The harvest is in.

Honestly it was in a couple of weeks ago. The potatoes are particularly fine this year.

That's a little over 2 bushels of Red McClure and much to my surprise some PurplePeruvian.

They're in the cellar in baskets with some burlap over them. 

They'll stay nice and cool through the winter and by Spring I'll have lots of sprouting starters.

I sort them by size. Not only is this a good thing for cooking but the smaller ones get soft first so you want to eat those first.

The big ones are great in soup… I'll post that recipe later. I just substitute the potatoes for beans in a minestrone. 

Summer Lunch

I pulled up one of the Red McClure potato plants early just to see how they were doing. What I got were some lovely "new" potatoes. Obviously if I'd let this plant develop into September I would have gotten a lot more.

I decided on lunch instead.

I sliced these into 1/4" slices. Please notice that these are really firm since they've only gotten natural rainfall since June 10 they're dense and have absorbed a lot of "earth" flavor.

Normally I'd steam these first and then sauté them but these are so tiny I can do a slow sauté and then braise. Get the fire under the skillet, get it hot, then add olive oil.

I like Spanish olive oil because it's made when the olives are green and it's more "olivey" but this combo of Spanish and Italian is pretty darn good and won't break your wallet the way the pure Spanish Olive oil will. 

As the oil heats I prep some baby broccoli and onion. I add garlic (from the garden) to the onion and let it sit for at least 10 minutes since I learned on my favorite cooking program The Spendid Table that you get most of the health benefits from garlic if you slice/crush it first, let it sit , then heat it.

Here's my little trick for anything which has onions *and* tomatoes. I add some local honey to the onions while they sit. This melts into the onions, counters the acidity of the tomatoes and adds sweetness.

This is wildflower honey and adds a fantastic depth of flavor. 

When the oil is hot enough I add the sliced potatoes and turn down the heat. I want these to cook slowly, not as slowly as eggs- but slowly.

As the potatoes simmer I add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, fresh rosemary and sage (because sage and potatoes are the *perfect* combination.)

I wait till the potatoes start to brown on one side and then turn them over- gently one at a time...

I add the things which take longer to cook, the onions with garlic and honey.

and the broccoli.

... and then I add the cherry tomatoes which are perfect tart little bursts of goodness right now....

By this time the oil should have cooked down enough that the tomatoes begin to deglaze the pot. 

Turn up the heat.

If I use the word "deglaze" you have to know that the word "wine" isn't far behind. For this I use a white Bordeaux which keeps the colors fresh and mixes with the olive oil to make a bright lovely pan sauce. If you don't want to use wine then skip the honey on the onions and deglaze with apple juice or cider.

This is a ridiculously affordable White Grave from winelegacy.com it gives a good tart and tanin flavor without overpowering with sweetness.

I add one of my local favorites. Avalanche Cheese makes Goat Cheese.

That tastes, looks and feels like a pasturized Brie.

Just drop a few chunks on top....

turn off the heat ... and let the steam happen.

Slide it all into a shallow bowl and serve with a mild red wine

Add a few more cherry tomatoes on top because they are soooooo good right now!

I'm serving this with an Italian table wine Montelpulciano d'Abruzzo it's slight acidity will lend brightness to the olive oil and potatoes  and dance well with the tomatoes and honey.

Buon Appetito.

If you need desert, have a piece of fruit... 

Red McClure rules

In his excellent book How to Not go Broke Ranching Walt Davis writes " It was not the ranch's job to provide what the livestock needed; rather, it was the livestock's job to produce on what the ranch provided.

Let's talk potatoes. As I mentioned in an earlier post  I'm growing Red McClure potatoes. These potatoes were developed in the last century specifically for the soils and climate in this area.

Here's what I'm talkin' about: This is a Yukon Gold which I got from Rock Bottom Ranch last year (they have water, I don't) . I planted it at exactly the same time as the Red McClure with the same mulch and watering. It's been this size for about 2 weeks now.

 Here is a Red McClure, with a Puli for scale.

Okay, with my hand for scale....

I agree with Luv, the Red McClures are nicer.

 ...much nicer.

Mr. McClure knew what he was doing.

One potato, two potato

With no irrigation my crop choices are limited. I need something which can survive with little or no water. I need something which the deer don't like to eat. Fortunately for me that problem was solved in the 19th century with the first farmers in the area.

Loamy soil holds on to moisture for weeks. Our last big rain was May 6th and if you dig down 18" you'll still find damp clay. Of course clay/loamy soil isn't great for wheat, corn, beans or any of the other standard cash crops. Although there is evidence that someone tried to grow wheat up here once that was probably during WWI when wheat prices where insanely high. (The wheat "bubble" ruined a lot of farmers and was one of the big causes of the Dustbowl).

The 19th century homesteaders found a solution. This used to be a big potato growing region. I mean *big* growing more potatoes than Idaho. They even developed a specific type of potato which thrives here: The Red McClure.

Red McClure Potatoes

 

These were planted May 24 and 25th. We haven't had any rain since then but I did give them one good watering out of the cistern on June 10. The mulch you see is chipped sage and juniper. This is a heavier mulch than I normally use and we'll see if it makes any difference. 

I was lucky enough to get some Red McClure starters from our local Slow Food program. I'd tried other varieties of potatoes and the Russets seemed to do the best. I just wasn't prepared for how well the Red McClure's liked their home soil.

There is a lot of talk about how these don't taste great- I'm convinced it's because other farmers are being too nice to their potatoes. There's an old German saying "The worst farmers grow the best potatoes". That would be me, I abuse and neglect the little darlings. This makes for a firm potato with a very earthy flavor. You need to cook them twice (merci M. Escoffier) and don't be shy with the butter. These are great for braising, roasting or just a lovely slow saute.

Here's the great Corgi Hunter Duffmeister waiting for voles. That's really the only problem I've got planting these, the voles. I've tried sonic spikes. I've put raptor perches around the garden. Bottom line, nobody has come up with a better vole deterrent than a Corgi.

I'm not the only one who is growing potatoes again.

Woody Creek Vodka