You say caviar, I say potato: Fay Maschler's ode to the humble spud

When it comes to indulgence, nothing makes restaurant critic Fay Maschler happier than a spectacular spud 
19 November 2015

Now here is luxury: La Bonnotte potatoes, grown on the island of Noirmoutier off the French Atlantic coast of the Vendée, available for about ten days in early May. They are often described as the world’s most expensive potato, apparently occasionally reaching the price of €500 (£353) a kilo and sold in the prestigious Paris auction house Drouot. Sea air and seaweed used as mulch give these tubers their briny earthiness; hand-picking preserves their fragile skins, which can only be steamed. If you can remember Jersey potatoes before polytunnels and mass marketing robbed them almost completely of their allure, they were still the poor cousins of La Bonnotte.

The only diet ever followed by Jackie Kennedy was caviar and potatoes, once a day. She was famously slender and, it would seem, sensible. A spoonful of caviar on a boiled potato sliced in half is perfect eating. History doesn’t recount whether Jackie included crème fraîche as a layer on top of the starch and under the protein, but I like to think she did.

Not counting calories exactly, but while I was staying at a thalassotherapy hotel in Tenerife in the Canary Islands in pursuit of wellbeing, the best consolation for cack-handed treatments, only German spoken in the dining room, grey weather and a lack of attractive walks in the immediate vicinity, was the dish of papas arrugadas served in every restaurant including that of the hotel. Potatoes are boiled in heavily salted water — traditionally sea water — until the liquid evaporates, leaving the skins wrinkled and encrusted in twinkling crystals. The method could be compared to salting the rim of a glass before making a Margarita and the effect is not too dissimilar, especially when served with mojo rojo and mojo verde — lively, piquant red and green sauces. I tried making them when I got home, but the result was never the same as it was with Canarian potatoes.

Simplicity in food is my idea of opulence. Expense can, of course, come into it, as with, say, white Alba truffle shaved on to extremely fresh organic eggs slowly fried in Normandy butter, but it is not in any way intrinsic. Not only is the rare ultra-seasonal potato a contender for eating splendour, but equally the common or garden varieties can achieve giddy gastronomic heights.

One secret of excellent mashed potatoes is to incorporate practically their own weight in butter, as French chef Joël Robuchon proved when he restored velvety pommes purée to the role of ideal consort or, indeed, lone hero on the plate. Another wheeze I discovered recently at Allan Pickett’s new restaurant Piquet is using baked potatoes as the foundation of mash. Hot oven cooking concentrates the minds of the spuds and ensures their integrity and stalwart density.

Allan Pickett’s new restaurant Piquet

A carbohydrate with a deserved cult following is the confit potato created by Shaun Searley, chef of The Quality Chop House. This truffled marvel of layered, lacquered crispness came about as Searley searched for an alternative to chips. It is laborious to assemble and only three portions can be cooked at a time. Most tables order at least three portions.

The Quality Chop House

When considering the potato, which has lost something of its righteousness in this modern world of carb-swerving and lust for outlandish ingredients, it is not enough to go into a supermarket and buy a bag of ‘whites’ or ‘reds’. When the light dawns and you realise that pursuing philistine symbols of foodie luxury — such as overpriced champagne, meat trussed around egregious stuffings, smoked salmon that’s been processed in Poland and cheap serrano ham that looks the part but has none of the sweet adipose thrill of Ibérico — find a careful trustworthy vegetable supplier. The divine Natoora, which delivers, is currently selling Fine de Ratte, which will give you silky mash like Robuchon’s or, once baked in the oven, an impeccable sofa for caviar.

Follow Fay on Twitter @Fay_Maschler

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