Recipes | Jimmy Doherty's Salt & Vinegar Potatoes
If you read my post last week about a fantastic event I attended in London, you will have seen that I mentioned this recipe. If not, let me fill you in!
Last week I had the incredible opportunity of dining with celebrity chef, Jimmy Doherty. Over the course of the evening Jimmy educated us on the benefits of buying locally sourced food, and produced a number of wonderful dishes incorporating Jersey Royal potatoes.
In the goody bag from the event was a recipe card, a bag of Jersey Royals, a bottle of balsamic vinegar and some fine Jersey sea salt. So without further ado, here is my replica of Jimmy's recipe - 'salt n' vinegar shake in a bag'.
And that's exactly what we did. Shook it all around in a bag and baked it in the oven. The potatoes soaked up all the delicious flavours from the seasoning, and to serve we cooked some tasty lamb cutlets, roast carrots, buttered leek, asparagus and steamed kale.
Ingredients (serves 2)
4 lamb cutlets, from our local butcher
400g Jersey Royal potatoes
1 garlic clove, unpeeled
4 sprigs of rosemary
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1 handful asparagus tips
1 small carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large handfuls of kale
1 leek, washed and chopped
1 knob butter
Salt and pepper to season
For the mint sauce
1 small handful mint, finely chopped
1 tbsp malted vinegar
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp caster sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Make sure your potatoes are clean, scrubbed of all dirt, but careful not to take too much of the skin off. Place in a brown paper bag (you could make a bag out of brown paper if you don't have one) with the garlic, rosemary, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt. Tie a piece of string around the top to close and shake well, making sure everything is mixed and your potatoes are coated. Place in a roasting dish in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
2. Place your carrots into a smaller roasting dish with a drop of oil and some salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and place in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
3.To make your mint sauce, pour hot water over the mint leaves so that they wilt. Place in a jug with the malt vinegar, white wine vinegar, caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix together well with a fork or whisk. Set aside.
4. Now things get a little quick! Everything else takes around 15 minutes maximum to make. If you're running out of time on the oven, don't panic! The potatoes and carrots can always cook for a bit longer. Place your lamb cutlets into a large griddle or frying pan, with a drop of oil, over a high heat. Cook for a few minutes on either side, making sure to turn them regularly. The timings of this are all dependant on how big/thick your cutlets are and how you like them cooked. We like ours medium/rare so we cooked them for a couple of minutes on either side. The main thing to note, is that the meat needs time to rest.
5. Once your lamb cutlets are in the pan, place your kale in a colander over a pan of boiling water, on a low heat. Place a lid on top and steam for 5-7 minutes.
6. Add a knob of butter to another frying pan and gently brown the leeks on a medium heat for around 5 minutes.
7. Once you remove the lamb cutlets from the pan, and let them stand, quickly add the asparagus to the pan and chargrill for 3-4 minutes.
8. To plate up, begin with the carrots, leeks, kale and asparagus to one side, and then add the lamb cutlets to the other side of your plate. Tear open the potatoes and serve! Oh, and don't forget the mint sauce. Drizzle a little over the lamb and hey presto!
The hardest part of this dish is the timings, as everything comes together quickly at the end. However, don't worry if things go a little haywire (they always do when I'm cooking!). You can always turn the oven off and let the potatoes and carrots stay warm, or keep the kale under the lid but off the heat to also stay warm. And don't panic about the lamb going cold whilst it rests! Everything else will be piping hot, and you can warm the plates up for extra heat.