Fancy taters for tea?
Yorkshire celebrity chef James Martin is championing seasonality with these simple yet flavourful dishes that celebrate springtime favourite Jersey Royal new potatoes, in season until the end of June.
James Martin’s Lamb chops with Jersey Royal new potatoes with lemon and mint salsa
Serves 4. Ingredients: 12 lamb chops, 800g Jersey Royal new potatoes, 50ml olive oil, salt & pepper. For the dressing: 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 shallot, peeled and diced, 1 small bunch of coriander, chopped, 1 small bunch of mint, chopped, 2 tablespoons of capers, 1 lemon, juice and zest, 100ml extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar. To serve: bunch of watercress
Heat a barbecue until hot and the coals are white, or a grill to a high heat.
Place the washed Jersey Royal new potatoes into a pan with cold water and a large pinch of salt. Bring up to the boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked.
To make the dressing, chop the shallot, coriander, mint and capers together until fine. Transfer this into a bowl and add the remaining dressing ingredients. Place the chops on to a tray if grilling or straight onto the barbecue. Season and cook for 2-3 minutes each side and then leave to rest for a few minutes. Drain the potatoes and season. To serve, put the lamb chops and the Jersey Royals in a large bowl, top with watercress and the dressing.
James Martin’s Jersey Royal new potatoes spring tartiflette
Serves 8. Ingredients: 1kg Jersey Royals new potatoes, cooled and sliced, 200g lardons, 2 finely sliced red onions, 2 garlic cloves, crushed, 100ml dry white wine, 120ml double cream, 300g Reblochon
cheese (or similar), pepper, Serve with a dressed green salad.
Pre-heat the oven to 200C Cook the Jersey Royal new potatoes in salted water, cool and slice thinly
Fry the lardons in a drizzle of vegetable oil, remove and set aside. Sauté the onions in the same pan add the garlic cook until softened, stir through the lardons and potatoes and season with pepper.
Deglaze the pan with the wine, add in the cream and finish with slices of Reblochon. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
James Martin’s Jersey Royal new potatoes with whipped spiced potted shrimp butter
Serves 4. Ingredients: 800g Jersey Royal new potatoes, 250g unsalted butter, room temperature, 180g peeled brown shrimp, 20g parsley, finely chopped, 1 lemon juice and zest, 2 teaspoons Worcester Sauce, ½ teaspoon mace powder, ½ teaspoon cayenne powder, salt & pepper.
Cook the Jersey Royal new potatoes in cold water with a generous pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
In a large bowl, mix the butter for to soften and lighten the texture. Add in the pars
ley, shrimp, lemon juice and zest, spices and Worcester Sauce, and mix until well combined.
Drain the Jersey Royal new potatoes and stir through half of the shrimp butter, allowing it to melt a little before serving.
Note: the rest of the shrimp butter can be frozen or popped in the fridge for up to five days.
Baked eggs with Jersey Royals and tomatoes
Ingredients: 400g Jersey Royals, 30g unsalted butter, 225g chestnut mushrooms, quartered, 150g cherry tomatoes, halved, 4 large free-range eggs, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. To garnish: a small handful of fresh flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped. To serve (optional) hot chilli sauce.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Slice the Jersey Royals (don’t bother peeling them). Heat half the butter in a large, shallow ovenproof casserole over a medium-high heat. Gently fry the chestnut mushrooms for five minutes, or until just cooked. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Once it has started to froth, add the Jersey Royals and lots of salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the potato is starting to colour. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.
Scatter the tomatoes over the Jersey Royals and then return to the oven for five minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle over the mushrooms. Then make four shallow wells in the potato mixture and crack in the eggs. Return to the oven for 6-8 minutes, or until the egg whites are just set and the yolks are still runny. Garnish with parsley and serve with chilli sauce if you like.
Crispy oregano roasted potatoes with creamy feta sauce, by Anna Janecka
Serves 4. Ingredients: 0.5 kg Jersey Royals, halved or quartered if large, half a lemon, quartered, 2 cloves garlic, smashed, 40g fresh oregano, chopped, 40ml, plus 60ml extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper, 85g mixed chopped herbs, basil, dill or parsley, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, 110g of feta cheese, 40g cream cheese, at room temperature, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, pinch of smoked paprika, pinch of chilli flakes.
Preheat the oven to 220C. On a baking sheet, toss the Jersey Royals, lemon wedges, garlic cloves and oregano with 40ml olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until tender.
Remove the Jersey Royals from the oven. Remove the charred lemon and garlic from the baking sheet. Return the pan to the oven for 20-25 minutes more, until crispy.
To make the herb oil, finely chop 1-2 roasted lemon wedges – rind and all, discarding any seeds. Chop/mash the garlic into a paste. Add the lemon and garlic to a bowl. Add 60ml olive oil, the mixed herbs, and the honey. Season with salt, pepper, and chilli flakes.
To make the feta sauce, combine the feta, cream cheese, and lemon juice in a blender and blend until creamy. If desired, thin with additional lemon juice.
Grab the potatoes from the oven and toss them with half the herb oil and the sesame seeds. Swirl the feta onto a large serving plate, then arrange the Jersey Royals over the feta.
Drizzle over the remaining herb oil and sprinkle everything with paprika, chilli flakes and sea salt. Eat warm.