Sweet, Roasted Potato & Corn Salad
This roasted potato salad is the perfect recipe for a summer-to-fall transition. The corn is fresh and sweet in season, accentuated by drizzled honey. The potatoes, which can be used right away or stored in a cool place are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Coupled with smoky paprika and scallions, this is a winning side dish.
Potato salad is a crowd-pleasing dish. But sometimes, you just don't want the heavy dressing or a cold side. This recipe starts with taking potatoes, such as russets or red potatoes and baking them until they are golden brown. The corn adds a fresh pop of sweetness that is coupled with honey.
I was inspired to write this recipe after receiving pounds and pounds of fresh potatoes from our CSA farm box this summer. What great inspiration to make such a yummy recipe - particularly one that is great at a gathering like a barbecue or picnic.
Start by washing the potatoes and chopping them into small chunks. Depending on the potatoes you have - and this recipe is versatile enough to use pretty much any potato - you can halve them or chop them finely for larger potatoes. I used red potatoes. The only caveat is that if you are using a waxier potato like a Yukon Gold, you may not get the same crispy outside of the potato - but it will still be delicious!
Chop the onion into small pieces, as this will cook at the same time as the potatoes, infusing the sweet flavor that pairs so well with tubers.
The key to roasting potatoes to get crispy edges was taught to me by my grandmother: hot oil. You'll want to add the oil to the glass baking dish first and put it in the oven until it reaches the oven temperature (you can stick it in while preheating and then give a few extra minutes to heat fully).
Be careful! The oil is going to be super hot and flowing - you'll want to take the dish out of the oven carefully and wear oven mitts (and an apron if you care about what you are wearing) when you add in the potatoes. Think of when you add food to a hot pan on the stove top - it can sputter and splatter. That's what is happening here. But, by heating the oil first, you are getting the potatoes to start cooking their outside layers right away and that makes them extra delicious and crunchy.
While the potatoes cook, shave the corn off the cob, trying to get all the kernels. Fresh will taste better. If you have trouble shaving them off of a long ear of corn (after shucking away the green husks and the silks, of course), you can break them in half so they are more manageable to shave.
Add the spices to the potatoes midway through the recipe when you take the potatoes out to stir. The smoked paprika and cumin mimic the smokey flavor of bacon that is so common in potato salads, while making this recipe less fatty and greasy (not to mention meat-free). The mint adds a fresh kick. Adding the spices while they are cooking gets them infused and toasty, rather than added at the end.
When you remove the potatoes, drizzle and toss with honey for sweetness and top with scallions for an added fresh, green, ramp quality that brings out the caramelized onions already mixed in. Adding the honey at the end, rather than while cooking, ensures the honey does not melt off and stays sticky and can coat the potatoes. Add the honey when the potatoes are still warm, so they coat best.
Enjoy warm or cooled!
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 60 mins
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
2.5 lbs potatoes
1 small yellow onion
⅓ cup olive oil (or drizzled by eye)
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp dried mint
¼ tsp dried cumin
Ground pepper, to taste
Generous pinch of salt, to taste
2 tbs honey
2 ears of corn, kernels shaved from the cob
One small bunch, approximately 5, scallions (to top)
Equipment
Large glass baking dish
Instructions
Set your oven to 375 degrees.
Pour the olive oil into a glass, sided baking tray and set aside.
Wash the potatoes thoroughly.
When the oven reaches its set temperature, add the tray with the oil in to heat up for approximately 10 minutes.
In the meantime, while the oil heats, wash and slice the potatoes into medium-sized chunks (approximately ¾ inch cubes).
Carefully remove the tray with the oil from the oven and set down - the oil will be extremely hot. With over mitts on, use tongs or a spatula to carefully add the potatoes into the oil. The potatoes should immediately begin to cook and sputter and the oil bubble. You can add one test potato chunk first to see if the oil is hot enough before adding them all. If the oil does not sputter, add back to the oven for more heating for 5 minutes and try again.
Carefully mix the potatoes into the oil to thoroughly coat with the hot oil. Add pepper and salt and add back to the oven. Note: if you need to add more oil to fully coat the potatoes, do so - there will be variability in the size of the potatoes, so you want to add enough oil to coat the potatoes fully.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the potatoes begin to stick and crisp on the undersides. Remove the baking dish from the oven and add in the paprika, mint, and cumin and mix in to thoroughly coat.
Bake for another 30 minutes, stirring a few times periodically, or until the potatoes are tender to the fork and have crispy sides.
While the potatoes cook, shuck the ears of corn to remove the husks and silks.
Carefully hold the ear of corn upright on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to shave the kernels off of the bottom half of the cob, turning as you go to get the kernels from all sides. Flip the corn longways and repeat with the other half of the kernels. You can cut the cob in half longways and slice from there, if holding the full cob is too unwieldy.
Slice the whites and light green parts of the scallions into thin rounds.
When you remove the potatoes, add the honey and mix. The honey will melt, but not boil away.
Move to a serving dish, mix in the corn, and top with the scallions and more salt, if needed to taste.
Enjoy!
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