Jono & Jules do food & wine

Another dish from Jamie’s Veg book. We’re all about the pickles in this house and this was just so fresh and tasty. We had rather large platefuls but it would also work really well as a side for fish without the feta. In fact, it would work alone without the feta too.

Wine Suggestion: fresh and vibrant whites are what you need for this dish; tonight the Wengut Korrell Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) from the Nahe in Germany. Not the current vintage but from 2016 instead and no harm at all as the winery seems to craft a natural freshness that makes this just as enjoyable now as it did a couple of years ago.

Roast new potato & pickle salad – serves 6

• 1.2kg new potatoes
• 6 garlic cloves, bashed
• 1 lemon, juiced and zest finely grated
• 2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 cucumber, scratched with a fork and sliced into rounds
• 100g radishes, quartered
• ½ a red onion, very finely sliced
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 15g dill, leaves picked
• 15g mint, leaves picked
• 40g feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6.

Cook the potatoes in plenty of boiling salty water for 20 minutes or until tender, then drain and steam dry in the pot. Tip the potatoes into a large roasting tray and drizzle with 2 tbsp of oil, then add a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.

Add the bashed garlic cloves to the tray, then roast for 20 minutes.

Scatter the lemon zest, rosemary and flour over the potatoes, then toss together. Squash the potatoes flat with a potato masher and roast for 30 minutes, or until golden and crispy.

Meanwhile, put the cucumber, radishes and red onion into a bowl with the mustard, vinegar and half the lemon juice.

When the potatoes are cooked, season the pickle with salt and pepper and stir through the herbs, then put the pickled mixture on top of the hot potatoes and mix just before serving. Crumble over the feta cheese and add some extra lemon if you like.

(Original recipe from Veg by Jamie Oliver, Michael Joseph, 2019.)