The Impulsive Gardener

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Pink. Fir. Apple. What an excellent name. I'm not entirely sure where it came from but I like to think each word was picked out of an old bowler hat a hundred or so years ago by a grubby group of tittering potato breeders.

I never grow enough. This year I was espcially lax and they lost out to the great space debate and oh, how I suffered. Potoato cravings are never something I'd ever considered to be in danger of having but by September, when I'd already finished my meagre harvest and been burned by watery, tasteless shop-bought salad spuds, I resigned to digging a whole new bed just for these babies.

I don't often see pink fir apples in shops or stores but then I've normally got a fairly steady supply from OH's green fingered mumsey who very generously shares potato and apples gluts, so I'm not exactly scouring the shelves. They're not particularly pretty and their knobbly, fingerey siloutte is fairly unconventional and if you didn't know what they were, you probably wouldn't buy them.  If you tried to roast or mash them, you'd be in for a mushy suprise as their waxy texture, so delicious in a salad, simply refuses to fry or squish.

Potatoes are not something many of us particularly delight in growing either. The few exceptions aside (salad blue, purple majesty), potatoes are decidedly unglamorous. Also, as many an avid veg grower will admit, they take up a lot of space for something which does not have the marked difference in taste as many other home-grown vs. shop bought veggies.

So, what are these funny looking little weirdos good for? Only the BEST most DELICIOUS salad of your LIFE.

Pretty flowers optional.

What you need:

Pink Fir Apples, boiled in salted water till tender (about 5-10 min) as many as you feel like eating, then having seconds of - don't worry, you don't have to peel them.

A dollop or two of mayo, depending on how much you like mayo. Go easy, you can always add more.

Handful of herbs roughly chopped: Dill, basil, lemon thyme, parsley, salad onions

Capers, chopped. Start with a tablespoon or two, and add more or less next time.

Salad greens - baby spinach, baby chard, lettuce, mizuna, chopped baby courgettes, etc.

Pretty flowers - calendula, violas, shredded courgette flowers, rose petals, etc.

Mix the still warm potatoes with the mayonnaise, herbs and capers till everything is well mixed and the potatoes are well coated. Dish out onto your salad greens or just have them as they are. This pink fir potato salad keeps well and is just as delicious cold and is incredible with fish.