Sweet Corn & Roasted Potato Salad with Fresh Basil
This room temperature salad will be a hit at your next barbecue. (Plus, it’s a snap to prep ahead!)
Ingredients:
3 pounds fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and halved or quartered if large
¼ cup minced parsley
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sweet corn kernels, cut from the cob
½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped
¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
For dressing:
½ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the potatoes in a heavy roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, stir to coat. Salt and pepper generously and add chopped parsley. Roast the potatoes until tender and starting to brown, turning once or twice, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
2. When potatoes have cooled, combine together with the corn kernels and sun-dried tomatoes.
3. For the dressing, combine the ½ cup of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Toss the potato mixture enough dressing to coat lightly. Stir in the basil and feta cheese gently, season with salt and pepper and garnish with toasted pine nuts. Serve at room temperature.
Cauliflower Pesto
Serve this ingenious spread from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook atop slices of toasted Kalamata olive bread.
Ingredients:
4 heads baby cauliflower
1 medium shallot
Pinch of red pepper flakes
½ cup toasted almonds
¼ cup Grana-style cheese
4 sun-dried tomatoes, dry variety
1 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. In a small bowl, place sun dried tomatoes and add boiling water to cover. Let stand 5 minutes to soften, then drain.
2. Rinse the cauliflower, cut off the leaves and hard stalks. Cut the rest into chunks, and put in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until florets are thoroughly chopped, about the size of couscous. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Without rinsing the bowl of the processor, add the shallots, pepper flakes, almonds, cheese, drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes, capers and parsley. Process until fine. Add oil and vinegar and pulse until a paste forms.
4. Transfer to the bowl with the cauliflower, mixing gently. Check for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper as necessary. Refrigerate in a covered container until ready to use.
