With spring in full bloom, regardless of the great British weather's predictable unpredictability, Kathy Slack, cook, author of From the Veg Patch and veg grower extraordinaire, joins us this springtime for the next installment of our Seasonal Veg collaboration. This time, Kathy's chosen heroes of the season include asparagus, broad beans and Jersey Royals, delighting us with a delicious salad recipe using all three aforementioned veg, perfect pairings for broad beans, and interesting ways to use Jersey Royal potatoes. 

“Spring always seems in such a hurry, doesn’t it? One minute you’re wondering if the ground is warm or dry enough to sow lettuces yet, and the next you’re worrying that the tomatoes in the greenhouse will wilt in the late-May heat. In the garden, things are growing apace, the Hungry Gap is almost over, and the first real harvests of the year begin:

Broad beans, assuming you had the foresight to sow them before Christmas (as you can with the Aquadulce variety) will be starting to crop now. Those sown in early Spring, though, will be ready to harvest in a few weeks, and, in the meantime, the growing tips are sweet and juicy, ideal in a salad or simply plucked from the plant and scoffed in the garden.

Jersey Royals are arriving in the food hall now too, but not in the kitchen garden since, with their Protected Designation of Origin status, they can only be grown in Jersey with its uniquely sandy soil and mild climate. However, I often pop a few International Kidney new potatoes in the patch in April. It is exactly the same variety as those from Jersey but, obviously, not grown in Jersey, and will crop a few weeks later.

We can’t talk about the bounty of late-spring without talking about asparagus, a crop for the most dedicated of growers. It takes several years before you can harvest a crop from a newly established plant, and the upkeep is significant – hand-weeding, religiously regular watering, plenty of space in which they will live all year round. But, if you have time and space, nothing makes a more British spring day, than picking your own asparagus and making an al fresco lunch - perhaps the salad below.”

Warm Asparagus, Jersey Royal & Broad Bean Salad

with Capers, Dill & Mustard

Serves 2 generously or 4 as a side

Asparagus is the hero of this dish, but the supporting cast is strong with significant cameos from all my spring favourites. A good dollop of Fortnum’s dill and mustard sauce brings it all together to make a perfectly balanced main meal that is complete on its own, but would also go well with poached salmon, roast chicken or as part of the first BBQ of the season. 

Ingredients
200g Jersey Royal potatoes
2 eggs, room temperature
300g asparagus
150g broad beans, podded weight
6 - 8 radishes, trimmed and halved
30g lamb's lettuce, baby spinach or salad leaves
2 spring onions finely chopped 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp mint leaves
2 heaped tsp Fortnum's Lilliput Capers
3 tbsp Fortnum's Dill and Mustard Sauce

Recipe

STEP 1

Clean the potatoes but don’t scrub them so hard the skins come off (this is where the flavour is). Place the whole potatoes in a pan of cold, salted water, bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes.

STEP 2

Add the eggs to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. 

STEP 3

Add the broad beans to the pan and sit the asparagus on top of everything so it’s only partially submerged. Put the lid on and cook everything for a further 2 minutes. 

STEP 4

By now, a skewer should pierce the middle of the potatoes without effort, the eggs will be jammy in the middle and the beans and asparagus will still have bite. Drain everything, extract the eggs and tip the rest into a serving bowl, halving any large potatoes as you do. (You can pod double pod the broad beans if you really want to, but if they are young I don’t think it’s necessary.)

STEP 5

Run the eggs under cold water then peel and set aside. 

STEP 6

Add the radishes, leaves, spring onions, herbs and capers to the bowl. Spoon in the dill sauce and toss together. Pile onto a platter, halve the eggs and nestle them amongst the dressed salad. Serve while still warm. 

If you like this recipe, you can watch Kathy in our Food & Drink Studio creating another delicious asparagus dish here.

Perfect Pairings for Broad Beans

Bacon and Ham

The sweet and bitter balance of broad beans is only made more joyful by the addition of a fatty, salty sweetness of pork. That might be a few pieces of leftover ham shredded into a broad bean salad, or a little pancetta fried in a pan with some podded broad beans added in the final moments to drench themselves in the fatty juices. Or, arrange several slices of air-dried ham on a platter then top with cooked broad beans you have tossed in a grassy olive oil.
 
Eggs

You could do very much worse then taking a little bowl of buttered broad beans with you on a picnic to serve with Scotch Eggs. On that same picnic, you might also take a bag of fried egg flavoured crisps, for dipping into smashed broad beans which is just a matter of mashing cooked and double-podded broad beans with some extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, a little crushed garlic, and a handful of parmesan.
 
Seafood

Pan-fried scallops with a few broad beans thrown into the pan in the final moments is one of my greatest treats. Crab too, loves broad beans. Spread a little brown crab meat onto toast, for example, then top with a mixture of broad beans and white crab meat, lemon juice and salt. Or, pile freshly made blinis with double-podded broad beans and salmon keta. Simple and decadent.
 
 

It would be easy to think that a potato is a potato is a potato. That is, until you taste a Jersey Royal. Bite into the creamy, waxy flesh of this spring harvest and the buttery rich flavour will be so sweet, so nutty that it will change your perspective on potatoes forever. This unique flavour means you can prepare them in some quite robust ways and they will still retain their magic.
 
Boiled

...but with care. It is possible to over-boil Jersey Royals, indeed all potatoes, so don’t just bug them in some hot water and leave them to it. Instead, place them in cold, salted water. Add a few sprigs of mint, pop a lid on the pan and bring to the boil. Once simmering, bubble for 10 minutes then drain, return to the pan, add a of of butter and clamp the lid on for 5-10 more minutes so they can finish cooking in their own buttery steam. Nothing else needed.
 
Roasted

The skins on Jersey Royals are a nutty, earthy treat and full of nutrients. Boil scrubbed Jersey Royals for 5 minutes (as above) then drain, toss in olive oil and salt and roast in a hot oven (210C) for 30 minutes until golden and wrinkly.
 
Crushed and Fried

Whole, cold, boiled Jersey Royals can be crushed with the back of spoon so the skins burst but the potato stays whole, then fried in a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and some salt, over a medium-high heat, for 8-10 minutes until gnarly and crisp. Add a couple of spring of rosemary and a crushed garlic clove to the pan a couple of minutes before the potatoes are ready for extra oomph.