Rachel Allen’s tasty recipes for new potatoes are the perfect way to bring a taste of summer to your table

A potato salad is a super vehicle for a myriad of other ingredients. I love this Spanish tapas-inspired recipe, below, that has lots of chorizo and garlicky mayonnaise added in. Roast your own pepper, or use a jarred pepper. This potato salad could include peeled-and-quartered hard-boiled eggs if you fancy.

The monkfish and new potato tagine, also below, is full of flavour in that complex sweet, spicy and intriguing Middle Eastern way. The new potatoes hold their shape perfectly being cooked in the tagine while absorbing all of the deliciousness. Use chicken in place of the monkfish if you wish, but cook it for longer, about 15 minutes.

And, lastly, a delicious and simple new potato salad, below. It’ll work a treat alongside barbecued meat or fish. Try to get the mini gherkins — cornichons — for the best flavour and pleasing crunch. If you wish, add a couple of sprigs of mint into the potatoes, when boiling, for an added flavour.

Rachel recommends: Adding a really generous pinch of salt while boiling helps to season new potatoes really well. The water should taste salty. New potatoes can also be boiled in sea water.

New potato and chorizo salad with aioli

Serves 4 You will need:

• 750g new potatoes
• Sea salt
• 125g chorizo
• 65ml extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 50ml sunflower oil
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely grated or crushed
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Half teaspoon smoked paprika, sweet or hot
• 125g roasted red pepper from a jar. To roast one yourself, see Top Tip below
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

​1 Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/425F/Gas mark 7.

​2 Scrub the new potatoes clean and boil them in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. If they’re quite large I pour off two thirds of the cooking water after 10 minutes of boiling and allow them to steam for the remaining time, over a low to medium heat, covered with the saucepan lid. This ensures that they’re not too soggy when cooked. Drain the potatoes when cooked.

3 While the potatoes are cooking, chop the chorizo into cubes, peeling the chorizo sausage first, if the skin is tough. Place the chorizo in an unpreheated pan with two tablespoons of the olive oil and place over a low heat to cook for about five to six minutes, tossing every so often. This slow cooking will ensure that the fat from the chorizo melts out as a rich amber coloured oil that you’ll be using in the aioli. When the chorizo has cooked and is golden brown pour it into a sieve that you have sitting over a bowl, pressing down on the chorizo to release every bit of oil and scraping all of the oil out of the pan.​

4 Add the remaining olive oil to the chorizo oil.​

5 Cut the potatoes in halves or wedges and lay out on a baking or roasting tray. Drizzle with two tablespoons of the chorizo- scented olive oil. Toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes until golden around the edges. Take out of the oven and set aside.​

6 Add the olive oil to the sunflower oil in a jug. Place the two egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl (not a stainless steel one as it can colour the aioli) and add in the garlic and one tablespoon of the lemon juice. Start pouring the oil in VERY slowly, in a thin steady stream while you whisk all the time. Only start pouring more oil in once the last lot has emulsified into the egg yolks. The mixture should start to look smooth and creamy. If the oil goes in too quickly the mixture will split. Once all the oil is in add in the smoked paprika and taste for seasoning; it might need more lemon juice and salt.​

7 Place the roasted new potatoes on a serving plate and scatter over the roast red pepper pieces, followed by the chorizo. Then drizzle half of the aioli over the top, placing the rest in a bowl for serving.​

8 Scatter the chopped parsley over the top of the salad and serve.

Top tip: To roast a pepper just cook it in a very hot oven until collapsed and slightly blackened in patches. Then cover and cool before peeling and deseeding.

Monkfish and new potato tagine

Serves 4-6 For the chermoula (marinade) you will need:

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 1 scant teaspoon salt
• a handful of fresh coriander, stalks and leaves, roughly chopped
• a pinch of saffron stems
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• the juice of a lemon

For the tagine you will need:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 small celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemon
• 1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes
• 500g new potatoes, peeled and cut in to 2cm pieces or wedges
• 300ml water
• 1kg monkfish tail, trimmed and cut in to 2cm pieces (with chermoula marinade)

To serve you will need:

• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped coriander

1 First make the chermoula. Use a pestle and mortar to pound together the garlic, the chilli, the salt, the chopped coriander, the saffron and the cumin. Pound in the olive oil and the lemon juice to form a loose paste. Reserve one tablespoon of the chermoula, then place the rest in a mixing bowl with the monkfish, mixing well to cover the monkfish, and leave to marinate for an hour, if possible.

2 For the tagine, place a casserole pot or large saucepan over a medium heat, add the olive oil. When hot add in the onion, the carrot and the celery. Stir then turn the heat down and cook for eight to 10 minutes until softened, then stir in the remaining one tablespoon of chermoula, the chopped preserved lemon, the tomatoes and the new potatoes. Season with salt and pepper then cook for five minutes to allow the tomatoes to soften. Add the water and bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are almost cooked.

3 Add the monkfish with the chermoula marinade, gently cook for a further six to eight minutes until the monkfish is opaque all the way through.

4 Season to taste, then divide between bowls and serve with the coriander scattered over the top, and some salad or couscous.

New potato salad with bacon and cornichons

Serves 4 You will need:

• 400g new potatoes, cut in to halves or quarters
• 250g streaky bacon in one piece, cut in to 2cm chunks (with no rind)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 scant tablespoon tarragon leaves, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 5 cornichons (small gherkins) cut in to 5mm slices
• 2 tablespoons capers

1 Place a saucepan of water on a high heat, add one teaspoon of salt, bring to the boil then add the potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes until soft to the point of a knife.

2 While the potatoes are cooking, fry the bacon. Place a frying pan on a medium high heat, add the olive oil followed by the bacon, cook for six to eight minutes until golden and crispy, then drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

3 Make the vinaigrette. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, the vinegar, the mustard and the chopped tarragon and season with salt and pepper.

4 Drain the potatoes, then while still warm toss with the vinaigrette, the spring onions, the cornichons, the capers and the cooked bacon.

5 Place in a bowl to serve.