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Mayan Gold Potatoes
Well I have long finished my early and 2nd early potatoes and have started to harvest some of my main crops. This is not just because I want to eat my own potatoes rather than those I might buy in the shops but, also because I am worried about blight – always!
I have taken to growing, as my staple crop, varieties which are blight resistant ( that doesn’t mean that they can’t or won’t get blight, just that they are less likely to – we must still keep an eye on them, especially in allotments where blight is more likely to be about as many of our neighbours will not treat the crop nor deal with the problem).
Of course, the potatoes I plant will not all be blight resistant, as I like to experiment with different varieties. This year I have tried out 3 new varieties - for me! British Queen is, of course an old favourite and I’m waiting to see what she is like. However, I have also tried the much-lauded Purple Majesty. Not available as a seed potato, I bought a bag of them from Sainsburys – well a few bags really as I wanted to eat them as well seeing what they taste like. As they really are purple – all the way through, even when they are cooked (just imagine a plateful of purple mash beside your chop), it is quite disconcerting. I found them somewhat different in flavour from the one I was expecting (the shop ones, that is). Not unpleasant but, not brilliant either. The few I grew(and I have said this in a previous Blog, were okay as plants – not outstandingly healthy, but okay). So far I have only tried them boiled and mashed or oven cooked in a foil envelop with other vegetables, herbs and seasoning. They were fine – totally acceptable and with their reputation for being very healthy with their high antioxidant levels, I think I will grow a few of them again, perhaps with a bit more care and attention. I hope they will be available next season as proper seed potatoes.
I love potatoes and am always looking for a new or different variety which might live up to my childhood memories of what potatoes tasted like. Well, this year I found it ! Halleulia! Mayan Gold! I will quote here from their website ( www.mayanpotatoes.co.uk) –
Mayan Gold is unique. Other varieties simply don't have its rich, golden coloured flesh with the real taste of potatoes that we all remember from childhood. That's because Mayan Gold is the first Phureja (pronounced fur-ekka) variety to be made available in the UK, taking the potato industry by storm and winning plaudits from many of the UK's top chefs including Antony Worrall Thompson who uses the variety in his own restaurant. Brought to the UK by Greenvale AP and the Scottish Crop Research Institute as part of the Commonwealth Breeding Programme, Mayan Gold has been bred from species found growing in the wilds of Peru, some of which are over 7000 years old. Whilst many of the more popular varieties available in the UK have been bred for appearance and yield, Mayan Gold retains all of the fantastic flavours and nutritional levels exhibited by the wild plant.
I have put, on my allotment spreadsheet, that I bought my seed potatoes from Thompson and Morgan and I do hope they will have them again next year. If not, I will just have to save a few for my own seed or look around for another supplier. I didn’t know if they were maincrop potatoes but chitted them along with my other varieties. They seem to be ready quite early so, I planted them at the same time as my 2nd Earlies in the middle of March.. I have harvested them now( mid-late July) as the plants look as though they have finished growing (and they were never the most robust nor lush plants I have grown anyway). However, the crop has been very heavy, each plant producing approx 1½ - 2 kilo of potatoes. I could compare them with the shape and size of a conference pear, some a bit smaller and some larger. Perhaps, if I had left them longer, they would have grown larger but – the blight threat is always there..
So far, I have tried them as mashed potatoes, spicy potato wedges, roasties and a couple of recipes of my own. The flavour is outstanding! They are a dry potato which will cook very quickly – really, I mean this!
Do try these recipes:- a couple of them are modified recipe ideas from the website:
Mayan Gold Potato Recipes Mayan Gold Roast Potatoes
Ingredients: peeled Mayan Gold potatoes, olive oil, sea salt
• Cut the potatoes into even sized chunks and blanch in boiling water for 2 – 3 minutes.
• Shake the chunks gently in a colander to roughen their surfaces.
• Shake some sea salt over and bake in a hot oven - 220°C, gas mark 7 for 30 or 40 minutes, turning them occasionally until golden and crispy.
• (try also with chopped roughly chopped garlic and sprigs of rosemary).
Spicy Mayan Gold Wedges
450g(1lb) fresh Mayan Gold potatoes
25g(1oz) butter and 3 tsp oil.
1 finely chopped onion
1 red chilli( de-seeded and sliced)
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
Little water
Fresh coriander leaves
• Melt the butter and the oil in a large pan.
• Add the onion and cook over a medium heat until soft but, not coloured.
• Add the chilli, coriander, turmeric and cumin.
• Cut the potatoes into wedges (wash but don’t peel) and add these to the pan.
• Toss well and fry for 2 minutes.
• Add a splash of water and a sprinkle of sea salt.
• Put in a hot oven - 200°C, gas mark 6 for 15 – 20 minutes, making sure all the water has evaporated.
• Put in a hot serving dish and scatter with fresh coriander and lemon wedges.
Mashed Mayan Gold Potatoes
450g(1lb) Mayan Gold potatoes
25g(1oz) butter, a little milk, 1 – 2 Tblsp.
½ tsp. Wholegrain mustard
Freshly crushed black pepper and sea salt to taste
• Peel the potatoes, cut into chunks and steam the for 10 – 12 minutes ( this time can vary so, do watch the potatoes to make sure they don’t overcook and disintegrate.
• Heat the milk, then remove the potatoes from the heat and add the hot milk and butter. Mash well or put through a ricer.
• Add the mustard, salt and pepper to taste and mix in well. (Don’t use too much mustard or seasoning which might overpower the flavour of the potatoes).
Mayan Gold Potato and vegetable envelopes
Ingredients
450g (1lb) Mayan Gold potatoes - washed but not peeled
3 cloves of garlic - peeled and sliced
3 small tomatoes - cut into wedges
1 courgette sliced
A handful of Runner Beans and/or French Beans - washed and cut into suitable lengths
A small bunch of parsley, chopped roughly
A small handful of tarragon, lemon thyme and marjoram, washed and roughly chopped
Freshly crushed blackpepper and sea salt to taste
* Cut the potatoes into wedges or small chunks.
* Prepare 3 large squares of tinfoil ( greaseproof paper will work just as well), about 30 - 40cm ( if you want to add more vegetables you might find that you will need a larger square).
* Place the potatoes and the vegetables onto the middle of the tinfoil, add the garlic, herbs and the seasoning.
* Fold over the tinfoil and fold up the ends to ensure the 'envelop' is closed.
* Bake in a medium oven 180-200C, Gas mark 5 for 30 - 40 minutes.
Mayan Gold is a particularly dry potato. You might find that this recipe helps to keep the potato fairly moist.
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