spiral spud

The Galway Christmas Market opened in Eyre Square on Friday, and I went in for a gander yesterday. It seems to be hugely popular and busy. There are stalls and stands from people selling goods and food from all over Europe. It also has a Beer Castle, styled after the German Beer Halls, which is bound to be a hit with Galwegians.

I was there during the day, but I’d say when night falls – quite early nowadays – it will look very Christmassy.

One of the stands I went to was selling Goulash, and deep-friend Spiral Potatoes. Now, this is genius. It’s quite a stereotype, but we Irish love our potatoes. We’ll have them in whatever form we can get them. I’m also quite a fan of spirals, which is also embedded in our cultural all the way from the neolithic period.

Needless to say I had to try one, and you’ll see the photo of the final product.

A whole potato is cut using a spiral vegetable slicer. The spud is impaled on a stick and deep-fried. Afterwards it is drained and rolled in a seasoning of your choice – I went for spicey garlic.

Yes, it tastes just like chips, but in a different shape. Novelty is a big selling point. The process all happens in front of you so you know what you’re getting.

Ireland might be in the worst financial crisis of our era, but the holiday season is approaching, and while in the past I’ve been a bit of a ‘Bah, humbug’ kind of gal, an injection of seasonal good will would not be amiss.

Gift-giving might be a bit trickier this year, but if you have to give a present to a foodie friend then maybe a spiral vegetable slicer will do the job. I particularly like the name of the Vegetable Spiralizer. If your mate likes raw food and salads then it will be particularly good as it creates lots of fun shapes to jazz up the plate.

Novelty and presentation also go a long when you’re trying to get kids to eat veg.