New Potatoes NOW

Legitimate new potatoes, i.e. freshly dug yesterday in Saskatchewan, are one of the true tastes of summer for me. They are a very fleeting seasonal pleasure, as they only taste the way they do for about a month until they mature and begin to taste more classically "potatoey". Actual new baby potatoes taste almost sweet and are a very different experience from a french fry or a large baked russet.

If you don't understand the big deal, and continue to buy last years' crop from the grocery store, I implore you to just buy one little bag and give it a shot. Perhaps $5 for a pound of potatoes seems a bit steep, but remember it is $5 for a once-a-year treat that won't exist in a few more weeks. I have been buying mine from Spring Creek Garden, through the Community Farmers Market of Saskatoon or the Robertson Valley Farm stand on Valley Road, but a lot of other market vendors will have them very soon.

My favourite way to prepare them is: boil (this is the only time I boil vegetables) and drain them. Then I put a generous amount of butter and salt into the pot, get the butter slightly bubbling, add copious amounts of dill and green onion, and add the potatoes back in to coat them in butter and greenery.

"Dilled potatoes" as I grew up calling them (and likely do many others, as it seems very common for markets to advertise fresh dill along with new potatoes) make a great side for a BBQ'd protein, and sometimes we just eat them as our full meal along with sour cream or cottage cheese (I know some people are grossed out by cottage cheese, but don't knock it until you try it - it's like an Eastern European poutine).

Time is of the essence here, people! Get your baby potatoes while they are still babies.