Ingredients
Jersey Royals with Wild Garlic Pesto
Directions
Method
- Step 1, Cook the Jersey Royals in a pan of boiling salted water until just tender.
- Step 2, Blanch the wild garlic briefly (1 minute) in boiling water, then drain (in a salad spinner, if possible).
- Step 3, Lightly toast the pine nuts in a dry pan and combine the wild garlic, Parmesan, lemon juice olive oil and a small pinch of salt in a blender. Pulse to combine (you want to leave some texture to the pesto).
- Step 4, Once the Jersey Royals are cooked, combine with as much of the pesto as you like.
Recipe Note
About Jersey Royals and Wild Garlic
Jersey Royal potatoes have held Protected Designation of Origin status since 1996, which means they can only be grown on Jersey, on the steep, south-facing côtils of the island. Their season runs roughly from late March to July, with the very earliest hand-dug crop the most prized. The papery skins, gentle sweetness and clean, faintly nutty flavour are unlike any other early potato.
Wild garlic, in its own short March-to-May British window, makes a natural pairing for any wild garlic recipe: the leaves are milder than a bulb of garlic, more herbaceous, and they take very well to being blitzed into a pesto. A classic wild garlic pesto recipe layers in toasted nuts, parmesan or pecorino and good olive oil.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Jersey Royals with wild garlic pesto warm as a side for grilled lamb, pan-fried fish or a piece of roast chicken, or at room temperature as part of a wider spring salad with soft-boiled eggs, peas and broad beans. Any leftover pesto is worth stirring through warm pasta, spooning over burrata or using to dress a simple chopped tomato salad. The pesto keeps for around a week in the fridge under a thin layer of olive oil.
