BLOG.Notes from the Field

SHED is celebrating the revival of a local heirloom – the Bodega Red potato, first grown on the Sonoma Coast in the 1840s. This spring we planted 100 pounds at HomeFarm and have been harvesting this historic tuber to offer at SHED, both in our produce case and on our café menu.

Until our local Slow Food chapter got involved, the Bodega Red potato was nearly extinct, the victim of a virus. It is a distinct variety belonging to a small group of potatoes that migrated directly from Chile to the west coast of North America over 150 years ago. This year Slow Food distributed 800 pounds of virus-free Bodega Reds to Sonoma County farmers and gardeners with hope of re-establishing this historic potato as a local, specialty crop.

Chef Niki Ford has been preparing this rich flavored and fine textured potato in a number of ways at SHED. Here’s one of her recipes, recently published in the Press Democrat:

Lovage is an herb with a wild and bewitching celery-like flavor. At HomeFarm, Bodega Red potatoes and lovage grow near to each other and meet again on the plate in this delicious little salad.

Peel and slice about 2 pounds of Bodega Red potatoes into 1/3 inch rounds. Gently boil the sliced potatoes in salted water until they are tender, approximately 5-7 minutes. With a slotted spoon or skimmer, carefully transfer the cooked potatoes to a cookie sheet to cool. When the potatoes are no longer hot, but still warm, lay them slightly shingled, onto a platter. Squeeze one whole lemon over the potatoes and sprinkle them with sea salt. Cut 6 anchovy fillets into thirds, lengthwise, and drape them evenly over the potato slices. Generously drizzle the potatoes with good extra virgin olive oil, give them a few grinds of coarsely ground black pepper and sprinkle them with a few small handfuls of capers, chopped parsley and chopped lovage. If you do not have lovage, you can use the pale, inner leaves of the celery plant along with very thin slices of celery heart. Other additions include wedges of hard cooked egg, slices of roasted pepper, and pitted, coarsely chopped olives.

Join us for the August 18 Sunday Supper at SHED where Elissa Rubin-Mahon, whose efforts helped rediscover the Bodega Red, will share the story of how it made it’s way back to our plates so we can once again taste the creamy and nutty flavors of this thin red skinned potato. Celebrate our region’s diverse agricultural history and shared dedication to saving endangered foods.

 For tickets, go to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/436972