Spring Potatoes & Asparagus
Introduction
It’s spring. You may as well go all out and load up on new potatoes, asparagus and luscious herbs. There is no better time to indulge than now.
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
800g (1.7 lb) new potatoes, scrubbed
Salt
500g (a generous lb) asparagus
50g (about 2 oz) butter
1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
Flaky sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Small bunch mint
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Method
1 Steam or boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until tender. Trim the asparagus and cut into long diagonal chunks. Once the potatoes are tender, drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Drape with paper towels and leave to steam gently while cooking the asparagus.
2 Plunge the asparagus into gently boiling salted water and cook for a few minutes, until they lose their crunch. Drain. Dry the pan and add one tablespoon of butter and the crushed garlic. Return the pan to a gentle heat and cook the garlic for a few minutes, stirring with a metal spoon. Return the asparagus to the pan, add a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper to taste, and toss well.
3 Crush the potatoes with a fork and season with sea salt. Add the butter in large lumps, but don’t toss the potatoes. Sprinkle with mint. Top with the asparagus, scraping in all the garlicky butter. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve.
Recipe Notes
Draping steamy potatoes with paper towels absorbs moisture making the potatoes drier and fluffier.
