Another heatwave? Ugh.
I don't remember summer being so hot and humid when I was a kid -- but I also didn't have to get dressed for work and smoosh onto an overcrowded subway car back then, either. I'm pretty sure I just ran around in shorts or a sundress and slurped on a Popsicle if it was too hot. Being an adult in the summer stinks. (Literally, for some of the folks on my train home tonight.) So, how do I make it better? By roasting up some lovely vegetables for this amazing take on potato salad, of course! Because that makes perfect sense.
Lemon juice and briny olives add bit of zing to this salad of purple and red potatoes, bright bell peppers, and tart apples. Serve this new favorite picnic side warm with grilled meat and fish, or even cold, tomorrow with leftover chicken.
If you have Central Air (I capitalize it, because I respect it), like we do at Chez Gourmess, turning on the oven isn't a big deal -- if you don't have Central Air, you might want to wait to make this until your kitchen is bearable, or wrap it in foil pouches and try it on the grill (potatoes should be tender and roasted after about 30-40 minutes on indirect heat).
Lemon-Roasted Potato Salad
Ingredients:
Olive oil nonstick spray
2-3 lbs fingerling or small potatoes (red, white, purple), washed and halved lengthwise
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt/ground black pepper
2 lemons, quartered and seeds removed
1 1/2 cups Picholine olives (pitted and drained)
2 bell peppers (red or yellow or both), cored and sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips
1 large Granny Smith apple (or other tart variety), cored and sliced into 1/2-inch wide pieces
2 TBS butter, diced
3 TBS fresh parsley, minced
Minimal MESS/ingredients/clean-up Category 2
To Do:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Spray a large baking sheet or oven-safe dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the potatoes with olive oil until coated. Add the garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the lemon wedges over the mixture (cover with cheesecloth or use a lemon press to keep the seeds out) then add the squeezed, seedless lemon pieces to the bowl.
- Transfer to pan and roast for about 30 minutes until potatoes have softened.
- At the 30-minute mark, remove the lemon pieces and gently stir in the olives, peppers and apple and dot with the butter and 2 TBS of the parsley.
- Roast for another 15-20 minutes until potatoes start to brown and the apples and peppers are tender but not soggy.
- Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature (if you can wait that long).
- Before serving, adjust seasonings with salt/pepper to taste. Top with remaining 1 TBS of parsley a squeeze of lemon, and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Enjoy!
Stay cool!
xoxo
