Delia Smith Lemon Parsley New Potatoes

Delia Smith lemon potatoes are small new potatoes tossed in butter with lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and lots of black pepper. You boil 500g for 20 to 25 minutes, which serves 3 to 4, so the whole dish is ready in about half an hour.

The recipe first appeared in Sainsbury’s Magazine, in a guide to fish cookery, and her website gives it today. After new potatoes hot with mint and butter, or cold with mayonnaise, this lemon and parsley dressing is her change. It goes particularly well with simply cooked fish.

It is a hot side dish, not her warm lemon and chive potato salad, which is dressed with a vinaigrette. For a roasted version, try her garlic and rosemary new potatoes.

FAQs

Which new potatoes are best?

Small new potatoes are what the recipe needs, 500g of them. The Complete Cookery Course (1992) says home-grown ones are the real treat, especially Jersey Royals. The first imports, which arrive around April when the old potatoes look wrinkled and sprouty, are often disappointing in flavour.

To pick good ones, rub your thumb along a potato before you buy it. If the skin slips away under your thumb, the potatoes are really fresh, and the 1992 book calls that the key to buying them. The test sits in its new potato notes on page 258.

How much lemon goes in?

Use the grated zest of a whole lemon but the juice of only half, with 25g of butter for 500g of potatoes. Toss the potatoes in it as soon as they are drained, and keep the parsley back until just before serving.

Should I scrape new potatoes?

No, just rinse them clean under a cold tap. The skins are full of flavour and nutrients, so the 1992 book keeps them on. Its buttered herb version says the same: wash them, but do not scrape them.

How long do new potatoes take to cook?

This recipe gives them 20 to 25 minutes in boiling salted water. Her 1992 trick is to put the biggest potatoes at the bottom of the pan and the smaller ones on top. Boiling water then comes only three-quarters of the way up.

With a tight lid, the small ones cook in the steam and are ready with the big ones. Test them with a skewer after about 20 minutes, as they should be tender but still firm.

Can I steam them instead?

Yes, steam them sprinkled with salt and a few sprigs of mint, as the 1992 book suggests. Then toss them in the lemon butter in the same way. Either way, take them off while still firm, because the book warns that overcooking really spoils them.

How do I make buttered new potatoes with mint?

Buttered new potatoes with parsley, mint and chives come from the same book, pages 258 to 259, for 4 people. Simmer 900g of new potatoes with a sprig of mint. Mix 40g of butter with a tablespoon of parsley, 2 tablespoons of mint and a tablespoon of chives.

Drain the potatoes, add the herb butter, put the lid back on and swirl the pan to coat them all. The book makes them with the first young Jersey potatoes or a good mainland variety. It says they are so good you could eat a plateful on their own.

Can I turn new potatoes into a supper dish?

Yes, Frugal Food slices 700g of unpeeled new potatoes into 5mm rounds and cooks them very gently with bacon, onion and garlic. First soften the bacon, onion and garlic in butter and oil over a gentle heat.

The potatoes then need 20 to 25 minutes under a lid, stirred once or twice so they do not stick. A heatproof plate will do if your pan has no lid. Served with fried eggs on top, it makes a very quick and simple supper for 3, the book says.