Potato Planting

Potato Planting the no dig way – Cooking ideas – Spanish Omelette Recipe

Growing Plot Workshop … Potato Planting

Chitted charlottes, make 2 from one. This variety performs the best on our ground.

Innoculation. We use a lot of compost drench made simply by taking a handful of our best compost and filling a bucket of chlorine free water and stirring the fluid for around 10 minutes with the aim of suspending the billions of beneficial microbes.

On garden scale, card and paper can be used with grass mulch

If using card, it is important to get the tuber in contact with the moist ground.

Covering the card with a grass mulch.

We use round bale hay to mulch our potatoes. If we’re lucky, we can just about push and unroll them out after placing potatoes. This grassy area will be weed free to grow other crops once potatoes have been lifted.

Potato plants growing up.

Uncovering the grass mulch shows the potato tubers growing underneath.

Cooking Pot Workshop … Recipe Ideas

Roasted potatoes with the skins on. Clean roots should really not be peeled.

The small spuds left behind in the bottom of the sack in the shop are the best spuds to steam whole.

In the pan with some rosemary

A lovely Spanish omelette. See below for a recipe.

Recipe: Spanish Omelette

Ingredients

500g new potato
1 onion preferably white
150ml extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
6 eggs

Method

Cut the potatoes into thick slices. Chop 1 onion.
Part boil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes in a pan of water. That way they do not take so long to fry and use less oil
Heat 150ml extra-virgin olive oil in a large frying pan, add the potatoes and onion and cook gently, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are soft enough to poke a fork into.
Strain the potatoes and onion through a colander into a large bowl (set the strained oil aside).
Beat 6 eggs separately, then stir into the potatoes with plenty of salt and pepper. Heat a little of the strained oil in a smaller pan.
Tip everything into the pan and cook on a moderate heat, using a spatula to shape the omelette into a cushion.
When almost set, invert on a plate and slide back into the pan and cook a few more minutes.
Invert twice more, cooking the omelette briefly each time and pressing the edges to keep the cushion shape. Slide on to a plate and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

We hope you have enjoyed these workshops. There are some more resources to come! Look out for the next workshop.

Thank you to Learn Devon for funding the Family Workshops and Growing Plot Project

Thank you to Okehampton United Charities for funding our education and community program of activity