Roast New Potatoes with Creamed Spinach

Fudgy new potatoes over a green field of creamy spinach, with a pile of pea sprouts on top, evokes the essence of spring. I came across this roasted new potatoes with creamed spinach on The Guardian from Nigel Slater. At first, I couldn’t quite believe Nigel Slater when he says the new potato will roast to a fudgy texture, like a little ball of gnocchi. OK, it’s worth a try!

I have made the likes of the Hasselback Potatoes before. It is a Swedish side dish, which gets its name from Hasselbacken, the Stockholm restaurant, where it was first served. However, it has never quite met the promise of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. So the idea has its root, except the plan has not been fulfilled. All I need is a good recipe to start. Then a little attention or TLC to allow it to flourish. Like the fields need rain for fruition.

The first step is to score the new potatoes deeply with a knife at 0.5 cm (1/5 of an inch) intervals, toast-rack style, taking care not to cut right through to the chopping board. These are tiny but deep cuts; it takes patience to slice through all the potatoes. Finally, you toss the potatoes in olive oil, making sure the oil gets between the slices. Try to think about it, I guess it’s what I didn’t do properly in the past.

Lo and behold, that’s the trick to get the fudgy new potatoes. The next question is how to get the creamed spinach to look bright green? At first, I didn’t quite get the right color and texture from branching, chopping and mixing the spinach with the cream. Another chefy idea sprang into my head: puree the mixture in the blender. Voila, that did the trick!

For a vegan alternative to the creamed spinach, do a pea purée. This is a quick one to cook the peas in the microwave briefly and then purée in the blender. Keep in mind that peas are sweeter than spinach. For an over-the-top delicious spinach purée, a long and slow stew is the way to go.

The toasted new potatoes with creamed spinach make it on the plate. They meet their ultimate promise of fudgy texture over the vivid green glow of the creamed spinach. Lastly with the pea sprouts on top, it’s the mark of spring all around. Love it!

Print Recipe

Roast New Potatoes with Creamed Spinach

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• New potatoes 500g
• Olive oil 5 tbsp
• Spinach 100g
• Heavy cream 250ml
• Parmigiano Reggiano 3 tbsp, grated
• Garlic 2 cloves
• Butter 30g
• Flaked almonds 4 tbsp
• Pea shoots, a handful (optional)

Instructions

1

Set the oven at 400°F. Wash the potatoes, place each one flat on a chopping board, then score them deeply with a knife at 0.5 cm intervals, taking care not to cut right through to the chopping board. Toss them in the olive oil, making sure it gets between the slices, then place the potatoes in a roasting pan in a single layer. Bake for 45 minutes until they are golden and fudgy. Turn them over halfway through.

2

Wash the spinach, put the leaves and a thin film of water into a large saucepan, cover tightly with a lid, and place over a moderate heat until they start to relax and turn bright green. Remove, refresh in a colander under cold running water then squeeze the leaves with your hands, pressing out most of the water. Roughly chop the spinach then return to the empty pan, add the cream and grated parmesan, and salt and pepper. Warm gently. (I put half of the spinach mixture in a high-speed blender to make it really smooth.)

3

Peel and finely slice the garlic. Melt the butter in a shallow pan, add the garlic and cook until golden and lightly crisp. Remove and set aside. Toast the almonds in a dry pan till fragrant and lightly browned.

4

Spoon the sauce onto plates, add the roast potatoes, almonds and crisp garlic. Scatter a few pea shoots over the top if you wish.

Notes

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/23/nigel-slater-vegetarian-recipes-spring-vegan-asparagus-lasagne