BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: RTim
Date: 01 Jun 17 - 01:51 PM

Oh oh - I missed the Jersey Royals on my trip back home to England in April/May - they are the BEST Potatoes in the world....

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: DaveRo
Date: 01 Jun 17 - 10:45 AM

Will Fly wrote: we all know how asparagus perfumes the wee!

Apparantly some people are unable to smell this:
Asparagus Pee? Why Only Some People Smell It

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Will Fly
Date: 01 Jun 17 - 10:17 AM

Our village greengrocers sells them unwashed and loose. I just scrape off the bit of dirt that's on them with a kitchen brush, boil them up and add lashings of butter. As Steve says, a thing of beauty.

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 31 May 17 - 06:38 PM

The name is reserved/protected for potatoes grown on Jersey. You can get the seed as International Kidney.

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Gallus Moll
Date: 31 May 17 - 06:17 PM

is it possible to purchase Jersey Royal seed potatoes or are they restricted?
If restricted, how do they stop people allowing shop purchased eating ones to sprout- - or are they all zapped before sale so they won't sprout?
Just wondered- - - not sure I want to eat zapped tatties!

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 31 May 17 - 05:29 PM

The lower part of an asparagus spear has a lot of flavour. But before you make it into soup, you should make sure that any tough skin is removed first, even if you're
going to whizz it.

A Jersey royal is a thing of beauty. It always was. Always buy them loose, not prewashed and prepacked. Choose your spuds to be all the same size. Scrub then boil in salted water for 25 minutes. Eat with lashings of butter. Springtime without Jerseys would be like a pub with no beer. For decades I've been growing Sutton's Foremost as my early spud. They kick in once I've been feasting on Jerseys for a couple of months. We had our first barbie tonight. Donald Russell pure steak burgers followed by butchers' sausages. We polished off a big panful of Jerseys. Sublime!

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Will Fly
Date: 31 May 17 - 05:20 PM

Well, the "sparrow-grass" was lovely. I'm looking forward to going for my next pee with interest - we all know how asparagus perfumes the wee!

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Vashta Nerada
Date: 31 May 17 - 05:12 PM

I grow my own asparagus; the tender part I eat, the chewier part goes to the dogs. They love to have tidbits off of my plate (they also get the salmon skin).

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: akenaton
Date: 31 May 17 - 04:55 PM

I much prefer Ayrshire "Epicures" to Channel Island potatoes, they are much sweeter, although the flavour has diminished over the years.
I think the use of artificial fertilisers is the problem.

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 31 May 17 - 04:12 PM

I heard that the trick is to bend the asparagus spear until it snaps. Above the break is the bit you eat. Below, maybe skin it a bit, chop it fine and make it into soup.

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Senoufou
Date: 31 May 17 - 03:41 PM

Oooh, we know all those villages very well. Our neighbour's family all came from Binham (farming folk, kept a small dairy herd)
My African husband is addicted to asparagus. (pronounces it 'Azz-parra-goose') and like you, he can eat seafood until he bursts. He'd never seen any of these things until he came to UK.

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: MikeL2
Date: 31 May 17 - 02:56 PM

Hi Will

Yum Yum......

When I cook asparagus I tie the bunch9 bunches) and stand them up in a small pan.

Works for me.

Good Eating

Cheers
MikeL2

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Will Fly
Date: 31 May 17 - 02:21 PM

Samphire - love it!

My mum's family originated in the north of Norfolk - Edgefield, Binham, Burnham Westgate, Little Walsingham, etc., then - bit by bit - moved south to Norwich, Beccles and by degrees to Lowestoft, where Mum was born in 1922. Most of the men were blacksmiths.

I used to go to my grandparents's house in Lowestoft for holidays as a small child, but it was about 20 years ago that I began to explore the county. Weirdly, I felt as though I was going home. Wonderful part of the world. One of my favourite spots is Dunwich - and I was touched to find an old b&w photo of my Mum (aged about 16) and her Mum, my Gran, at the ruined priory in Dunwich.

I adore seafood - could scoff it until I burst!

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Senoufou
Date: 31 May 17 - 01:43 PM

Ah Will, so you're half-Norfolk eh?
We have a Sheringham crab and lobster festival, and there's the Lobster Potty thing (Morris dancing - whoopee!!)

Cromer crabs are supposed to be so tasty because the water is relatively shallow and clean and there's a chalk/flint shelf where they live.
I like just a tiny squirt of lemon juice on them.

We also have lovely local pork. The pig farms are numerous round here, and the pigs live outside with a little Nissen hut type of house per family (mum and piglets). They can gallop all round their field and rummage in the mud. (Not crammed into cruel pens) So their meat is delicious, full of flavour.
Have you ever tried samphire? You can get that at Wells-Next-The-Sea ready-prepared.Sort of a seaweedy thing.

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Will Fly
Date: 31 May 17 - 01:15 PM

Ah, Cromer crabs! Some years ago I went to Cromer on one of my East Anglian family history jaunts (Mum's family all originated in Norfolk) and sat in a large pub along the seafront, consuming crabs.

Truly delicious.

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Senoufou
Date: 31 May 17 - 01:03 PM

You could make them into soup.
Fry some finely chopped onions in a tiny bit of olive oil until soft. Add in the asparagus trimmings. Cook for just 2 mins. Add chicken stock. Season. Blend. (I add cream at the end, but I'm addicted to cream)
There are signs up all round our area: 'Asparagus for sale', 'New spuds', 'Strawberries'. Little stalls everywhere, plus all the local farmers. Cromer crabs are on offer too! Gorgeous.

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Will Fly
Date: 31 May 17 - 12:28 PM

Forgot to say - I do occasionally roast the thicker stems with parmesan and garlic on a baking tray - 10-15 mins at No. 7...

Subject: RE: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Jack Campin
Date: 31 May 17 - 12:24 PM

Put them on to cook first, then add the tips.

Subject: BS: Jersey Royals and fresh asparagus
From: Will Fly
Date: 31 May 17 - 12:13 PM

Salmon fillets with fresh asparagus and Jersey Royal potatoes is my offering to She Who Must Be Obeyed this evening. Yum, yum! Fillets coated finely with olive oil, then sea salted, peppered and sprinkled liberally with oregano - in the oven at No. 6 for 15 minutes.

I'm a pretty finicky cook so tend to use the tips of the asparagus, particularly if they're fairly thick-stemmed.

Any ideas for using the rather chewier lower stems - apart from another steamed/boiled dish?