Season Kitchen · In Season

Wok-charred Jersey Royals, asparagus & broad beans

With shito-style butter, herb labneh and crispy shallots. The potatoes make it feel like a proper dish, the wok gives you blistered edges, and the shito-style butter gives it the sort of depth that enhances spring vegetables beautifully without drowning them out. Jersey Royals, asparagus and broad beans are all amazing during June.

Serves 4 as a main Season June · Spring Cook on Carbon steel wok

You'll need

For the wok

750gJersey Royals or other small new potatoes
250gasparagus
150gbroad beans, podded weight, or frozen and defrosted
200goyster mushrooms, torn if large
4spring onions, cut into lengths
3 tbspneutral oil

For the shito-style butter

60gunsalted butter
1 tbsptomato purée
1 tbspsoy sauce
1 tbspfinely chopped preserved black beans, or 2 tsp miso
1small garlic clove, finely grated
1 tspgrated ginger
1–2 tspchilli crisp or chilli flakes
1 tspsoft brown sugar
1 tspcider vinegar or rice vinegar

For the herb labneh

200glabneh
1 tbsplemon juice
2 tbspchopped dill
2 tbspchopped mint
1small garlic clove, finely grated
black pepper

To finish

2shallots, finely sliced
a little flour, for dusting
extra dill or mint
lemon wedges

Method

Cook the potatoes first

Boil the Jersey Royals in well-salted water until just tender. Drain and let them steam dry. When cool enough to handle, halve any large ones. You want them dry at the surface so they catch in the wok rather than sulk.
Blanch the broad beans

Drop them into boiling water for a minute, drain, then slip off the outer skins if they are large. If they are small and young, do not become obsessive about it.
Make the labneh

Mix the labneh with lemon juice, dill, mint, garlic and a few turns of black pepper. Chill until needed.
Make the butter

Stir together the butter, tomato purée, soy, black beans or miso, garlic, ginger, chilli, sugar and vinegar. It will look slightly improbable at this stage. Ignore that.
Crisp the shallots

Dust the sliced shallots lightly with flour and a pinch of salt. Heat a shallow layer of oil in a small pan and fry until golden and crisp. Drain on paper.
Char the vegetables

Heat the Season Carbon Steel Wok until properly hot. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, then the mushrooms. Cook hard until they colour at the edges. Lift out.

Add another tablespoon of oil and the potatoes. Let them catch and blister before tossing. Add the asparagus and spring onions and cook over high heat until the asparagus is bright and lightly charred.

Add the broad beans back in with the mushrooms.
Gloss everything

Lower the heat slightly. Add the shito-style butter and toss quickly so it melts and coats everything. You want the butter to turn glossy and cling, not pool.

Taste. Add a squeeze of lemon if it needs lifting.
Assemble

Spoon the herb labneh onto a warm platter. Pile the wok vegetables and potatoes over and around it. Scatter with crispy shallots and extra herbs.

Serve at once, with lemon wedges.