Mash it up.

Light, fluffy and smooth, good mashed potato is just like me.

Made with the right potatoes, such as Arran Victory, Maris Piper or Desiree, mash goes brilliantly with hundreds of dishes. Sadly, while the British embrace the flexibility of rice and cous-cous, they tend to think of mash as something you only eat with sausages. (Not that I have anything against bangers, you understand, it’s just that mash can do much more.)

North Americans like their mash, and serve it mostly with chicken and pork chops, and usually with gravy. The Irish have colcannon, where the mash is mixed with hot cabbage, and champ, with lots of spring onions. (Champ is great with salmon, but then I would say that, wouldn’t I?) My friend Zero the cat from Cologne tells me that in Germany, they mash potatoes and apples together to make Himmel und Erde, which means “heaven and earth”, and they often serve it with black pudding. Brilliant.

Martin thinks a good smooth mash can be served on its own as a first course, like polenta, and should be dressed with some good olive oil, shavings of parmesan and lots of black pepper. (That sounds just a little poncy to me.) To accompany meat, he usually does a rougher version, more like Scots chappit tatties, leaving the skins on and roughly breaking the spuds rather than pureeing them.

Last night he made a spiced mash to go with kebabs. Clean a kilo of floury potatoes and boil them whole, with their skins intact, until done. Drain them and keep them warm. Melt two tbs of ghee in a large pan and add a couple of crushed garlic cloves. Fry the garlic but don’t let it burn. Grind a tsp of cumin and a tsp of coriander seeds and add them to the ghee and garlic, along with a tsp of chilli powder. Stir and fry for a minute, then add the warm potatoes. Mash them quickly into the hot, spicy ghee, adding a little milk or yoghurt if they look a bit dry. Check for salt and serve. You could add chopped green herbs, like coriander or dill, if you have them. A more refined and expensive version can be made with saffron - infuse some threads in warm milk and add to the spuds.

Mmm, d’you know, I keep thinking about that German Himmel und Erde combination. I think I’ll try to find a recipe on-line, print it out and leave it where Martin can see it.