Oregon Fingerling Potato and Vegan Feta Salad

Fall came and went quickly in Oregon. And by quickly, I mean we maybe saw a couple days of picture perfect crisp & sunny fall weather sandwiched between 80 degrees and sunny and 45 degrees and rainy. With this colder, wetter weather our side dishes have moved away from baby greens dotted with seasonal fruit or roasted cherry tomatoes and toasted nuts, to heartier, carbier offerings.

Fingerling potatoes are all over the farmers markets right now and rather than roast them (which, honestly, I don’t always nail), I worked them into this late summer side dish. Despite Siri’s near perfect predictions, I’m not ready to give up on better weather.

This recipe really depends on excellent ingredients to make it sing. Otherwise, what do you have? Potatoes, cheese, olive oil. There is a small Q&A at the bottom of the recipe where I soapbox it up on WHY I think shelling out a few more bucks for star ingredients is worth it. I won’t be offended if you skip it.

Fingerling Potatoes with Feta, Olives, and Mint

inspired by Epicurious and Oregon Producers

Serves 3-4 as a side without leftovers (if you do have leftovers, it would make a killer filling for an omelet)

1 lb fingerling potatoes, picked through and washed
1 sprig of mint, leaves chopped- about 2 tablespoons
1/3 cup HeidiHo Feta (or any dairy feta), crumbled
10 or so, oil cured olives- the really wrinkly ones off the olive bar, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 preserved lemon, flesh removed, discarded and peel minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Splash Sherry Vinegar
Finishing Sea Salt (like Jacobesn Sea Salt!!)
Pepper

Place potatoes in a pot and fill with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium high and cook until potatoes are fork tender. Drain potatoes, and set aside for a hot minute.

While the potatoes are cooking. In a small bowl, combine the mint, feta, olives, and lemon peel.

Once the potatoes don’t completely burn your finger tips, but are still hot-ish, cut them into chunks, 3/4-inch -1 inch. Place potatoes in a large bowl with the olive oil and just a good splash of sherry vinegar (like a tablespoon or less if you want to measure). Toss that together and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, keeping in mind the salty olives, feta, and lemon peel that are about to join the party.

Taste the potatoes for seasoning then fold in the mint, feta, olives and preserved lemon mixture. Taste again for seasoning and serve!

Questions and Answers

Do I really need the preserved lemons? They only come in jars and they are pretty expensive and I don’t know what else I’d do with them.

YES!! Well, no, not really. The dish would be fine without them, but preserved lemons add a sultry salty lemon flavor that can’t be replaced with lemon zest. I encourage you to purchase that jar (though I have seen them in bulk around town in Portland on olive bars) then use that chopped lemon peel anywhere you’d use lemon zest in a savory recipe- in a grain salad, as a garnish for cooked fish, or on hummus, ect.

Can I just use regular cheese?

Yes. Absolutely. I don’t eat a lot of diary for various reasons, it hurts my stomach, it makes me really mucousy, and dairy totally gives me gas. Just a heads up. Personally, I’m weary of consuming dairy products, and after reading the China Study, believe everything I thought I could only get from dairy, I can get elsewhere. Except the taste. I’m not a huge fan of diary free cheese, but HeidiHo’s Feta Crumbles are a great stand in for feta’s powerful flavor.  It isn’t as creamy, but it packs the salty, lemony punch.

Why with all the fancy salt?? Won’t my table or Kosher salt do just fine?

If will do fine, but it won’t do great.  Building flavor when I cook, I absolutely use kosher salt. But for finishing a dish, I want something more, a more dramatic flake, that crunches when I bite into it. I used to be a huge fan of the Murry River Pink Salt, and I still am, but since discovering Jacobsen Salt, it is my go to finisher.

 

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3 thoughts on “Oregon Fingerling Potato and Vegan Feta Salad

  1. I really (really) really like that you explain your ingredient choices. You leave people the option of using kosher salt, or lemon zest — but you passionately argue for the use of the best ingredients. I love it (and happen to agree with it).

    Also, I hate olives. But I think I’d try them in this recipe. Or just eat everything but the olives. It looks fab.