Roasted potatoes with salsa verde
It has been a while since my last post. The weather here in New York has been so hot that cooking has suddenly turned into a bit of a chore. Lots of salads and lighter fare, then, like today’s recipe for roasted potatoes with salsa verde.
Actually, the title is a bit misleading. While I love roasted potatoes and this combination in particular, its the salsa that I want to highlight. As is by now well known, salsa is almost on par with ketchup as America’s favorite condiment. (Given how hyper-politicized America is, the Wall Street Journal has, naturally, questioned whether this supposedly “liberal” trend even exists!) But that of course refers to the Mexican kind generally made from red peppers. Today’s salsa is of the Italian/Spanish variety with parsley and capers as the main ingredients, and hence the name: salsa verde or green sauce. (I wonder if the WSJ would find the trend more believable if it involved this “European” salsa!) Incidentally, the Mexican’s also have a version but it is made from tomatillos. Salsa verde pairs really well with grilled fish and meat, not to mention roasted veggies of all kinds. And it involves no cooking making it perfect for summer!
By the way, this survey from last year in All Recipes on food trends in America – and in particular what condiments people have in their fridge – makes for fascinating reading (scroll down to “Insight 8”). Who’d have thought that 42% of Americans have hoisin sauce in their refrigerator? Or, even more improbably, nearly a quarter have fish sauce?
Roasted potatoes with salsa verde
Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 5-6 small red potatoes, scrubbed and diced into ½” cubes
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup packed parsley, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp capers, drained and finely chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Optional zest of ½ lemon
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Salt and ground black pepper
- Crusty bread to serve
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a bowl, toss the potatoes with a large pinch each of salt and black pepper and 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast in the oven, about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
- While the potatoes are roasting, make the salsa by mixing together in a bowl the parsley, capers, garlic, lemon juice, (optional) lemon zest, red pepper flakes, and a few turns of ground black pepper. Whisk in the remaining olive oil. Taste for salt.
- Once the potatoes are done, toss them with the salsa and serve warm with crusty bread on the side.