Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Radish and Red Onion in Tomato VInaigrette Celebrates Summer

When EarthFresh comes calling and offers me a couple bags of free potatoes so I can come up with a new recipe, I am always in. EarthFresh is a Canadian company that produce great quality potatoes, carrots and onions and my favourite thing that they do, apart from providing me with FREE BAGS OF POTATOES YO! is they pack the potatoes in a light blocking bag. I bet you didn't realize that potatoes can turn totally green after about 12 hours of fluorescent grocery store lightening - let's not even talk about how I look under those zombie lights. There is a reason that when you store potatoes it always instructs you to put them in a cool, DARK place.

I buy these potatoes all the time, ever since whipping up these Indian Spiced Potatoes using their organic baby reds, so i am no stranger to these babies.

Aaaaanyway, they were looking for me to come up with some sort of a potato salad and since this tomato vinaigrette is current obsession, I saw no reason why it would not work beautifully in a room temperature potato salad. Using the bounty of local produce in season, I roasted fingerling potatoes with radishes and nice, big chunks of red onion, used tomatoes out of my garden for the dressing and then threw in a couple handful of herbs straight out of the herb garden. As I always say, like your crazy old Uncle Morty, we eat with our eyes and this one passes the pretty test too.

This salad tastes like summer and it was almost better the next day so make sure you let it sit, in the vinaigrette for at least one hour, so the flavours can meld and get to know each other.

* I was not paid for this post but I was provided a couple bags of potatoes to use in order to come up with this recipe. My opinions, as always, are very much my own.

Fingerlings, Radish and Red Onion in Tomato Vinaigrette

serves 6-8 as a side dish

1 680 (1.5lb) bag EarthFresh Fingerling Gourmet Potatoes
1 red onion, cut in large chunks
1 bunch radishes
1 tbls red wine vinegar
pinch kosher salt

1 large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes

1/4 cup extra + 2 tbls extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, grated
about 2 tbls chopped basil
about 2 tbls chopped Italian parsley 

Preheat the oven to 425F

Halve the fingerling potatoes, halve the radishes and throw them in a bowl along with the red onion and toss with the olive oil and a good pinch kosher salt. Spread the vegetables out on a big baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove and set aside and let cool to room temperature.

Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds using your fingers to make sure you get them all. Grate the tomato on a large hole grater right down to the skin. The skin will protect your fingers and won't grate so it makes it easier than you think. Put the tomato pulp in a bowl and throw in a pinch of kosher salt, garlic and the vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil and taste and add more salt if needed.

Put the potatoes, radish and onion in a bowl and add the tomato vinaigrette, give it a thorough toss and let it sit for at least an hour and up to 4 or 5 hours before serving.

If you are using within an hour or so, leave out, covered with a cloth, at room temperature and if not using until much later, you can keep the salad in the fridge but take it out 30 minutes before serving so it can come back to room temperature.