There is simply nothing like the joy of seeing the arrival of a new potato

The humble spud has gone out of favour in recent decades in favour of the much more user friendly pasta or rice. Yes they’re handy to cook but on their own they’re bland and need sauce and flavour action. There’s no comparison to a new season potato, scrubbed and steamed and anointed with butter and a sprinkling of sea salt. They have a flavour all of their own and I often think they don’t really need anything else.

My late grandfather often talked about going to a neighbouring farm at teatime and a big pot of potatoes was tumbled down the middle of the table. There was no serving dish or plates, just dish of butter and some salt. He often said it was one of the best meals he’d ever eaten. When you’re sourcing local potatoes you have many options. Small local shops invariably will have an offering of local potatoes, you could go to a farm shop, stop at a trailer parked at the side of the road, or follow the signs dotted around the end of farmyard lanes that say “potatoes for sale”. Each county here will profess theirs to be the best. People from Comber will swoon over the Comber Early, I’ve heard people wax lyrical about Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armagh potatoes and the north coast has been producing top class potatoes for generations. The fact is they’re all wonderful. The French have a word “terroir” that refers to the soil, the land, the climate that affects the produce. A spud from Lisbellaw will have a different taste from an Aghadowey one but they’re both authentic and delicious. Ask the grower what variety to buy – my local farm shop suggests using Home Guards at the moment because they’re not around for as long as Queens or Sharpe’s Express. Either way enjoy them while they’re here and keep the rice and pasta in the cupboard!

While boiling and steaming the spuds and serving them with butter is a crowd pleaser, this is a cookery column and it would be a short one this week if that was the only recipe, however perfect it is. The nature of these new potatoes is their thin skins so whatever you do, cook them in their jackets, that nutty skin is part of their goodness. Sometimes I crush them with butter or a vinaigrette which works very well. My first recipe this week is for hot pot potatoes with lamb chops. The potatoes are scrubbed, thinly sliced and layered with onions. The whole thing is topped with butter and stock added. Bake in the oven until the top is golden and crisp and the potatoes have taken up all the flavour of the stock. Rather than have the lamb in a hotpot as is traditional, grill the chops and serve them on top. This potatoes would also work well as a side for roast chicken or beef.

When I was growing up my grandparents grew Sharpes Express and Golden Wonder potatoes and I still vividly remember the salad my granny would prepare – slices of ham, tomatoes from the green house, an egg, a scallion, hot potatoes and salad cream. It was a feast and hot potatoes were the best part. For my other recipe this week I’ve taken inspiration from granny but the ham is a hock. Simmer the hock, but cook the potatoes in the stock near the end. Slice them while hot and toss in a dressing with sour cream, mayo, mustard, dill, horseradish, chopped cucumber and scallions. Boil the eggs in the hot stock too – it doesn’t flavour them like the spuds but saves on the hot water! Shred the rested ham hock and serve with lettuce, the potato salad and arrange the soft eggs on top. A souped up version of a classic salad.