Cheesy Roast New Potatoes with Wild Garlic – This recipe is so easy to make and takes advantage of two seasonal stars of Spring, Jersey Royal potatoes and Wild Garlic. It’s made a little more decadent by the addition of cheese which melts over the roast potatoes – and who doesn’t love cheesy potatoes. 

with

Tesco Jersey Royal New Potatoes

I love new potatoes and when spring comes they feature on my kitchen table as soon as they appear in the shops and greengrocers and right up until they finish. Jersey Royals are my favourite and I was pleased to see that our local Tesco was stocking them in different size bags with baby Jersey Royals available too. Jersey Royals can only be grown in the Channel Island of Jersey where the unique weather and soil contributes to their delicious taste and texture. Earthy, but not too earthy, they are a lovely potato to serve with all manner of dishes, such as  Salmon en Croûte, French Garlic & Herb Roast Lamb and Bacon, New Potato & Green Bean Salad. Spring 2018 marks the 140th anniversary of Jersey Royal potatoes, a native treasure with an unrivalled taste and quintessentially British heritage. And as the potatoes are unique to Jersey, the Jersey Royal enjoys EU protection of designation of origin. The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is an official recognition granted by the EU to protect the product as it is produced in its country of origin, and the Jersey Royal new Potato is the only potato that carries this EU Protected Designation of Origin mark of authenticity, like Cornish clotted cream, champagne or Stilton cheese.

Although the season is generally March to the end of May, you can expect to see them in the shops later this year due to the severe cold weather conditions which have affected the UK and uncharacteristically Jersey itself. So although the season was delayed this year, that’s good news for me as I can now look forward to enjoying them right through until July and beyond hopefully. The potatoes are still produced and harvested using many traditional practices such as planting the seed potatoes by hand, fertilising the potatoes using seaweed harvested from the Jersey beaches and harvesting from the islands steep slopes using winch and cables. Although we love Jersey Royals steamed and served simply with a knob of butter and some freshly chopped parsley scattered over them, today’s recipe for Cheesy Roast New Potatoes with Wild Garlic was a winner, with the waxy, kidney-shaped super-spuds roasting like a dream in some British rapeseed oil and fresh wild garlic from my garden.

This easy to prepare recipe was a real hit here when I served it a few days ago with salad and some British dry-cure ham. The recipe is suitable for vegetarians and if you omit the cheese you have a wonderful vegan side dish, or even a main meal when served with salad and some crusty bread maybe. If you are able to source Jersey Royals outside wild garlic season, then don’t worry, as you can add chopped chives in place of wild garlic. The recipe is shared below and do let me know if you make it and what you served it with.  I’ll be back soon with exciting news about my first solo book as well as some new traveller’s tales and some more seasonal recipes too. Have a great weekend, Karen 

Cheesy Roast New Potatoes with Wild Garlic

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Serves	4 to 6
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	55 minutes
Total time	1 hours, 10 minutes
Dietary	Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Meal type	Side Dish, Snack
Misc	Serve Hot
Occasion	Birthday Party, Casual Party, Formal Party
Region	British
By author	Karen Burns-Booth

Cheesy Roast New Potatoes with Wild Garlic - This recipe is so easy to make and takes advantage of two seasonal stars of Spring, Jersey Royal potatoes and Wild Garlic. It's made a little more decadent by the addition of cheese which melts over the roast potatoes - and who doesn't love cheesy potatoes.

Ingredients

• 750g Jersey Royals (scrubbed and chopped into even-sized pieces)
• 2 tablespoons British rapeseed oil
• 12 to 15 wild garlic leaves (finely chopped, plus extra to garnish)
• Sea salt flakes
• 100g grated Cheddar cheese
• Wild garlic flowers (to garnish)

Note

Cheesy Roast New Potatoes with Wild Garlic - This recipe is so easy to make and takes advantage of two seasonal stars of Spring, Jersey Royal potatoes and Wild Garlic. It's made a little more decadent by the addition of cheese which melts over the roast potatoes - and who doesn't love cheesy potatoes.

Directions

Step 1	Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas mark 6.
Step 2	Cut any larger potatoes in half and then place them into a large ovenproof roasting tray. Drizzle over the oil and turn the potatoes over to coat them in oil.
Step 3	Add the chopped wild garlic and sea salt flakes and mix well with the potatoes and oil.
Step 4	Roast them in the preheated oven for between 50 and 60 minutes, until they are crispy on the outside and tender in the middle; shake the roasting tray three or four times during cooking to ensure they all cook evenly for an even crispness.
Step 5	Take them out of the oven and sprinkle the grated cheese over the top before returning them to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes so the cheese melts. Remove them from the oven, garnish with extra chopped wild garlic leaves and wild garlic flowers and serve immediately as a side accompaniment.

*Disclaimer: Collaborative paid work with Foodies 100 and Tesco Jersey Royal New Potatoes*

*Photos: Karen Burns-Booth and Jersey Royals*