by Sabrina Gayour from Sirocco (Mitchell Beazley)
Photography: Haarala Hamilton
We don’t really use potatoes very often in Iran, but having grown up in England, I have a lot of loyalty to the humble spud. It is cheap, versatile and can be a meal in itself (think jacket potatoes) or make a great side dish. I am not entirely sure how to classify this dish, to be perfectly honest with you, but for me, it is the taste of spring. While technically a side dish, I have eaten it happily as my main meal without any accompaniments. Although, thinking about it, crispy bacon on top would be devilishly good…
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 bunches of spring onions olive oil, for drizzling 750g new potatoes
75g salted butter, cubed
20g dill, fronds and stems finely chopped 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
150g fresh peas
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat a griddle pan or frying pan over a high heat. Preheat the oven to 220°C, Gas Mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil over a medium-high heat and blanch the spring onions in the water for 2 minutes, then drain and place them on kitchen paper to drain off any excess moisture.
Drizzle the spring onions with a little of the oil and place them on the hot griddle pan. sear them for a couple of minutes on each side until they are charred. Remove from heat and set aside.
Put the whole potatoes on to the prepared baking tray, drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, toss the potatoes to coat them in the oil and seasoning.
Roast for 30–40 minutes (depending on the size of the potatoes) or until they are cooked through.
Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl with the butter. using a fork, roughly break up the potatoes to a coarse ‘crush’ without mashing them to a purée.
Add the dill, crushed garlic and raw fresh peas and gently fold them in. Add a little more salt and pepper according to preference and a drizzle of olive oil.
Cut each of the spring onions in half and fold them into the crushed potatoes.
Serve immediately.
