IN SEASON
restaurants and hotels via wholesalers such as Total Produce.
Buying when the season is in full
fl ow means you are probably buying asparagus that was picked the day before – you can’t get much fresher. “We never get tired of it, the season is much too short to get tired of asparagus,” John laughs. Grown naturally without any covering means the quality is top notch, so much so that when they do get a glut and it is sold out of county they get a premium price for it being Cornish. “We may not have the quantity but we’ve got the quality,” says John.
“I love them boiled, no
butter, with a bit of mint. I don’t think you can beat the fl avour of an early season new potato”
Elsewhere in Cornwall, early new potatoes are slowly fi ltering out of the fi elds and on to our plates. We spoke to Richard Meecham of Rowe Farming, which grows a selection of new potatoes across Cornwall. Just like asparagus, the wet weather has aff ected growing conditions, particularly planting, which has been sporadic. “We usually start planting in late December or early January, but with the wettest winter on record it wasn’t really until the start of March that we could really progress well.“ Richard explains. Harvesting normally starts in April and goes through the summer, but this year it might not be until mid May that the crops are progressing. The farm is based in Helston , but they grow potatoes from the Lands’ End area, which is where the earlies thrive due to the better climate, to higher up the county for other varieties. “I cannot wait to have some, it’s always something to look forward to after a long hard winter,” Richard exclaims, “I love them boiled, no butter, with a bit of mint. I don’t think you can beat the fl avour of an early season new potato.” We couldn’t agree more. Here are some delicious recipes to help you make the most of these delicacies while they are at their best.
10 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER
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