From today's garden - and a recipe

Early red-skinned potato - Norland

I'd never grown potatoes before this season, but I'm hooked on 'em now. I bought 5 pounds of Norland seed potatoes from Johnny's for $18.75, which is much more than I usually spend on anything associated with the garden. It was well worth it.

I dug a series of holes, each about 18 inches across and a foot deep, filled them halfway with compost, then buried a couple of the seed potatoes in each hole. My spacing was a little more crowded than suggested in the planting instructions, but 5 pounds of seed potatoes is a lot, and I only had so much space this year.

So, I've been hauling up a few little potato marbles along with the baseball-sized ones. I've already picked a larger spot for next year's planting, to allow for more spacing and more of the bigger fellows.

I've never eaten potatoes that have been dug just before being cooked. They're so smooth and flavorful, it's hard to believe that they haven't had tons of heavy cream and butter added. I've been cooking them whole, or cut into large pieces/thick slices, in a covered pan with just some olive oil and a few tablespoons of water, adding a touch of salt right at the end.

Here's a dish based on that method, with a few simple additions:

Fish and potatoes

Heat a heavy covered skillet over moderate heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the unpeeled potatoes whole, or cut into large chunks/thick slices, along with a few tablespoons of water and several cloves of roughly chopped garlic. Cover, turn down the heat, and check the pan every 5 minutes or so - give it a shake and move the potatoes around so they lightly brown on all sides.

When the potatoes are tender, add as many roughly-chopped pitted olives (black, green, brine or oil cured) as you like, along with a similar amount of chopped fresh cherry or grape-style tomatoes. You may want to seed and peel larger tomatoes if you use them.

Finally, add a large fillet of fresh cod, haddock, or similarly mild fish, laying it on top of the potatoes. Cover and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes, or until the fish is done.

Spoon some of the oil/pan juices over the fish, sprinkle with a little chopped fresh parsley, and bring the pan to the table for presentation and serving. This dish goes well with some crusty bread, a light salad, your favorite white wine, and a beret.