These days, as I see more and more baby new potatoes popping up here and there in the shops, I keep dreaming of the delicious bonnotte de Noirmoutier. The bonnotte is a variety of very small potatoes that grows on the island of Noirmoutier in the region where I am from (Vendée). It is cultivated in a very sandy soil and harvested before it reaches maturity (less than 90 days). It is such a small and delicate potato that it is harvested by hand. There are not a lot of them produced and they can be mainly purchased during the second week of May.
I had the chance to eat it a few times when I was younger but it was very rare. Not only this potato is difficult to get in the shops (it sells really fast) but it is also quite expensive. It now sells for about 6 euro per kilo. The first crop usually goes for auction and it once reached 2,285 euro for a box of 5 kilos!
The rare times I ate bonnotte potatoes, it was only boiled with the skin on and served with a sprinkle of fleur de sel (how handy it is that Noirmoutier also produces a lot of fleur de sel!). Nothing else added! And you would not need anything else, the quality of this potato is such that it melts in your mouth like butter, divine!

Spring is finally making its full approach in Dublin city! Blue skies and sunny days are more frequent, trees are in bloom, birds are singing (at two in the morning! What is going on with these birds...) and thick jumpers, warm boots and heavy jackets are finally making their way towards the wardrobe to stay there until next Winter. Now, do not mind the drizzle of rain every now and then, this is still Ireland after all!
What excites me too about Spring is all the lovely fruit and vegetable that come with it: Swiss chard, asparagus, radishes, beets, baby potatoes, blood oranges, rhubarb, etc.
And my favourite vegetable still in season this March: leek!