False past horizons36 Annie Evans, The Dig Cook The Dig Cook’s website http:// www. digcook. com ? Potatoes are enjoyed all over the world. Consider the mashed potatoes of American Thanksgiving, the baked potato of England with the Sunday roast, and the universal chipped potato or French fry for every day of the year. The humble potato is actually the king of the vegetables. The ranks of potato varieties are very large and I don’t know of anyone who’s done a head count of those available to cooks today. One hundred? Perhaps more, but there are rarely more than a few available in any local area and probably only two or three in any given store, market or supermarket. We have just a fraction of the potato richness that has survived in the Andes where it’s been estimated that more than 4000 different varieties can still be found. We owe a vote of thanks to the Spanish conquistadors, not for their bloody victories in South America in the 16th century, but for bringing back the potato when they returned to Europe. In time, it was worth more than all the gold and silver of the Inca Empire. Potatoes can be fat, skinny, lumpy or smooth; long, short, round, or square; red, yellow, white, green, blue or purple. Their cooking qualities vary greatly. My favourite potato is the one known as the Dutch Cream – and no prizes for guessing where it comes from. It’s found in many places, including Cyprus, the UK ( particularly in London), in Australia and, of course, the Netherlands. With its creamy yellow fl esh, the Dutch Cream is perfect for baking, mashing or chipping. Cheap and cheerful, the potato is the planet’s gift to the fi eldwork cook. If you can’t fi nd Dutch Creams, other excellent varieties include the Nicola, Russet Burbank, Jersey Royal, Yukon Gold and Kipfl er. The potato’s versatility means that you can deal with it very simply, for example by wrapping it in foil with some herbs and oil and cooking it in the coals of a campfi re. You then unwrap it, slash it and add toppings such as sour cream, chopped tomato, avocado, corn and fi nely- cut crispy bacon. But potatoes can also be the foundation of much more ambitious meals. The recipes that follow are not too ambitious because they are designed for use at typical fi eldwork locations. Cooking large quantities of food to perfection, even with quite complex recipes, is easy enough in a restaurant kitchen or a well- equipped home kitchen but a different matter altogether on the often very basic stoves that are the usual run of things in archaeology. Here’s how I cook large quantities of baked potatoes to perfection – even on the dodgy stoves that I generally have to use. As always, the quantities in the recipes that follow are for 30 people. If the numbers at a fi eld project are larger or smaller, quantities will need to be adjusted accordingly. Recipes for Archaeologists

False 37past horizons 7 ½ kg ( 16 ½ lb) of potatoes, peeled 1 ½ cups olive oil 10 stalks rosemary salt and pepper water Cut the peeled potatoes into 120 pieces approximately. Place in a large plastic bag, making sure there are no holes in the bag. Add the olive oil and shake until the potatoes are well coated with oil. Place the potatoes on two or three large, shallow baking trays and pour in cold water to a depth of 3mm ( about 1/ 10th of an inch). The water ensures that the potatoes don’t stick to the trays while cooking. Sprinkle thoroughly with salt and pepper and spread rosemary evenly over the trays then place in a 180 degree oven for approximately one to one- and- a- half hours. The trays should be shaken and turned around and their shelf position changed in the oven to ensure even cooking. This compensates for uneven heat and lack of fan in the usual dodgy fi eldwork ovens. Make sure there is water in the base of the trays up until the last 30 minutes of the cooking process. When they come out of the oven, potatoes should be golden and all water should have evaporated. Remove rosemary stalks and serve. Cracked potatoes with red wine Ingredients method Using a wooden mallet, pestle or hand-sized stone, hit the potatoes – a few at a time – on a chopping board. They should not be crushed but cracked slightly so that they’re partly open. Dry on kitchen paper. Heat the vegetable oil until smoking and deep fry the potatoes in batches until they are golden all over ( 3- 4 minutes). Drain and set aside. In another large, heavy pan gently heat the olive oil, add the crushed coriander and seasonings and fry gently until the coriander releases its aroma. Add the potatoes and mix gently to coat with the oil and coriander. Pour in the red wine and cover. Cook gently ( low simmer) for 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed, tossing occasionally to prevent them sticking to the pan. This is delicious with meat, fi sh or chicken and a Greek salad. A good cold potato dish is potato salad. 7 kg ( 15 ½ lb) scrubbed potatoes 2 cups good mayonnaise 2 cups sour cream or yogurt ½ cup olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons prepared mustard salt & pepper 2 cups fi nely chopped chives, spring onions or red onions 3 teaspoons paprika A delicious way of serving the humble spud comes from Cyprus where I collected the following recipe. Bring potatoes to the boil in a large pot and cook until just tender. Tip into a large colander and drain. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. When cool enough to handle remove skins and chop into 2cm ( 8/ 10th of an inch) cubes. Mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, olive oil, mustard, spring onions and salt and pepper. Add this mixture to the potato cubes and mix carefully. Sprinkle with paprika and chopped chives and serve. Rosemary Baked potatoes potato salad As the main vegetable dish for the evening meal. Ingredients method 7 kg ( 15 ½ lb) small potatoes ( 90 potatoes) scrubbed and dried 2 litres ( US: 4.2 pints, UK: 3 ½ pints) sunfl ower or vegetable oil 1 cup olive oil 125 grams ( 4 ½ oz) coriander seeds, crushed salt and pepper 1 litre ( US: 2.1 pints, UK: 1.75 pints) dry red wine Ingredients method