Sea Bass with a warm Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Asparagus

Having visited Jersey at the weekend, and picked up some Jersey Royals fresh from a hedge veg honesty box, I was excited to get cooking with them.

The Jersey Royal season is a favourite in our house and serving them cooked, simply drizzled in butter with a little sea salt and either a few chopped chives or mint is always a winner; but I fancied trying something different.

Whilst in Jersey, we enjoyed several beautiful fish dishes amongst our group, and what I noticed was, whilst everything tasted great, there was a real simplicity that reminded me of Italian cookery. Rather than lots of complexities, instead, only a few, really good quality ingredients were used, and would be cooked well and did all the talking.

So for this dish, I simply created a warm Jersey Royal salad to go alongside pan-fried sea bass fillet and served with some sautéd asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Simple but it worked really well and we'll certainly enjoy again.

You could of course use an alternative potato such as Charlotte or simply New, but there is something extra special about the fudgey, sweet flavour that’s just better than the other varieties.

Bridget enjoyed this dish too so it's a great option for a family meal and the below serves three.

Sea Bass Fillet with a warn Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Aspargus

Here's how:

• 3 sea bass fillets
• Bunch asparagus
• Handful cherry tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove
• Olive oil
• 350g Jersey Royals
• Three spring onions
• Handful radishes
• 3 tbsp peas
• 1 tbsp sour cream (could use crème fraiche or cream cheese)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (I use Maille)
• Sea Salt
• Black pepper

Firstly rinse the Jersey Royals well. Remove the excess dirt but don't be too vigorous. Place in a deep saucepan and pour over recently boiled water and place on a medium heat with a pinch of salt.

Now finely slice the spring onions and radish and set aside to dress the potatoes once cooked.

Place a drizzle of oil into a frying pan on a medium heat with a peeled clove of garlic. Once warm, add the asparagus and cherry tomatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes. Now remove from the pan and wrap in foil to keep warm.

Cook the peas and also place into the foil.

Now check the Jersey Royals - if almost cooked, then leave the frying pan on and season the sea bass. Omit from using salt for any children's portion.

Place skin-side down into the pan and cook, on a timer for five minutes. This should allow a lovely crispy skin.

Whilst the sea bass is cooking, drain the Jersey Royals and shake out any excess water. Return to the saucepan and add the sour cream, Dijon and a generous drizzle of olive oil and stir through gently to evenly coat the potatoes in the quick-dressing. Now add the radish and spring onions, stir again and place the lid on the pan to retain the heat.

Once five minutes is up, use an egg slice turn over the sea bass fillet in the pan and cook for a further 30 seconds then remove from the heat.

Dish up how you wish, but to do as I have done in the picture, simply add the Jersey Royal warm salad to the centre of the plate first. Then add the cherry tomatoes, dotted around the potato salad. Now add a layer of asparagus and finally add the sea bass fillet on top of the asparagus.

Sea Bass with a warm Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Asparagus

Enjoy!

Greek Briam - Glorious Summer Vegetable Stew

Briam is a wonderful Greek vegetable stew that can be adapted according to what's in season - or in the larder. It's a great vegetarian main course that takes very little preparation but tastes fabulous and is economical too.

I've experimented with recipes from several online sources as well as one from The Food and Cooking of Greece - a wonderful book which gives lots of information about ingredients used in Greek cookery and the history and origin of many dishes. With a little trial and error, the below recipe is the one I believe most resembles the delectable dish I associate with my beloved Corfu and glorious hot summer nights. 

This will serve four people with rice and some fresh, crusty bread. 

Here's how:

200g peeled potatoes
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Handful fresh cherry tomatoes
1 courgette
1 onion
1 green pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
1tbsp dried oregano
1tsp sea salt
Pinch of peppercorns
1/2 glass of red wine 
Couple strands of celery
1/2 pint of vegetable stock

Firstly peel the potatoes and chop into small cubes, rinse then parboil. 

In the meantime slice the onions and garlic and add to a deep casserole dish. Halve the courgette and then halve again and chop into equal discs about the thickness of a pound coin and throw into the dish.

Cut the pepper into similar sized chunks as the courgette and cut the tomatoes in half and add both. 

Peel the carrot and chop into fine oblongs. Chop the celery and add both to the casserole dish.

Add the tin of tomatoes, the drained potatoes (drain when you can pierce the flesh with a fork easily) and the red wine.

Add the bay leaf, seasoning and oregano and pour over the vegetable stock and 2 tbsp olive oil and give a good stir. Place the lid on and pop into the oven for 2.5 hours at around 150-160 degrees. Remove the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking and stir every 40 minutes or so.