Whether you’re suffering from a supermarket shortage and higher prices due to poor harvests or you’re simply bored and looking for a change, there are plenty of other interesting root vegetables that can be used as an alternative to the potato.
The rise of healthy alternatives has given us much more food to tantalise our tastebuds with healthier alternative ingredients to our age-old classics.
Jerusalem Artichokes
They have a reputation for causing some rather antisocial side effects but this robust root is less prone to crop damage than potatoes. They can be simply boiled and mashed into a delicious, fluffy cloud, peeled and roasted or chipped in fact you can treat them just like potatoes.
Celeriac
These lumpy, unattractive looking roots have a strong flavour so tend to work best combined with other vegetables.
They make a great mash or soup in combination with other roots and add great flavour and texture used raw in winter salads.
The flesh discolours quickly so add lemon juice.
Kohlrabi
This versatile vegetable is little known in the UK but is a great all-rounder.
They can be eaten as baby veg, the stems and leaves can be used raw or steamed and the bulb can be used raw in salads, similar to celeriac.
Larger and later bulbs work well in the autumn in soups, stews and mashes.
Oca
Otherwise known as New Zealand yams, these bulbous roots have a crisp, lemony taste and crunchy but juicy texture that makes them a great ingredient for winter salads or just eaten raw as a cruditts like carrot or cucumber sticks.
They can also be cooked and used like potatoes and you don’t even need to peel them.
Sweet potato
An incredibly versatile vegetable, the sweet potato can make all the same standard potato dishes that you know and love, but provide quite a different taste and sometimes smoother texture than their white potato counterparts.
Perfect as chips or mash, try replacing regular potato dishes for sweet potatoes and taste the difference.
Sweet potatoes are slightly smaller than the regular variety, and can be cooked and used just like potatoes.
Yam
Often confused for sweet potatoes, the yam is a popular in Africa and Asia as a base for many dishes.
Although they are confused for sweet potatoes yams can be used in exactly the same way, with colourful purple yams providing amazing colour to your dishes.
It’s important to peel yams though as some varieties can irritate the skin.