Potatoes: A Country Garden Cookbook

Waldrone ( Cold Spaghetti at Midnight ) here finds redeeming value in a humble thing, traipsing with the potato through culinary Mexico, France, Italy, Hungary, the Middle East and various quarters of North America. As glimpsed through the fine nostalgic mist of Jones's camera, the root swells a Mediterranean fish stew; stuffs golden fowl or green chilies; or lies au naturel , pending baking or roasting. Among the most appealing recipes are the simplest: in roasted balsamic potatoes and onions, recommended as an accompaniment to red meats, the contenders are oven-roasted first in olive oil and then in seasoned balsamic vinegar; in rosemary potato skewers, potato chunks are boiled, dredged in herbs and spices, and grilled on charcoal. But if the potato lends itself to these visceral pleasures, it can also sneak into upper-crust tarts without suffering. (And even into hummus--where, one suspects, it may languish.) Waldron, trained at La Varenne, offers appetizers, side dishes and main courses in her brief book, a new entry in Collins's attractive Country Garden Cookbook series, and even offers advice to the amateur grower--but omits desserts, where potatoes can give depth and moist substance, if not pungence, to tortes. BOMC selection. (Oct.)