingredient when you're cooking on a
budget well how much do i love potatoes
well
cook them simply
proper flavors
it doesn't get any better
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like all chefs for me there's nothing
better than seasonal produce at its peak
when fruit and veg is fresh in season
and fantastically ripe i can't wait to
get back in the kitchen
to get the most out of your cooking
always use ingredients in their prime
for perfect boiled potatoes always start
them off in cold water and never boiling
water this way by the time the centers
of the potatoes are cooked the outside
won't be falling apart and when you're
cooking potatoes always cook extra so
there's leftovers they're fantastic to
have on hand for making my delicious
gnocchi and potato rusties for a classic
bubbling squeak sweet pepper sauce with
grilled prawns
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for the sauce in hot olive oil
fry chopped garlic and diced bread
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then put them in a
blender add chopped tomatoes
blister the skin of red peppers under a
hot grill intensifying the flavour
leave to cool then they're easy to peel
chop and add
blitz
add smoked paprika chili flakes and
roughly chopped almonds
a squeeze of lemon and a dash of sherry
vinegar
season
blitz again and add olive oil
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this sauce keeps really well in the
fridge and will intensify in flavor
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i love it with simple king prawns
just add olive oil
and griddle for two minutes on each side
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sweet pepper sauce with grilled prawns
simply delicious
making your enoki is so simple to do yet
the results are absolutely stunning and
it's a great way of using up leftover
baked potatoes
you can make gnocchi just with flour and
eggs however the potato gives it that
nice light sort of creamy fluffy texture
cut them in half take your spoon
and scoop the inside of those potatoes
i'm using leftover baked potatoes but
this really works as well with leftover
ball potatoes two choices you can get a
fork and sort of
mash the potato and get it nice and
light and fluffy or
this little gadget it's called a ricer i
suppose it's a posh word
for a potato masher just squeeze gently
you can see how nice and light it is
almost like fluffy little strands of
potato
you can do this when the potatoes are
hot
it will go through the rices so much
quicker
just slice that off there
now
a nice spoon of okata ring a little
touch of salt and pepper it's really
important to season the mixture as we go
along otherwise the nokia becomes really
bland
flour over the ricotta sieved so there's
no lumps
one delicious egg give that a little
whisk
now
make a little well in the center
you want a nice soft
pliable ball of dough
give that a really good mix
get some thyme flowers in there
and this time is light fragrant and it's
just a really nice herb and with the
ricotta
it tastes brilliant just pick the little
tips the time
flowers next flour your hands generously
and knead the mixture into a dough
fold in and push and basically what it's
doing is get it nice and smooth
as it starts to get a little bit wet
and just add a little touch of flour we
want something really nice and soft now
don't overwork it
it stops the nokia from expanding when
it hits the pan
that's exactly what i want a nice sort
of soft
fragrant ball cut the ball in half
lightly flour
the hands and just roll it
gently
just think of
a big long cigar
the mixture will start getting a little
bit sort of wetter but do not add lots
of flour
now
lightly flour the knife so when you
slice the gnocchi it doesn't stick
cut the dough into bite-sized pieces
just take your finger dip it in the
flour and push down
why i want my knocking to look like a
pillow
and for me the most important part there
is that not one of them are identically
the same shape
water on
bring up to the boil little touch of
olive oil in there
lightly flour your hand
lift up the gnocchi
in to the rolling boiling water
turn that pan to stop them from sticking
at the bottom and let them simmer and
they start to sort of tell you they're
cooked when they start floating get a
pan on
get that nice and hot now they're just
starting to come up to the top and you
can continue cooking them like that i
like blanching them in the water taking
them out and then frying them to study
the gnocchi heat olive oil in a frying
pan
gently lift up and look
they've doubled in size
drain it get rid of the excess water and
straight in to the hot pan
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this is where they start to take on a
completely different texture nice crisp
sauteed texture on the outside
nokia loves fresh pepper
so
pepper in
you can see as i start turning them got
this really nice little sort of
brown
color
and they're almost popping up now like
little parcels so i want them nice and
sauteed both sides but light
and creamy
in the center
fresh garden peas
in
and the butter gives you that really
nice sort of
bernoulli flavor on the end
beautiful
put a little bit of fresh thyme over the
peas and then finally i want to lift it
up fresh lemon
zest the lemon over
incredible
and then finally seal the deal with a
touch of grated parmesan cheese
give your vegetable attitude and you'll
get amazingly elegant dishes on a budget
that are always guaranteed to impress
what more do you want from great cooking
keep to make easy to cook and absolutely