Sunny Kitchen

Recipes that brighten up your table

Potato salad with ricotta, sage and toasted almonds

EAT THE SEASONS, SALADS, SPRING

When I think about late spring/summer food, I often think about salads, but I tell you, there are so many ways to make a salad that is not just using green leaves, tomato and olive oil. Try using different base ingredients, and textures, there’s a universe of possibilities.

This salad is extremely versatile; is filling yet light, delicate yet full of personality! It tastes (and looks) great on the table and/or on the side of your favorite main dish, and you can enjoy it warm, or cold!

 
You can of course adapt it to your own liking: not a fan of sage? Tarragon would work wonderfully here. Want to switch rocket to spinach? Sure, go ahead!
 

Just one heads up: the potatoes are roasted, so you should use baking-friendly varieties, such as King Edward, Russet, Maris Piper, or Yukon Gold.

Ricotta gives it a wonderful creaminess, as well as a protein kick, but you can omit it if you want it to be cheese-less.

The only time-consuming part is roasting the potatoes, the rest takes just few minutes to put together! So easy to do, really.

Let’s start making this delicious salad then.

List of Ingredients

  • new potatoes 500gr
  • rocket 100gr
  • spring onion 1 sprig
  • sage 20gr
  • salt 2 tsp
  • black pepper 1/2 tsp
  • olive oil 2 tbsp
  • butter 50gr
  • ricotta 75gr
  • almond, flaked 20gr

Servings

  • 3-4 people as main dish
  • 5-6 people as side dish

Method

Let’s start with the potatoes, shall we? Preheat the oven at 180C (350F), wash and drain the potatoes, mix them with half the quantity of olive oil, salt and pepper, spread them on a lined baking tray and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until fully cooked. Once out of the oven, smash them (don’t disintegrate them in a Terminator-like manner though) with a spoon or a spatula. If you break them too much, you’ll end up with lots of crumbles on your plate later, just so you know. Give them another 5-10 minutes in the oven, so they get nice and roasty, then leave them to chill out while you’re preparing the rest.
 
Ricotta time! Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sage to infuse (if you want to add and extra layer of flavour, you can brown the butter and then add the sage) for at least 10-15 minutes. I like to keep the leaves in, but if that’s not to your taste, you can take them out once the butter has cooled. Mix together the butter and the ricotta to form a smooth-ish cream. Also, toast the almond flakes till lightly golden. I always steal few teaspoon of the cream during the process, but of course it’s only to ensure quality control…
 
Finally, finely slice the spring onion. I like to do it at a sharp angle (gives it a slightly more sophisticated look, in my opinion). And now, we’re ready to assemble: dress up the rocket with the remaining olive oil salt and pepper, and alternate layers of potatoes, spring onions and ricotta cream. Top it all with the flaked almonds and Voilá! BON APPETÍT!

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