Christmas Special: Phureja’s a Jolly Good Roastie
Caterers looking to offer a really special roast potato with Christmas menus should check out Mayan Gold from Greenvale AP. Mayan Gold is not technically a potato, it’s a phureja (pronounced fur-eka), the vegetable from which modern potatoes evolved. Developed by Greenvale AP, the UK’s largest supplier of fresh potatoes, Mayan Gold is available from wholesale distributor Sharrocks in ten kilo catering packs.
Mayan Gold has a nutty, buttery flavour and makes perfect roasties for special occasions. Its flesh, which is a bright, rich gold colour, is less dense than in a modern potato, so it cooks in only half the time. It can be roasted, chipped, sautéed or steamed but is not suitable for boiling.
Another benefit that Mayan Gold phurejas have over the modern potato is that they need no added butter for flavour, so they will appeal to the health conscious.
Mayan Gold deliver a curiosity factor, too: the exclusivity and rarity of the phureja will be a plus for any caterer looking to add a touch of the exotic to their Christmas menus. Greenvale’s phurejas are grown in the UK and have a limited season, from October to February.
Recipe for Mayan Gold garlic & rosemary roast potatoes:
- Cut Mayan Gold potatoes into even sized chunks and blanch in boiling water for 2 – 3 minutes
- Shake the chunks gently in a colander to roughen their surfaces
- Place the chunks on a roasting tin with garlic, rosemary and a high quality virgin olive oil, shake on some sea salt and bake in oven at 220 ºC, gas mark 7 for 30 – 40 minutes, turning occasionally until golden and crispy
For supplies of Mayan Gold contact Sharrocks on www.sharrocks.com or 01772 724444.
For more information visit the Greenvale AP website at www.greenvale.co.uk
Copy ends
Editor’s notes
Greenvale AP is the UK’s leading supplier of fresh potatoes and was awarded the Queens Award for Innovation in 2006. Greenvale AP now supplies the UK’s premier retailers, caterers and processing outlets with quality potatoes, meeting the high standards demanded by the UK market.
Greenvale AP has developed sites in the major potato growing areas across the UK, resulting in three state of the art potato-packing operations situated in Shropshire, Berwickshire and Cambridgeshire. The company also has sales and marketing offices across the UK, including in Norfolk, Suffolk, Somerset, Hereford and Yorkshire.
Greenvale AP’s Seed Potato operation is managed from a specialist office at Burrelton, near Perth in Scotland.
Mayan Gold has been bred from an original South American potato species called Phureja (pronounced “fur-eka”), a plant that Raleigh, Drake and other explorers would have encountered when they explored South America in the sixteenth century. However no one had been able to adapt it to grow successfully in European daylight and weather conditions. The problem was finally solved by a team of leading plant scientists from Greenvale AP working in conjunction with the Scottish Crop Research Institute. Over 15 years they bred a variety which will thrive in a European climate.