Mediterranean Roasted Potato Salad

Looking for a fresh idea for a supper with friends? This Roasted Potato Salad is a favorite at our house! You can serve it as a side dish or, serve it as I often do, with grilled chicken cut up into it as a one-dish meal. The Italians would call this “piatto unico”–everything in one plate. Add your own “twist” to the dish by adding whatever optional ingredients you like. I’ll give you a few ideas below.

To begin, I cut the potatoes into pieces. If I’m using small, red potatoes, I leave the skins on and just cut them in half. But I’ve often used other potatoes–you can peel them if you like, or just scrub them and cut them into pieces about the size of half of a new potato. I wouldn’t call them bite-sized pieces–unless you have a really large mouth–but the size is a bit of an option. If you cut them smaller, you’ll have a shorter roasting time.
Ok, so I’ve cut up the potatoes, and cut the onions into about half-inch pieces. For a full recipe (3 lbs./1.5 kg. of potatoes; enough for six to eight people) I spread the vegetables out onto TWO baking sheets. They have to be in a single layer to really roast well. I drizzle them with olive oil, about three tablespoons total…

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…and use my hands to toss them so they get that lovely olive oil all over them.

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Of course that means you’ll get your hands all coated in that lovely olive oil as well, but I guess that’s what soap is for.
I roast these two pans of potatoes and onions for 10-15 minutes at 450° F (230° C), just to give them a head-start before I add some diced up red or yellow bell peppers.

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I stir them around and add some rosemary sprigs (optional) before putting them back in the oven. I usually switch shelves at this point—what was on top goes on the bottom and vice versa. They need to roast about 20 more minutes…can’t say exactly how long as it will depend on the size of your veggies, what type of baking sheet you use (dark or aluminum), how hot your oven runs…and how soft you like your veggies. So, when they reach that perfect degree of roastedness, remove them from the oven and drizzle them with balsalmic vinegar. I use about three tablespoons total.

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Now, toss everything in a large bowl and add your creativity…here are the other items I added this time:

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…sun-dried tomatoes, luscious in their own olive oil, fresh basil leaves, black olives–Kalamata are best but I didn’t have any–and artichoke hearts–those things almost out of focus in the foreground above.

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Other times I’ve added crumbled feta cheese (one of my absolute favorites!), toasted pine nuts, green olives, roasted garlic, fresh parsley, prosciutto ham and sautèed or marinated mushrooms.
We invited our neighbors over for supper so I decided to make our Roasted Potato Salad a one-dish meal by adding grilled chicken. I marinated the chicken cutlets in a little lemon juice, olive oil and white wine–no measurements, just poured it over the cutlets for a few hours before my good husband grilled them for me.

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I cut the grilled chicken into bite-sized pieces…

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and added it to all the other ingredients…

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…I tossed everything together…It was terrific!

I hope you’ll invite someone over this weekend…celebrate with something different to eat!
Ciao!
Debbie

Ingredients
3 lb. (1.5 kg) small red or new potatoes, cut in half
1 lg. red onion, cut into 1/2-inch (1.5 cm) pieces
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch (1.5 cm) pieces
3 T. olive oil
3 T. Balsamic vinegar

For main dish:
2-3 chicken cutlets
Lemon juice
Olive oil
White wine

Optional additions:
black olives (Kalamata)
pine nuts (toasted)
feta cheese, cubed
fresh basil leaves
grilled chicken breast
sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
roasted garlic
marinated or sauteed mushrooms
artichoke hearts
fresh parsley
green olives

Instructions

  1. Toss the potato and onion pieces in 3 T. olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and arrange the vegetables in one layer in two shallow baking pans.
  2. Roast at 450° F (230° C) for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove from oven and add the bell pepper pieces, stirring to coat with the oil. Switch the position of pans (top to bottom) and roast until potatoes are tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes total.
  4. Remove from oven and immediately toss vegetables with 3 T. vinegar.
  5. Just before serving, add any of the optional ingredients and additional oil and vinegar if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  6. To make this a main dish, add grilled or broiled chicken cutlets sliced into small pieces. (Consider marinating the chicken pieces in a little lemon juice, olive oil and white wine before grilling.)

 

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