In Praise of the British Springtime
It is 29 April 2011, the morning of The Royal Wedding of His Royal Highness Prince William to Katherine Middleton. I sit here in anticipation of an historic moment, wishing it were time to switch on the telly and watch the pageantry. I think also of Diana Spencer, who thirty years ago walked down the aisle in Westminster Abbey with that amazingly long train on her dress; today it will be her son and his chosen bride who repeat the ceremony. I wish them all the luck in the world.
What can be more British than a Royal Wedding, I ask myself? They certainly know how to do it well here. I suppose that for something that touches the hearts ? and stomachs ? of the entire population, there’s not a lot more British than Jersey Royal potatoes and fresh British asparagus.
Yesterday I went to my local farm shop, Secretts of Milford, and was delighted by the array of local produce on sale. The majority of it is grown on their own premises and the star of the moment is their own asparagus.
A star all across Britain every spring is the Jersey Royal Potato. It is a thin-skinned, scruffy-looking old thing, grown exclusively on the island of Jersey in the English Channel. Their micro climate created by the proximity of the Gulf Stream enables the islanders to produce fabulous tomatoes and other early crops, too. The Jersey Royal has its own Protected Designation of Origin, so you know that you’re getting the real thing. And since Jersey is not far from the main island of Britain, their carbon footprint is relatively small.
Jersey Royals are traditionally eaten as new potatoes, steamed or boiled and slathered in butter so their delightful, nutty taste comes through unadulterated. Delicious!
With my fantastic local produce in paper bags inside my reusable jute shopping bag (hey, I might as well do my bit for the environment and I dislike all those plastic bags and packaging used for foods) I brought my treasures home. They had only travelled a relatively short distance from field to plate. Then I strolled the half mile down our road with my doggies on their leads and picked up some fresh, free-range eggs from friend Bob (remember Bob’s Hogs? Well he’s got this year’s sausages on the hoof as we speak) and prepared to create an easy local dinner.
Into the Varoma went my washed Jersey Royal potatoes and trimmed Surrey asparagus. I started with boiling water and a total of 35 minutes steaming time for 400 g of whole potatoes on the bottom layer of the Varoma. I put my asparagus on the top layer and added it for the last ten minutes. While my trusty Thermomix cooked our dinner, my husband and I watched the Final episode of this year’s MasterChef programme and sipped a glass of wine. How relaxing not to have to slave over a hot stove and have Thermomix do the cooking instead!
I had intended to make an oh-so-simple Thermomix Hollandaise Sauce in six minutes with English butter and Bob’s free range eggs, but we couldn’t wait even that short a time so we feasted on Jersey Royal potatoes and British asparagus with English butter instead. We thought his quintessentially British meal was a fitting way to begin our own celebrations of the Royal Wedding.
Bon appétit !
