Sidonie Maroon

I’m cooking Spanish-style potato salad for dinner, and begin by massaging fingerlings, zucchini and garlic with olive oil, spices and salt. I slide the baking sheet into the oven and soon the kitchen smells heady with roasting vegetables. The patio door is open, so I’m sure the neighbors are hungry. 

In March, while others were hoarding toilet paper, my first thought was — plant more potatoes. So, I ordered French fingerlings and Russian bananas from Renee’s Garden Seeds. This was my version of prudence — an extra store of food and tasty potatoes to cook with. Our local farms grow an abundance of varieties, and while they’re all yummy, I’m a fan of fingerlings. Those elongated tubers, finger sized, knobby, but with delicate skins that don’t need peeling. Firm and waxy, they hold up roasted whole or boiled. Did I mention the flavor? For me, they’re clean tasting like a new potato, and one of my cherished childhood memories is my grandmother’s creamed new potatoes with English peas.

I planted the seed potatoes behind a new blueberry patch. They grew strong with vibrant leaves, but were encroaching on the blueberries, so I pulled up a couple end plants. As I rooted around in the soil, there in a necklace of roots, was a cache of duck egg-sized ruby fingerlings. 

When I sliced them open, pink veins streaked their creamy flesh. Ordinary details, but cooking and gardening have kept me sane during social distancing. I appreciate knowing, without visiting face to face, that others are harvesting green beans, choosing ripe tomatoes, or reveling in raspberries. I’m grateful to those with the forethought to invest in farms, farmers markets and the network of food cooperation that we have. It’s hard work, all the local labor that goes into providing us with healthy food. 

The timer goes off, and I take the veggies out of the oven. The potato chunks are bursting at their seams, so I pop one in my mouth. It sizzles with olive oil, salt, paprika and marjoram —  nothing like roasted potatoes. I sample my red sauce to make sure I’ve balanced the flavors. Yum. It tastes rounded yet robust and brings together — sweet, acid, salt and spicy heat. Oh, and don’t forget umami! 

Umami is the rich flavor that you get from roasting meats and other foods like mushrooms. Tomatoes and fish sauce are the umami flavors in this recipe. I like the Red Boat brand because it’s made with anchovies and goes well with dishes beyond Southeast Asia.

To change things up, I plated the salad on an oblong platter, mounding the roasted veggies along the center and surrounding them with red sauce. A few of the blanched green beans and olives decorated the top, and I served the rest at the table. This is an ordinary meal, yet everything about it feels special — from the harvested potatoes to the presentation. My husband and I dig in, both of us catching each other’s eye and grinning. A double thumbs up — for delicious.

Spanish Style Potato Salad with Green Beans 

Serves four as a side salad  

Easy 

This spicy umami potato salad hits all the flavor notes. The crunchy green beans contrast with the creamy potatoes. The vegetables roast while you blanch the green beans and make the sauce. The presentation will score you points with the contrasting reds and greens served on a platter. 

INGREDIENTS 

Roasting

1 medium onion, chopped 

3 cup zucchini, sliced into 1 ½ inch chunks   

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb fingerling potatoes (3 cups) cut into bite-sized chunks

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons dried marjoram

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Blanching

2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into fourths 

Sauce

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes or 2 cups fresh tomatoes diced 

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons red boat brand fish sauce, or whatever you have

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, or red wine vinegar 

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Serving

1/2 cup parsley chopped

1/2 cup green Spanish olives sliced

DIRECTIONS 

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the roasting vegetables on the parchment paper. Massage the oil, salt and spices into the veggies. Roast on a middle rack for 20 minutes. Stir, bringing the outer vegetables into the middle. Roast for another 20 to 25 minutes or until done. 

While the vegetables are roasting, blanch the green beans by bringing water to a boil in a shallow skillet. When the water is boiling, submerge the green beans for 1½ minutes. Empty green beans into a colander over the sink, as you would for pasta, and immediately run cold water over the beans to stop their cooking.

Slice the olives and chop the parsley put into small bowls and set aside. 

Make the tomato sauce by adding the sauce ingredients to the shallow skillet over a medium heat. Once the sauce is bubbling, turn the heat to a simmer and reduce the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it looks like a loose jam. Cool the sauce to room temperature.

To serve, lay the roasted vegetables out in the center of a platter with tomato sauce around the edges, layer the olives and some parsley over the sauce. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of the green beans over the roasted vegetables. Serve the remaining green beans and parsley at the table.

(Kitchen to Kitchen is sponsored by The Food Co-op. Sidonie Maroon is a chef and the culinary educator for The Food Co-op. Visit her blog at abluedot
kitchen.com.)