#Recipe: Nigel Slater’s recipe for roast new potatoes, green sauce

The recipe

Scrub 450g of small potatoes. Put them in a shallow roasting dish, still wet, then lightly add 1 tbsp of olive oil and a little sea salt and bake them at 200C/gas mark 6 for 45 minutes. Test them for doneness with the point of a skewer.

I like this herb dressing with sautéed potatoes, too. Toss the cooked potatoes briefly in the sauce and eat immediately

While the potatoes bake, make the sauce. Put 10g of basil leaves and 20g of mint leaves in a blender jug with 3 tbsp of red wine vinegar, 1 tsp of Dijon mustard and 2 tbsp of lemon juice and process to a thick, emerald green paste.

With the motor still in motion, pour in 100ml of olive oil and add a ½ tsp of salt. When you have sloppy green paste, stir in 1 tbsp of capers.

Remove the potatoes from the oven. Using the back of a spoon, press firmly to crack the skin and reveal some of the potato flesh. Place a tablespoon or so of the green sauce on each one, then scatter over a handful of cornichons.

• Cornichons, the tiny gherkins no bigger than a child’s little finger, add a spritz of piquancy. Sometimes I introduce a few anchovy fillets instead, laying half a fillet over each potato after I have spooned on the herb dressing.

•  You can serve these as a side dish to roast lamb, cooking the potatoes alongside the meat.

•  I like this herb dressing with sautéed potatoes, too. Once the potatoes are cooked, toss them briefly in the sauce, turning them over with a spoon, and eat immediately, while the potatoes are still hot and crisp.

Follow Nigel on Instagram @NigelSlater

Source from The Guardian