The wait is over – new season Queen potatoes hit market

Queens, Roosters, Aran Banners, Maris Pipers, Golden Wonders – every brand of potato has its devotees.

 
And this week, it turns out, is a good one for fans of Queens as growers are just beginning to harvest the first new season Queen potato crop of the year, a firm summer favourite in Irish homes.

The weather conditions in Ireland this year resulted in a three-week delay in their arrival but, the great news for consumers is that the hot weather has produced a wonderfully floury potato, which is packed full of flavour.

Irish people are huge fans of new season Queens which are perfect for summer meals, barbeques and summer salads.

According to Bord Bia in 2017 Irish households purchased more than 10,000 tonnes of Queens, equivalent to over 50 million servings of potatoes.

Paud Flynn and Sons from Rush in North County Dublin is Ireland’s largest grower of new season Queens. A fifth-generation family business, the farm is run by five brothers and their sons. Speaking about this year’s crop, Laurence Flynn said, “This has been the hottest, driest summer since 1976 resulting in drought conditions. It has been really hard work to grow our potato crops this year but thankfully in spite of the challenges we are finally able to harvest and bring them to market. Our yield is definitely lower than normal years but their taste is delicious!”

TV dietician and nutritional expert, Aoife Hearne is Bord Bia’s Potato & Fresh Produce Ambassador.  Visiting Laurence Flynn’s farm in Rush she said, “What is wonderful about potatoes is that they are a totally natural food and what we lift from the ground here today can be immediately cooked and enjoyed. We need to dispel the myth that potatoes are fattening or that carbohydrates are bad for you. Consuming potatoes is to be encouraged as we all need good quality carbohydrates for our bodies and particularly for brain function. Potatoes are naturally fat and gluten free, a great source of fibre, Vitamin C and a variety of B vitamins.  They also contain three times the amount of potassium found in bananas.”

Bord Bia is advising consumers that the best way to enjoy new season Queens is to steam or boil them because of their floury texture which means that they almost peel themselves.

 

Lorcan Bourke, Fresh Produce & Potato, Manager Bord Bia, said “New season Queens are synonymous with the taste of Irish summer and are known for their floury texture, delicate new season skin and excellent taste. This year new season potato growers throughout Ireland have had to put in valiant efforts to deliver the crop for all of us to enjoy.”

 

The three year Potatoes: More Than A Bit On The Side’ campaign co-funded by the EU, the Irish potato industry and the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine finished in mid-July 2018. As part of this campaign a dedicated website www.potato.ie was developed and contains more than 140 recipes and over 30 ‘how-to’ potato recipe videos.

For a range of tasty new season Queen potato recipes visit www.potato.ie.  

 

 

Sensational Summer Potato Salad Recipe

Ingredients

100g Queens potatoes halved
2 heads of baby gem lettuce (or any leafy lettuce)
30g peas, these can be frozen
30 broad beans, these can be frozen
2 runner beans, sliced
1 mozzarella ball (125g)
4 slices of Parma ham (or sliced ham if preferred)
1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp Dijon mustard
5 sprigs fresh mint

Method

·      Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender, 10 minutes or so. Drain and leave to cool whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

·      Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, add the runner beans and broad beans and cook for 3 minutes, add the peas and cook for a further 2 minutes, drain into the colander with the potatoes.

·      Make the dressing by simply mixing the olive oil, lemon and Dijon mustard, season with salt and milled pepper. Take a bowl and toss the potatoes and vegetables in the dressing.

·      Take a large platter plate, cut the baby gem into quarters and arrange onto the plate. Scatter over the vegetables. Tear the mozzarella over the salad and do the same with the Parma ham. Finally sprinkle over the mint and pour over any remaining dressing and serve.

·      If you don’t want to use Parma ham, then sliced ham works just as well. Other vegetables that be used are, courgettes, green beans, asparagus.

·      Find out how to whisk this recipe up in the video below and head to our video recipes page on www.potato.ie