New Potatoes and an Old Kitchen

"What's in Season" article from the first week in July:

Farmer’s have started digging up new potatoes to bring to market.  For those who may not know exactly what it means when we say “new” potato, it is simply a young potato.  They are harvested before the potato is fully mature, are crisp, have tender skins, and can be cooked whole, with the skins left on.  They can be any variety of potato, but red ones are the most common and sought after. 

I dug my first potatoes this past Sunday to make potato salad for our family Fourth of July gathering the next day.  I made the salad at my Grandma’s house and was a little bit frustrated before I got it all finished.  I have no idea how my Grandmother managed to cook for herself and her husband and their ten children with less than two feet of counter space.  I have never thought of my kitchen as anything grand, but with its ample counter space, I now know that I’m a spoiled cook.  It made me stop to think about how we take things for granted in this day and age.  My grandma would never have dreamed to ask for a kitchen makeover with granite counter tops and professional size stoves, etc. as people do today.  She made what she had work for them and lived within their means. 

Of course, I ended up with enough potato salad to feed an army and we have been eating the leftovers all week.  My brother has asked me to make the potato salad for his son’s second birthday party this Sunday.  As much as I love new potatoes, I’m going to be a little tired of potato salad before it’s all said and done.  Also, I thought it was funny that two different people brought my Patriotic Trifle to our Fourth of July cookout—at least I know the family is paying attention to my article.

I’d give you my potato salad recipe this week, but once again, I don’t have one (possibly the reason why I always end up with too much).  Really, it’s just potatoes, some mayo, sour cream (if you have it), onions, hard boiled eggs, celery (if you have it, which I didn’t this week so I just added a little celery seed), and a little bit of mustard, salt , and pepper.  Also, I added some fresh dill—this really gives it a good flavor.  Here’s a trick from my mother as well—squeeze the hard boiled eggs through the ricer before adding them to the salad.  That way you get the flavor from the egg but not the texture, which can sometimes be rubbery, that people often don’t like about hard boiled eggs.

Give the potato salad a try, but for a quicker, easier, and more healthy way to fix your new red potatoes for a week night dinner try roasting them.

Roasted New Red Potatoes

·        One quart new red potatoes

·        About ¼ c. olive oil

·        1 clove fresh garlic, minced

·        1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

·        Salt and Pepper to taste

Scrub new potatoes and halve or quarter them if they are large.  Put in a bowl and coat with the olive oil.  Add garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Spread on baking sheet and roast in 400º oven for 25 min or until tender when pierced with a fork.  Shake pan or turn with a spatula periodically while roasting.

Colorful new potatoes!