Are potatoes the ultimate comfort food?

There are those who swear by chicken soup to help an invalid recover, but is it really more as comforting than a bowl of mashed potato? For many, potatoes are probably one of the first foods we ate as babies and they're rarely off the menu throughout our lives.

Spuds don't have to be a guilty pleasure either - they're naturally fat-, sodium-, cholesterol- and gluten-free. And they contain good amounts of vitamin C (about the same as a tomato) and more potassium than a banana (make sure you eat the skin of the potato).

So whether it's perfect roasties, creamy mash or a warming baked spud (or loaded potato skins) on a cold evening, there's a way of including a potato in many of your meals.

And if you're looking for new ways of using them. have you considered pommes dauphinois alongside a steak instead of chips? Or serving mash alongside meatballs? Potatoes make wonderful creamy soup, and they respond well to spices - try them in a potato curry, or a lamb rogan josh, for example.

More tasty things to make with potatoes:
Pommes boulangere
Bubble and squeak
Potato salad
Patatas bravas
Cod with olive tapenade and rosemary potatoes
Classic Irish potato bread