New potato salad with colourful roasted vegetables

Summertime is the perfect time to be healthier with our food choices and this does not translate into boring or tasteless meals. For the greatest tasting dishes make the most of what’s in season now and why not, let’s be creative with salads. They can be just as filling as a bowl of pasta; just add anything you like to them: roasted veggies, beans, cheese, fish and a good dressing which can lift the dish to a different level. A well made salad should be delicious enough to make you crave for more.

With new potatoes season being in full swing in the UK, I made the most and bought some ” Taste the difference” “British Gems Baby New Potatoes”  which are available @Sainsburys right now until the end of August.

I love new potatoes as they have that fresh taste and they are tender so you don’t have to peel them. Just a quick wash in cold water means less prep work to do which is a bonus at summertime when we don’t want to be slaving for hours in the kitchen. These baby potatoes are fresh from field to store in just 48 hours and they are the ‘perline’ variety exclusive to Sainsbury’s. They are available in 1kg packs or loose and you can boil, steam or roast them as they are quite versatile and ideal for many dishes.

I was challenged to make a recipe with them. Their distinctive buttery flavour and golden colour makes them perfect to be added into salads. They take over from the Jersey Royals during the summer months.

After roasting them I have added roasted vegetables. These can be any veggies you like: from green beans, to peas, to artichokes and broccoli.

A few spinach leaves and a quick mustard dressing makes this salad really refreshing and nutritious, which is just what you want at summertime.

• Prep Time : 30 minutes
• Cook Time : 50 minutes
• Yield : 4

Ingredients

• British Gems baby new potatoes – 800 g – slighly less than 4 cups
• green beans, tenderstem broccoli, asparagus or other vegetables of your choice – a small handful of each
• peas (can be frozen too) – 200 g – 1 + 1/3 cup
• yellow and red pepper – 1 of each
• spinach baby leaves – 2 handfuls
• chopped parsley – 1 tbsp
• fresh thyme – 5 sprigs
• mustard – 1 tsp
• vinegar (ideally cider) – 1 tbsp
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Wash the potatoes, slice them in half and scatter them on a baking tray. Drizzle them with oil, sprinkle with sea salt, a grind of pepper and mix. Cook them at 200C or 390F for 30 to 35 minutes. Turn them half way during cooking so that they cook evenly.

Wash the peppers, remove stems, filaments and seeds and slice them into strips.

Wash the other vegetables and scatter them with the peppers on a baking tray, drizzle them with oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and cook them for approximately 15 to 20 minutes at 190C or 370F or until soft.

Bring to the boil a saucepan of water and then cook the peas until soft. They should take only a few minutes. Cooking time varies whether they are fresh or frozen.

Make the vinagrette by mixing the mustard with 3 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of vinegar and the chopped parsley.

In a large bowl put the potatoes, the roasted vegetables, the washed spinach leaves and the peas. Add the chopped thyme springs too. Mix in the vinagrette and mix all the ingredients well using your hands.

Check out my video on how to make this salad.

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