3 days ago
Seafood Made Simple: New potatoes are here — try them in a smoked halibut salad
The first sight of new potatoes immediately dictates what I'll be cooking on my next day off, giddy with excitement to spend an afternoon washing and scrubbing new spuds.
Serving them in their skins is non-negotiable, an absolute sin to peel these floury balls of deliciousness.
I love it when they're sold loose and you can pick through the soil-coated spuds selecting the perfect size for their intended use.
I always find cooking becomes much simpler in the summer months, with gluts of amazing fruits and vegetables emerging every week.
With fresh and seasonal produce dishes tend to require a little less labour. A welcome change this time of year, where even for me, it gets a little harder to stand the heat in the kitchen.
The coming of the first new potatoes of 2025 joins a table full of lots of other summer accompaniments.
Leaves from the garden with a simple mustard dressing, a tin of Cantabrian anchovies, a dish of summer peas and scallions with a little more butter, sliced gherkins and sauerkraut and an industrial-sized bowl of new spuds in their jackets covered in chopped dill and curly parsley, sea salt flakes, butter and the tiniest dusting of white pepper.
For this weekend's recipe I'm using a rather special piece of smoked fish to serve with new potatoes that I had stashed in the freezer some months ago.
A thick slice of an upper fillet of halibut, treated with salt, smoke and care by my good pal and oceanic sensei Sally Barnes from her Woodcock Smokery in West Cork.
This salad would work well too with smoked haddock, pollock, mackerel or trout.
The process of bathing the smoked fish in low-temperature butter results in a brilliant transfer of flavour from the fish into the butter, resulting in the most delicious dressing for floury spuds.
New potato & smoked fish salad
recipe by:Aishling Moore
The process of bathing the smoked fish in low-temperature butter results in a brilliant transfer of flavour from the fish into the butter, resulting in the most delicious dressing for floury spuds.
Servings
4
Preparation Time
25 mins
Cooking Time
22 mins
Total Time
47 mins
Course
Main
Ingredients For the salad:
200g smoked fish (halibut, pollock, haddock)
110g unsalted butter
400g new potatoes
2 sprigs of mint
Zest of ½ a lemon
4 large eggs
4 little gem lettuces or mixed lettuces
2 sprigs of mint
For the dressing:
1tsp Dijon mustard
1tsp apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp golden rapeseed oil
Method
Melt the butter in a heavy-based medium pan on medium-low heat before adding the smoked fish skin-side down. Reduce the heat to low and allow the fish to warm through in the butter. Baste the fish with the butter until flaking when pressed, approximately 5 minutes.
Remove from the pan and set aside. Reserve the now smoky melted butter.
Rinse and scrub the new potatoes to remove any dirt. Place in a medium-sized saucepan and fill to cover with cold water. Add the mint sprigs and a generous pinch of salt and lemon zest.
Place on a medium-high heat and simmer until tender but still holding their shape, between 10 and 15 minutes depending on the size of the spuds. Drain in a colander and allow to cool slightly before pinching the skin to expose the floury interior.
While still warm place in a small bowl and toss with the reserved melted butter to dress and season with sea salt.
To cook the boiled eggs, place a small saucepan on the heat and bring to the boil. Gently drop the eggs into the boiling water and cook for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and plunge into an ice bath to cool immediately. Tap the eggs gently once cooled and peel before quartering.
To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a small clean jar. With the lid on, give the jar a good shake and taste to correct seasoning.
Serve on a large serving platter, laying out the potatoes, eggs and lettuce first. Flake over the smoked fish, finish with spoonfuls of dressing and dill.
CHEF'S TIPS
When warming the smoked fish in butter it's best to keep its skin on. This will help protect the fish from sticking to the base of the pan and make it easier to remove to allow for cooking.
If you opt to use an oily fish for the salad, such as smoked mackerel, skip the butter step in the recipe.
If you prefer to steam rather than boil your potatoes, include the mint and lemon in the water beneath. They'll subtly flavour the potatoes as they cook.
It's important to dress the potatoes when warm to take on the maximum amount of any dressing. Cooled spuds won't take on as much flavour.
I like my yolks to be just set and a little fudgy so if you'd prefer a more cooked yolk, go for 10 minutes.
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