Potatoes, Crème Fraîche, and Dill
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
It’s the last week of June and the pink-mauve flowers of the Charlotte potatoes have started to fade. The stems are thick like old rhubarb, yet almost transparent in the evening sun. Once the flowers have gone, it’s o okay to lift them.
Step 2
The tallest stalk doesn’t disappoint. A good dozen potatoes are attached to its fine, creamy-white roots-pale, golden eggs against crumbly black soil. Not just hen’s either, there are diminutive spuds the size of quail’s eggs and others more like duck’s. It is said that they are best left to “set” for a day before cooking. We don’t, and they are rubbed clean with a thumb under running water, then boiled in heavily salted water for fifteen minutes, eighteen for the duck’s eggs.
Step 3
Gently rub the potatoes clean, washing them well under running water. Leave the skin be if it is young and thin. Peel it if not. Put the potatoes into cold water and bring to a boil. Salt generously, then simmer until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife a matter of anything from ten to twenty-five minutes, depending on the variety of your potatoes. Drain and return them to the stove, this time over gentle heat.
Step 4
Put a large dollop of crème fraîche into the pan and a handful of chopped dill fronds. Cover with a lid until the cream has melted. Fold the potatoes gently over in the melted cream and herbs until they are lightly coated, then eat with ham or oily fish.
