New potatoes, local and coming in mid-April and May, are a delicacy. Jersey Royals are my firm favourites, with the Cornish potatoes close behind. But I will readily believe you if you say your local spuds are the tastiest, because like most produce, the less travelled ones are the best.
Arguably nobody needs a recipe: just boil them till tender (tip: use a cake tester to check if soft through), butter profusely and sprinkle with fresh parsley or dill. But if you fancy a new way with new spuds, check out the garlic and lemon oil poached ones, or the recipe with spicy bacon and cucumber. Also, always cook too many: leftover potatoes can be prepared in wonderful ways as you can see below.
How to cook and serve new potatoes? Lightly crushed, dressed with garlic, mint and dill with some chopped olives. The best new potatoes are Jersey Royal of course, but pick your own local ones if Jerseys are not available.
Spicy bacon and cucumber stir-fried with hot chillies and Sichuan peppers, served as a warm salad with new potatoes. It's an amazing combination, and not so uncommon in Chinese cuisine: after all China is number one producer and consumer of potatoes globally.
Spicy bacon, cucumber and potato salad
RECIPE
What a fancy way of preparing new spuds! Garlic, lemon and thyme new potatoes gently poached in oil are incredibly flavoursome and super easy to prepare: oven baked in a covered casserole dish. And they are surprisingly not greasy!
Garlic and lemon poached potatoes
RECIPE
If you get hold of a special variety, make the warm salad of Purple Majesty potatoes, courgettes and radishes. Purple Majesty, which I call Goth Potatoes, taste delicious, more waxy than floury, and contain tonnes of plant nutrients as well as anti-oxidants.
Goth potato and courgette salad
RECIPE
Warm salad of new potatoes with asparagus and crispy pancetta: if those three ingredients sound like a delightful combination, that's because they are. Best served warm, this is the perfect spring main course salad.
Potato, asparagus and pancetta salad
RECIPE
New potatoes sautéed with spinach: first boiled and then fried in plenty of butter with spinach and capers. And even though it’s excellent made from scratch, you can use up leftover, cold new potatoes. That’s what I meant about cooking too many!
Another great use of leftover spuds: salmon and potato bake with salmon in creamy sauce and a pinch of crisp Parmesan on the potatoes. It’s a healthy and easy fish tray bake, as suited for a weeknight as for a special occasion.
Crispy chorizo potatoes, slices of leftover cooked new potatoes crispened in flavourful chorizo fat, that’s another way to use up yesterday’s boiled potatoes. You might want to cook them specifically for this though.
Crispy chorizo potatoes
RECIPE
Creamy fish pie with layered sliced new potatoes, a novel take on the old fish pie with mash on top. Chunky fish and prawns, Mornay sauce and a crispy layer of sliced potato topping is finished with bubbly cheese.
Fish pie with sliced potato topping
RECIPE
And the tiniest ones should be turned into a delicious spring potato salad with radish, gherkins and very light mayo dressing. It’s the taster for a summer barbecue in early May!