Kerri Farrell and Catherine Ramage are the Spud Sisters. Potatoes are in their blood. The family has produced potatoes for three generations: planting, growing, picking, bagging, transporting, selling and delivering. From the original family farm in Mt Pleasant, to Green Hill to accommodate growth, and now on the rich red fertile volcanic soil of Millbrook.
The Ballarat district is renowned for the quality of its potatoes, and the Sisters know where to find and source the best of them. “Our local suppliers have been farming for generations and share our love and respect for the land that produces such bounty,” says Kerri. “They follow sustainable farming methods, raising their potatoes from certified seed and using natural methods of pest and disease control.”
The Spud Sisters are very proud of their family’s farming history. The knowledge they’ve gained over the years has helped them achieve a loyal clientele in Melbourne’s restaurants and family kitchens.
That knowledge can also guide you to some fine potato feasting this winter. Here’s Cath with her thoughts on some of the spuds you need this season.
What should we be roasting now?
The best roasters right now are Maris Piper, Fontane, Sebago, Russet and Blackwood Gold. If you’re after something a little fancier, try Mayan Gold or Pink Fir Apple. If you’re into cooking with an air-fryer you want a starchy potato like the ones we have mentioned above.
And how do you get your best results there?
I think Maris Piper and Russet are best parboiled; they’re the driest of the varieties, but also the fluffiest. When roasting, it’s all about heat and potato surface. If you’re not parboiling, then a blast in the microwave and a good shake will also work.
If you’re parboiling, add a small amount of bicarb soda to the water to dry out the edges of your cut potato. You don’t want to overdo the bicarb – a quarter of a teaspoon will suffice for a small pot, and half a teaspoon is plenty for a medium pot.
Drain the water and let the steam dry out the edges, then drizzle the potatoes with the oil of your choice as well as garlic, rosemary/thyme, salt and pepper.
This next step is important: preheat your roasting tray and then heat some oil in it in the oven. The tray you put your potatoes on should be hot and the layer of oil in that tray should also be hot. Shake or roll your potatoes in oil in the tray so they’re covered with oil (do this carefully! The tray and the oil are hot) and then back into that hot oven, somewhere between 190 and 210 degrees Celsius. You should only have to turn them once. How long they are in the oven for depends on how large you cut your potatoes, but should be around an hour.
What about mash?
For fluffy mash, a Maris Piper (boiled gently) or a Sebago. For creamy mash, it’d have to be Dutch Cream.
And soup?
The go-to in a chunky vegetable soup is a Nicola or a Dutch Cream (both waxy varieties), while for a blended or creamy style of soup, look for Maris Piper, Blackwood Gold, or a Sebago.
What about potatoes for braises and stews and curries, that sort of thing?
It depends on what you want it to look like. Your Irish stew is always made with floury (starchy) potatoes, so they’ll break down in the stew and help thicken the gravy, but in a curry, a warm potato salad or somewhere where you want the potato to remain intact, you need your waxy varieties that’ll hold their shape.
Potato cakes?
This needs to be a starchy potato, whether you’re grating or thinly slicing or mashing and forming them into croquettes. Kerri’s Irish mother-in-law would grate and mash when making her boxty pancakes. Starchy all the way.
What about a potato bake, fancy or otherwise?
A starchy potato will be a bit softer and melt into the layers of cream and cheese, if you’re making it that way, whereas a waxy potato will hold its shape in the layers. It’ll be firmer and will need a little longer in the oven.
You two are big on teaching everyone the difference between waxy and starchy spuds. Why is this important?
Choosing the right potato for the right dish makes a big difference to your finished dish. If you want to make a blended soup, you want a starchy spud, for example – with a waxy potato it can go gluey. Waxy potatoes don’t absorb moisture, so they hold their shape. Great for a curry or a stew or something where you want it to keep its structure, less useful if you want it to break down. Starchy potatoes have more dryer matter in their composition (that’s the starch) and will absorb the liquid they’re in, breaking down easily and staying lighter. It’s not going to ruin your meal or make anything inedible, but if you’re wondering why your blended soup went gluggy, the choice of potato might be the answer.
When it comes to roasting, both waxy and starchy potatoes can work – it’s more a matter of what you’ve grown up with or what you like. If you’re looking for a creamy centre, choose a waxy potato. If you like a fluffy roast potato with a crisper edge, pick a starchy variety.
What’s in season right now? What’ll be good through to spring?
Maris Piper, Russet and Sebago are your key cold-weather starchy varieties, and Dutch Cream, Nicola and Pink Fir Apple are some of our lovely waxy varieties.
Winter potatoes start being harvested late March and will continue through until the end of August. When spring arrives, they will start to sprout a bit quicker as they break dormancy and ready for planting, late spring.
If we just wanted to eat some great potato dishes out and about in the restaurants of Victoria, could you tell us about a few things that have turned your heads of late?
We called in to see Matteo Fulchiati at Lagotto in North Carlton recently – his Blue Moon gnocchi and Mayan Gold roasted potatoes are a delight. Cumulus Inc in the CBD and Sosta in North Melbourne are both serving delicious Maris Piper chat roasties with their main courses. Stokehouse is famous for its potato cake, while the more casual Pasta and Bar downstairs does delicious gnocchi, just new on the menu. Alta Trattoria in Fitzroy and Osteria Ilaria on Little Bourke Street always have something interesting and special that showcases the spud, too.
You can order Spud Sisters potatoes direct for delivery in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the NT, or catch up them at the various farmers markets they visit each week, including Mulgrave, Altona Meadows, Elwood, WeFo Slow Food, Berwick, Williamstown, Bon Beach, Brighton, Dingley Village, North Essendon, Beaumaris North, and Slow Food Spotswood, spudsisters.com.au.