On learning that I have pledged to eat only British food during 2009, with emphasis on local produce when possible, Richard Stanley, of Rectory Farm, Stanton St John, reminded me that I need never go hungry while farmers like him were producing potatoes.

Actually, I didn’t need reminding. I happen to adore potatoes as there are so many ways they can be prepared and cooked. I love them so much that I usually buy them packed in paper sacks containing either 12.5kg or 25kg. Buying them in these quantities must surely make them one of the cheapest foods available. They are certainly cheaper than other staples, such as pasta or rice. Admittedly, buying them in bulk when the weather gets warmer can prove a bit of a problem if they are not stored in a cool place, as they tend to sprout. But the sprouts can be removed without too much trouble.

As my mother used to say: “You will never go hungry if you have sack of potatoes in the shed.”

At this time of the year, Richard is beginning to plant his early potatoes, carefully monitoring the weather forecasts as he does so, as frost kills any potato foliage and can set the crop back a week or more.

It’s a big job, as Rectory Farm is now Oxfordshire’s largest potato producer, growing more than 2,000 tonnes a year on more than 100 acres of very fertile, well irrigated ground.

Because the farm has large, cool store facilities, Richard prides himself on being able to offer local potatoes throughout the year. He even supplies them direct to two Sainsbury’s supermarkets – at Kidlington and Heyford Hill – delivering them direct to the stores to avoid excess food miles.

The varieties he grows enable him to keep us all supplied with local potatoes throughout the year. They include Saxon, Maris Piper, Wilja and some Maris Peer during the winter months. By mid-June the new potatoes are coming through – varieties such as Maris Bard, Maris Peer and Marfona. Then the Desiree arrives and the circle begins all over again.

Richard admits there is something very satisfying about growing potatoes. He never ceases to wonder at the way nature turns a small sprouting potato that is planted in the spring into a plant producing a mass of potatoes that can be stored to sustain us for the rest of the year.

Naturally he uses certified seed and he walks his fields regularly to check the condition of his plants throughout all stages of their development.

Richard points out that the national average consumption of potatoes is about 125kg a year, though cooks who are able to be creative when using them probably eat far more. He is confident we will probably eat even more potatoes this year as the recession pushes us to find cheaper ways of producing a tasty meal.

One modern trend that really adds something to a dish of potatoes is to mash with another root vegetable such as carrots, parsnips or celeriac to provide a variety of different flavours.

Mashed potato can also be mixed with mustard, tomatoes, chopped herbs and green vegetables to add colour and textural changes to the mash.

My favourite way of serving mashed potatoes with a difference is to mix them with very fine diced mushrooms, which I have cooked in lashings of butter.

I often use this mix as a topping when cooking a cottage pie, which I decorate with a few whole mushrooms for extra effect.

Potatoes don’t have to be mashed when using them as a topping. They can be sliced fine and layered on top of a casserole. A few small pats of butter sprinkled over the sliced potatoes before cooking the casserole or hotpot will ensure a golden, crunchy finish.

Another of my favourite potato dishes is the classic Pommes Anna, which can be baked in the oven in a special mould or cooked on the top of the stove.

I cook mine in a cast iron frying pan, in which I have melted a little butter, before filling the pan with layers of very thin sliced potatoes.

You can peel your potatoes first for this dish, though keeping the skin on adds extra roughage and flavour. Chopped herbs can be scattered through the layers too as you fill the pan.

I cook this potato dish slowly on the top of the stove with a lid to start with, to ensure they cook right through, removing the lid when the potatoes begin to soften and finishing it off in a moderate oven.

The dish is ready once the slices at the bottom of the pan have turned a delicious golden brown. By inverting the contents of the pan on to a plate when cooked you end up with a glorious potato cake that can be sliced into portions. Serving potatoes that have been curried is another great way of changing their flavour and they taste really terrific when diced and fried in a small amount of butter with sliced onions.

Croquette potatoes make a change, too, and are made by adding an egg yolk and a little butter to the mash, which is then shaped as you wish, dipped in beaten egg yolk and fresh breadcrumbs and fried until golden brown and crispy.

I could continue this list for some considerable time as there are more than a hundred different ways of cooking and serving potatoes. It’s a matter of using your imagination. One thing is certain, though: eating potatoes need never be dull. They were one of the most versatile vegetables in the world, acting as a vehicle for a multitude of different flavours and ingredients.

You can buy sacks of Richard’s potatoes from the Rectory Farm Shop, which is open throughout the year.