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04/21/2022 12:01 AMIt is a glorious day today. With not one cloud in the sky, Alexa says it will be close to 60 degrees. (Actually, I am looking out the window of my office and I don’t need Alexa to tell me it will be someone warm this afternoon, but it is New England, it is April, and, if you don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes.)
I looked into my refrigerator before I walked upstairs. There are two big plastic covered bins of cavatappi with marinara sauce and sweet and spicy sausage I made for dinner last light. I will eat a bowl of the pasta for lunch. For dinner, I looked in the crisper and found some arugula and lots of romaine. There is some blue cheese in the cheese drawer and there is half a pound of those little potatoes (from the Little Potato Company, you know). If I have pasta for lunch, I want something yummy and less caloric for dinner, something I have never made. I grabbed Susie Middleton’s cookbook, Fresh from the Farm, and saw a recipe that calls for some of my favorite ingredients: greens, potatoes, maple syrup. I have almost everything except fingerling potatoes, but I have these teeny potatoes so I will use them. Dinner will be served by 6 p.m.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Roasted Fingerling Potato Coins and Arugula Salad
From Susie Middleton’s Fresh from the Farm (Taunton Press, Newtown, CT, 2014)
Serves 4
ingredients:
½ small red onion, very thinly sliced crosswise into little rounds
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon raspberry jam
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fingerling potatoes, sliced crosswise into coins
4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces arugula, washed and dried (I used romaine, too)
½ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/3 cup crumbled good-quality blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped toasted hazelnuts or almonds
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a small, nonreactive bowl, combine onion rings, 2 teaspoons vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Let sit, tossing occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes. In another small bowl, whisk together remaining vinegar, maple syrup, soy sauce, raspberry jam, mustard, a good pitch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper.
Toss potatoes with 2 tablespoons oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Spread them out in a single layer on the parchment paper. Roast until they are tender all the way though and golden brown on the bottom, about 20 minutes, flipping with a spatula once after 10 to 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, distribute the arugula on four plates; in a small skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil and the minced garlic over medium-low heat. Stir gently and cook until garlic begins to sizzle, 4 to 6 minutes (do not let garlic brown). Remove pan from the heat and add vinegar mixture. Tilt the pan and whisk until mostly emulsified.
Scatter warm potatoes over the arugula. Drain the onion rings well and scatter a few across each salad. Sprinkle cheese around and spoon warm dressing over the salads. Garnish with nuts.