As with asparagus, I get completely seduced by the arrival of new potato season and cook and eat them with wild abandon. Any leftover cooked potatoes, meanwhile, are a kitchen gift with infinite possibilities, from a simple crushed potato salad to these spicy, Punjabi-inspired samosas.

New potato samosas

One of my favourite lunches is a samosa: it’s not too big, but it sure hits all the right spots. My favourite is filled with potato, peas, spices and cashews, which I’ve included as an optional extra in this recipe. If you have less than 200g leftover cooked potatoes, consider making up the weight with other cooked root vegetables such as diced carrots, or with onions or extra peas. I had only a small amount of oil left in the house, so I rather unconventionally decided to shallow fry my samosas. Then again, I often shallow fry foods that are usually deep-fried, not least to save having to strain the oil, then storing it for re-use.

Makes 6

For the dough (makes about 300g; optional – use shop-bought puff instead, if you prefer)
180g flour – I use a mixture of wholemeal and plain
½ tsp fine sea salt
50ml oil, or melted ghee

For the samosas
200g boiled new potatoes
1 tbsp oil, or ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp garam masala
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 green chilli (optional)
100g garden peas (frozen or leftovers)
50g cashews (optional)
Sea salt
4 sprigs coriander, finely chopped from stem to leaf
¼ lemon, ideally organic and unwaxed
250g samosa dough (see above and method), or shop-bought puff pastry

If you’re making your own dough, mix the flour with the sea salt, then add the oil and rub into the flour for a few minutes, until the mix resembles breadcrumbs and holds its shape when pressed (alternatively, pulse in a food processor). Add 75ml water a little at a time to create a firm but malleable dough, then knead for a few minutes, until smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the samosa filling. Crumble the cooked new potatoes into chunks. Put a frying pan on a medium heat and add the oil. Stir in the cumin seeds, garam masala, grated ginger and the finely sliced green chilli, if using, stir-fry for a minute, then add the peas, the optional cashews, the crumbled potatoes and a generous pinch of sea salt. Fry for two minutes, then take off the heat and stir in the chopped coriander and lemon juice (if the lemon’s organic, add the finely grated zest, too). Adjust the seasoning to taste, divide into six equal portions and leave to cool.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll into balls. Roll each ball into a 20cm x 15cm oval, then cut in half into two long semi-circles. Working with one dough semi-circle at a time, wet the straight edge, fold it into a cone shape and press firmly at the join to seal. Push one portion of filling into the cone, wet the open edges, fold over to close and press again firmly at the join to seal.

To shallow fry the samosas, heat 1cm oil in a frying pan to 170C, or until a small pinch of dough bubbles gently and rises slowly to the surface. Fry the samosas for three to five minutes on each side, until golden brown all over, then transfer to a rack to cool a little, or completely, and tuck in.