I was in Mistley, in Essex, on the river Stour, and my companion and I went into the Mistley Thorn, a pub that’s been in existence since at least 1805, and in its current manifestation is a gastropub that specializes in seafood “with-a-glint-still-in-its-eye” (their description). And on the menu was something I’d never eaten before - “seaweed crushed new potatoes.” I ordered it of course, and it came looking like this:
I’ve been trying to find out how many species of seaweeds there are. The online Seaweed Site offers a “selection” of 200, and I can’t tell you what kind came with those crushed new potatoes but the combination worked really well, a slight chewy texture to the seaweed and a lot of saltiness – not going to argue with that.
There are so many things that go well with potatoes, all the way up to caviar. And as fate would have it, a reference on Facebook (thank you Steve Duffy) led me to this ancient news item. It’s from the Sacramento Union, 7 May, 1916.
Now, my experience with morphine is essentially medical, and I seem not to have the right body chemistry to become a real fan, but having taken it after surgery, I can definitely say I didn’t emerge buoyant, my lips wreathed in smiles, my eyes a-sparkle. In fact my mouth tended to hang open and my eyes roll back in my head. But maybe it’s different when potatoes are involved.
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