Consider the potato. There have been a half dozen or so in each MellowBellies box these last few weeks. Potatoes, like onions, seem seasonless; as kitchen staples, we expect to be able to find them year ‘round. And we can. Storage potatoes and storage onions for the most part. Not like the amazingly fresh and juicy specimens sitting in your box next to their more colorful friends – the squashes, tomatoes and berries.
Here’s Suzanne’s take:
“People don’t think of potatoes as having a ‘season,’ but regardless this *is* potato season, in Georgia at least. In the South, potatoes are planted in the very early spring (or winter if your farmer is a gambler) and they’re ready for harvest in June. Freshly harvested potatoes are full of moisture — juicy, even — and tender. I don’t know this for a fact, but I’m guessing that there are more sugars in the tuber earlier in its lifespan. Certainly there’s more tender potato flavor.
“In northern climes, potatoes are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. Potatoes can be stored for long periods in dark, dry spaces with cool temps. Because of their keeping ability, a lot of the potatoes we get in the stores have been in storage for quite a while, and frankly aren’t the best. Sure, they smash up just fine, but for other purposes (like potato salad), they’re not the best.”
So celebrate those potatoes by giving them a role beyond sidekick. Potatoes absorb flavors beautifully and make great toppings for pizzas and tarts. Here’s a recipe to get you started. Add onions with the garlic if you like and cook until caramelized, spread this over your favorite pizza dough and top with goat cheese or feta or your favorite blue cheese. Prebake the dough since the toppings just need to be heated through. If you’re into grilling your pizza dough, that adds a whole other layer of smoky flavors.
This same topping would work beautifully on a tart shell, puff pastry or as a topping for crostini. Smoked sweet or hot paprika is available in little tins from the DeKalb Farmers Market and makes all the difference in the world in this recipe. Indulge in a little container and toss out that flavorless paprika that’s been sitting on your shelf waiting for its once-a-year appearance adding color to your deviled eggs.