I was reading Problem Child Bride’s hilarious post the other day on potatoes and the problem she has convincing her American husband that they are appropriate fare for every day of the week. (She being from the Hebrides, where potatoes are a vital part of the staple diet). When I was growing up in England they were also an essential accompaniment to every meal. Of the other carbohydrates, pasta was encountered in Macaroni Cheese on occasion, rice came in the form of a milk pudding quite regularly and very occasionally as an exotic accompaniment to a curry. For the rest Meat, two veg and potatoes was the norm . So to express my solidarity with her, I would like to propose a way of serving potatoes every day of the week without repeating the same way of presentation.
Sunday – Roast Potatoes of course with Roast Beef, Lamb or Chicken
Monday – Baked Potatoes in their Jackets alongside the cold roast meat leftovers.
Tuesday – New potatoes boiled with a sprig of mint with chicken
Wednesday – Mashed potatoes and sausages – Bangers and Mash
Thursday – Shepherds Pie with the leftover mashed potatoes topping minced beef
Friday – Fish and Chips
Saturday – We haven’t had good old boiled potatoes yet with a sprinkling of parsley to soak up the gravy of a nice stew.
For the next week, you still have several more possibilities up your sleeve - potatoes cubed and roasted with rosemary and garlic or cut longways in wedges and baked with olive oil and garlic, or potato salad with herbs, spring onions and mayonnaise and there are probably a thousand more possible ways of enhancing this vegetable treasure!
The potato originally came to Britain from the Americas anyway, so maybe it is time for it to be restored to its rightful place of honour in the national heritage!
P.S. Does America have Spud-U-Like? A UK franchise that serves baked potatoes and nothing else, with a choice of about a hundred different fillings?
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