Tag: new potatoes

Recipe: Smashed Potatoes with Gruyère and Spring Onions

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We’ve been eating these delicious smashed potatoes all spring and summer long, for good reason. They are very easy to throw together, and yet they elevate any supper or lunch while still keeping it casual.

The soft melted cheese combined with the sharp hints of spring onions and the crispy edged, yet soft inside potatoes, is just heaven! And they pair particularly well with barbecued steak or charred barbecue chicken and the most versatile sauce.

Smashed potatoes with Gruyère and spring onions, serves 4

800g-1kg baby new potatoes

3 tbsp mild olive oil

salt and pepper

4 tbsp grated gruyére

4 spring onions, washed, trimmed and finely sliced

Pre-heat the oven to 200C fan. Drizzle about 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large ovenproof dish and add the potatoes. Season well and push them around with a spatula so that they are evenly coated with oil.

Place in the oven for approx 20 minutes or until golden brown and soft (larger potatoes take a little longer). Press down on each potato with a potato masher until flattened and “smashed”. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil (this will crisp up the edges as they continue to cook), scatter over the grated cheese and sliced spring onions. Add a little more salt and pepper and return to the oven for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and the cheese had melted.

Recipe: Creamy Potato Salad with Wild Garlic Pesto

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The best recipes are sometimes the really simple ones! And this delicious spring time potato salad could not be easier to make!

It’s lovely and creamy, but because of the wild garlic pesto it still has a little bite and it goes with literally anything. Pork! Chicken! BBQ! Fish! Steak! You name it.

Creamy potato salad with wild garlic pesto, serves 4

600 g new potatoes

approx 5 tbsp wild garlic pesto

200 ml creme fraiche

salt, black pepper

Make the pesto. Cut the potatoes into equally sized pieces and boil in salted water for approx 15 mins. Drain and leave to cool. The potatoes shouldn’t be warm, but lukewarm or cold works well. Mix creme fraiche with wild garlic pesto in a bowl, add the potatoes, salt and pepper and toss until the potatoes are nicely coated. Drizzle with a little extra pesto to decorate.

Aloha April!

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It’s definitely a little strange, welcoming a new month while in lockdown. But I’m happy it’s spring. It would have been so much worse dealing with this during the darker months. Even though only people with gardens can be outside as much as they want, it still makes me happy to see blue skies and flowering trees from inside the flat or on my walks.

And as spring has sprung, so has the produce. Asparagus is now in season, just like jersey royals, nettles, early strawberries from France, artichokes, spinach and broccoli. And it makes me so happy! I know food shopping isn’t as easy as it used to be, but if you manage to put your hands on some fresh seasonal produce, I hope you can find inspiration here. And even if you can’t, I still hope these suggestions can provide a momentary distraction or some inspiration for the future.

I am most excited about the arrival of the asparagus, so let’s start there.

This pizza with asparagus and wild garlic pesto is lovely as a main course or even as a starter. It literally tastes of spring!

This asparagus starter with wild garlic mayonnaise and parmesan has become one of my signature dishes, and I will never tire of it. It’s super simple to make but still makes an impression.

For a more hearty dish, this asparagus risotto is lovely and although filling it feels light!

Moving on to artichokes, best enjoyed freshly boiled with butter!

Another favourite ingredient is the humble new potato. In Sweden these are celebrated at midsummer but in the UK they come much earlier. And although I love them freshly cooked with just butter and dill (or cold with a little butter) they are so versatile! Serve them with asparagus, in a potato salad with wild garlic pesto. Divine with any barbecued meats or a roast chicken.

This new potato salad with pears and blue cheese is really different but so gorgeous!

Fresh spinach is also in season, and I love to eat it wilted with fluffy gnocchi and a creamy stilton sauce.

Or with baked eggs and mushroom in this delicious brunch dish!

Last but not least, British broccoli is here too. And I love it served with a poached egg and a delicious sauce. Perfect for brunch, lunch or as a starter!

These broccoli parmesan fritters is another fun way to eat broccoli. It’s delicious but also a great way to get little ones to eat their greens. Perfect for lunch!

Hope you all have a lovely April!

Recipe: slow-cooked salmon with fennel, lemon and chilli

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Salmon. Probably the most popular fish in Sweden, but not my first choice to be honest. I blame all the baked (over-cooked) salmon fillets when I was at Uni for that. Although I love the oily fish raw, cured and cold-smoked. And, after trying this recipe, like this; baked in a very low oven and still raw in the middle.

Slow-roasted salmon with fennel, lemon and chilli, serves 6

Adapted from Bon Appetit’s recipe.

1/2 fennel, thinly sliced

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 red or green chili, sliced

4 sprigs dill + more for serving

salt and black pepper

900 g salmon fillet without skin

olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 135C. Pour a little oil into a baking dish. Place fennel, lemon, chilli and till in the dish and place the salmon on top. Add plenty of salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or longer if you want it cooked through. 

Shred the fish into smaller pieces. Remove the dill (and substitute with fresh dill) and serve with the baked vegetables. I also had new potatoes and a cold sauce with lumpfish roe with mine.

Delia’s potato salad with vinaigrette

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This simple, yet quite sophisticated potato salad is one of Delia’s creations, and as I trust her ability I didn’t actually test this recipe before I made it for a dinner party; I just knew it would be nice. And of course it was. One can always trust Delia.

The only change I made was to cut down a bit on the shallots, as chopping onions really makes me cry. I think I gave up after having chopped eight shallots for double the amount of potatoes below.

Potato salad with vinaigrette, serves 8

Adapted from Delia Smith’s recipe.

900 g washed new potatoes

6 shallots, finely chopped

4 tbsp finely chopped (ot cut with scissors) chives

salt

Vinaigrette:

1 dessertspoon sea salt 

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 dessertspoon mustard powder

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

150 ml olive oil

black pepper

Steam or boil the potatoes in salted water until soft, for approx 20 minutes. Leave to cool a little and cut into smaller pieces if needed. 

Meanwhile make the vinaigrette using a pestle and mortar: crush the salt coarsely, then add the garlic. Crush it, mixing it with the salt, creating a purée. Add the mustard powder and really work it in, after that add some black pepper. 

Then add the vinegars and really work them in. Then add the oil, but switch to a small whisk and give everything a really good whisking. 

Stir in the vinagrette while the potatoes are still warm and add the shallots. Add the chives just before serving. Can be served still warm or cold.

New potato salad with girolles and bacon

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This wonderful potato salad is an old favourite. I saw a Swedish chef make it on TV many years ago and then made it myself a few times in Sweden and loved it. But moving to London girolles were no longer a staple mushroom in the supermarket so I forgot all about this dish until this summer when I cooked it for my parents. Luckily it was just as nice as I remembered it!

New potato salad with girolles and bacon, serves 4

Adapted from Gert Klötzke’s recipe.

10-12 baby new potatoes, cooked

1 packet rocket

1 litre girolles, cleaned

4 slices smoked bacon (at least)

1 chopped onion 

2 garlic cloves, chopped 

50 g thinly sliced cheddar 

butter for frying

salt, pepper

50 ml mustard vinaigrette (mix 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 3 tbsp olive oil)

Dice the potatoes and add to a large bowl. Fry the bacon until crisp, dice and mix with the potato. Fry the onion and garlic in butter until softened, add the mushrooms and fry until golden. Season. Add the mushroom to the bowl and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Mix well and lastly add the rocket and cheese. Mix again and serve. 

New potato salad with asparagus and wild garlic pesto

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

IMG_1431It’s not peak season for wild garlic anymore (sob) but I have been slightly too busy lately to be able to post on the blog regularly. I’m hoping to redeem myself with this delicious (and super easy) recipe and higher posting frequency going forward.

If you don’t happen to stumble on some fresh wild garlic in an usually shady part of the woods you can use blanched frozen wild garlic too, or bookmark the recipe for next year.

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New potato salad with grilled asparagus and wild garlic pesto, serves 4

450 g new potatoes

200 g asparagus

1 batch wild garlic pesto

salt, black pepper

Make the pesto. Boil the new potatoes in salted water. Drain and leave while you fry the asparagus on a griddle pan until semi-soft. Cut each stalk into 3-4 pieces and cut the potatoes into chunks. Toss with pesto in a bowl and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve with various barbecued meats or this lovely pork fillet.  

Halloumi salad with new potatoes, watercress, tomatoes and lime vinaigrette

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I can really crave certain foods, like sushi for example. Or a blue sirloin with bearnaise sauce. And most recently; fried halloumi. There is something utterly satisfying with the chewy, salty Cypriot cheese.

Last time I craved halloumi I also wanted a salad and potatoes and it resulted in this great salad based on this delicious Delia recipe for a starter with halloumi. I really loved this salad and although I was (very) happy to eat it on its own it would also work really well with say barbecued chicken skewers.

Halloumi salas with new potatoes, watercress, tomatoes and lime vinaigrette, serves 2

250 g new potatoes, cooked and cut in half

1 bag watercress

1 halloumi

a handful cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 red onion, sliced and marinated in lime juice

Vinaigrette:

1 lime, zest and juice

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

1 tbsp chopped coriander

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and black pepper

Mix the vinaigrette. Slice the halloumi and dry each piece with kitchen roll. Fry on high heat in a little oil until golden brown on both sides. 

Distribute water cress, new potatoes and cherry tomatoes on two plates. Remove the onion from the lime juice and divide between the plates. Drizzle with vinaigrette and place the fried halloumi on top.

Frittata with asparagus, spinach and cheddar, topped with creme fraiche and lumpfish caviar

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This frittata bursting of spring greens and new potatoes is a new favourite of mine. I added some sharp grated cheddar to reduce the sulphur-y taste fried eggs, which I’m not a fan of, but you can omit the cheese if you prefer although it does make the frittata a little creamier. Topping the frittata with crème fraiche and lumpfish caviar is very Scandinavian but it works really well and makes the dish feel a little lush.

Frittata, serves 4 as a starter/light bite, serves 2 as a main course

200 g cooked new potatoes, sliced

6 asparagus stems, cut into 2-3 cm large pieces

100 g spinach

a knob of butter for frying

3 eggs

a splash of milk or cream if desired

50 ml grated sharp cheddar

salt & pepper

To serve:

crème fraiche

lumpfish caviar

Pre-heat the oven to 180-200C. Bring water to the boil in a saucepan and cook the asparagus fir 2 minutes. Drain. Beat the eggs in a bowl (and add a plash of milk or cream if desired), season. Heat up some butter in a oven-proof frying pan (no plastic handle) and wilt the spinach. Drain the excess water and add a little more butter. Add the potato slices and asparagus pieces and fry for a minute on high heat. Add the beaten eggs and lower the heat to medium. Let the eggs set at the bottom, scatter with grated cheddar and place in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the just set.  

Leave to cool for a few minutes, cut into pieces and serve with crème fraiche and caviar. 

Creamy new potato salad with dill and Dijon

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As much as I love a challenge in the kitchen sometimes I like to keep it simple. Very simple.

This classic Scandinavian potato salad is great with fish or barbecued meats (but substitute the dill with parsley and go easy on the lemon to combine with meat) and gives me hope that spring (and summer) is just around the corner.

Creamy new potato salad with dill and Dijon, serves 1

200 g new potatoes

3 tbsp creme fraiche

2 tbsp mayonnaise (Hellman’s is fine)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 lemon, the juice

1 tbsp finely chopped dill

salt, white pepper

Boil the potatoes and drain. Leave to cool slightly (or have already cold cooked potatoes at the ready from the day before, although lukewarm works well). Dice the potatoes. Mix creme fraiche, mayo, lemon juice and dill in a bowl and add the potato. Season to taste.

Serve with a few slices cold smoked salmon and a lemon wedge.