Buried treasure for next year

'Tis the season of mists, mellow fruitfulness and seed catalogues...Marshall's arrived yesterday, Plants of Distinction is on its way and on Monday, Thompson and Morgan emailed me to say that next year's seed potatoes are now available. T&M have served me well this year, from the heavenly Highland Burgundy Red potatoes to tomato Rosada to the mini patio greenhouse, so I didn't need much encouragement to buy seed potatoes from them for next year. I don't know why they're not offering the heritage collection again, and Skerry Blue has disappeared from the list. But dear old Highland Burgundy is there, and it was first onto my order. The yield isn't big, but it's one of the tastiest and most beautiful potatoes I know.I've chosen Red Duke of York as a first early, along with Sharpe's Express, which I seem to remember reading somewhere (Alan Romain's potato book??) has a fantastic flavour. International Kidney (aka Jersey Royal, but you're not allowed to call it that unless you're actually growing it in Jersey) is my second early, to be followed by Blue Danube - another purple stunner, and the knobbly and delicious Pink Fir Apple.
The most intriguing potato on the list was a new introduction: Vitelotte. It's another coloured beauty. The pic below is from the T&M site...
T&M's blurb says: 'Vitelotte (aka Negresse and Truffe de Chine) is our own registered clone of this old French variety, date unknown but probably early 1800s from Peru or Bolivia. An earlier maturing potato and with slightly larger tubers than Congo (which was phenomenally popular as a minituber last season). Potato Vitelotte has the same rich inky purple-black skin and flesh of Congo, rich in anthocyanin, and similarly with all coloured fleshed varieties they retain their colour most prominently if steamed in minimal water and not boiled. Makes visually stunning mash, chips, crisps, jackets and roasties.'
My guess is that like other coloureds, it'll fall apart if you don't watch it carefully when boiling. Does anyone actually steam potatoes? It's an idea I've only ever seen in seed catalogues which translates as: Look, we think this is a great potato but it's a bugger to cook and if you turn your back it will suddenly look like an exploded pillow so DON'T BLAME US. Anyway, how could I resist? So Vitelotte is on the order form.

Blackberry and apple cake

I have to show off these beautiful Burgundy Red potatoes, dug from the allotment yesterday. They're like little jewels, glowing ruby red. You have to watch them carefully as they boil, as they have a tendency to get very floury if they're left too long. They taste wonderful. What you lack in quantity you get back in flavour from this heritage variety.
On to pudding - this is adapted from a recipe in October's Olive magazine. Blackberry and apple cake

4 or 5 peeled, cored and sliced apples
About 20-30 blackberries, but not to worry if you have fewer
150g soft butter
150g sugar - I used 100g castor and 50g light moscavada
2 eggs
125g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
a pinch of ground cloves

Heat the oven to gas mark 4.
Put the apples in a pan with a knob of butter and a spoonful of the sugar and cook gently until the apples soften. Don't worry if you have cooking apples and they go a bit mushy. Turn off the heat and add the blackberries. Once they've cooled a bit, bung the apples and blackberries in a sieve and reserve the juice. Put the apple and blackberries in a buttered 20cm round deep cake tin - or, like me, use a paper tin liner.
Add the remaining sugar to the soft butter and mix. Then add in the eggs, then the flour, baking powder and spice. Next, stir in the fruit juices. Put the tin into the oven and bake for around half an hour. Let the cake rest for about ten minutes, then turn out.

Because of the blackberry juice, the cake looks very dark, but it tastes delicious. Serve with custard or cream.