Buttered and served with poached salmon and hollandaise sauce, or lightly dressed in a potato salad, Jersey Royals are one of spring and early summer’s most glorious treats. Here are five more ways to enjoy them during their season. Make sure you leave the skins on to maximise their wonderful flavour – just give them a good scrub.
Jersey Royal and wild-garlic tortilla (above)
Peel and finely chop one onion, then fry in olive oil over a very low heat in a metal pan (suitable for going under the grill) for 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Tip the onions into a bowl and set to one side. Put a good knob of butter in the pan and heat until foaming, then add 350g of cooked and sliced Jersey Royals. Fry for a few minutes, before adding a handful of wild-garlic leaves. Stir until they’ve wilted, then return the cooked onions to the pan. Crack five medium eggs into a jug and beat, season with salt and pepper, then pour into the pan over the potatoes, onions and wild garlic. Leave it to cook as you would an omelette, then when it’s coloured underneath place the entire pan under a hot grill until the tortilla is cooked through. Leave to cool slightly, then serve cut into wedges.
Creamy Jersey Royal and garlic soup
Melt 50g of butter in a pan, add three or four finely chopped spring onions and cook gently for five minutes. Peel, trim and thinly slice two heads of garlic, and set aside. Add 450g of cleaned and thinly sliced Jersey Royals to the pan, then the garlic, and cook gently in the butter for five minutes. Add a bay leaf, season and pour in one and a half litres of stock (chicken or vegetable). Bring up to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Remove from the heat, whizz up with a stick blender (or pour into a Magimix), then reheat in a clean saucepan. Serve with a swirl of sour cream and chopped chives.
Oven-roasted Jersey Royals with Parmesan (above)
Add 900g of Jersey Royals to a large pan of boiling water, and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain, then plunge into cold water. Once the potatoes are cool, slice them thinly. Butter a shallow, ovenproof dish, then arrange a quarter of the potato slices in a layer. Brush with melted butter, scatter over some finely chopped spring onions and Parmesan, and a little salt. Repeat this process three more times, so you have four layers in total. Bake in the oven at 200ºC for 25 minutes until golden and crisp.
Jersey Royal Gratin with watercress and pancetta
Gently fry 250g of cubed pancetta for 3-4 minutes in a large pan, until coloured. Pour 250ml crème fraîche into the pan, stir in 125ml of vegetable stock, and add two finely chopped cloves of garlic. Bring to a simmer, then add 700g of cleaned and roughly chopped Jersey Royals. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Remove from the heat, and stir in 100g of roughly chopped watercress. Transfer everything to an ovenproof dish and top with 50g of grated hard cheese – Gruyère is good. Place under a hot grill for 3-4 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Serve with salad and crusty bread.
Warm Jersey Royal salad with figs and Serrano ham (above)
Whisk
together 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive
oil and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to form a dressing, and add one
finely chopped shallot. Set to one side. Take 400g of cooked, cooled
Jersey Royals and roughly chop. Quarter two medium figs and divide them
between four plates, along with the chopped Jersey Royals. Lay a couple
of slices of Serrano ham over the fig pieces, scatter over toasted pine
nuts and some chopped fresh mint. Pour a little of the dressing over
each plate, and serve.
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