Cooking with the Harvest – Fingerling Potatoes and Cherry Tomatoes

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Almost exactly one year ago, I shared a recipe for a salad featuring my garden watercress and cherry tomatoes, with the addition of store-bought mini potatoes:

The salad was such a big hit, that I said I was going to try growing my own mini potatoes to have a full garden-to-table dish. As I shared in my last post, I did try growing La Ratte fingerling potatoes, and had a good August crop from a large garden pot, and a second harvest for this month, from the crop in a garden bed:

The watercress crop was great, but this year was a little earlier than last year, peaking early in the summer:

And the cherry tomatoes were slow to ripen, so by the time I had a good amount of tomatoes and potatoes, the watercress was done.

I looked for watercress at the store, but needless to say, the season was over, so there was none left there, either. I did not give up, and got a package of arugula. I followed last year’s recipe with the greens substitution:

Watercress and Potato Salad – Ensalada de berros y papa 

Printable recipe:  Watercress and Potato Salad

Ingredients

1 lb (450 g) mini potatoes; washed and boiled just until cooked but still firm
1 bunch watercress; washed and drained; if not available, use other peppery greens, such as arugula
½ lb (225 g) mini tomatoes; washed
¼ lb (110 g) fresh cheese, such as añejo, panela, or light feta
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
Salt, to taste
Ground red chili, such as Comapeño or cayenne, optional, to taste

Allow potatoes to cool down to room temperature, then slice in half and place in a mixing bowl.  Chop peppery greens coarsely and add to the bowl. Cut tomatoes in half and add to the bowl.  In a jar with lid, shake oil, lime juice, salt and ground red chili (if using) to prepare the dressing. Pour over vegetables, then toss gently to incorporate.  Crumble the cheese on top:

The salad not only looked great (above and at the top of this post), but tasted amazing, from the combination of the citrus dressing, peppery greens, sweet tomatoes and new potatoes, all enhanced by the addition of fresh cheese and a sprinkle of powdered dried chile (I used Comapeño). Arugula was a great substitute for watercress, but maybe the third time will be the charm, and next year I will have mini potatoes, cherry tomatoes and watercress at the same time. Stay tuned!

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I am joining Thursday Favourite Things #776, with Katherine @ Katherine’s Corner, Amber @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home, and Esme @ Esme Salon.   

I am bringing my salad to Full Plate Thursday #811 with Miz Helen @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.

I am sharing my recipe at Fiesta Friday #658 with Angie @ Fiesta Friday.