Roasted Potato Salad

At some point before the summer is over, I will post more seasonally appropriate dishes. Really. The ingredients are all seasonal even though the cooking method may not be!

I found this recipe a few days ago on a food blog I read regularly and knew I should use it for the chard I was getting from Moore Farms.

Of course, I made a few changes to the recipe based on what we had on hand.

2 slices bacon (we use Niman Ranch bacon, not local but all natural)
1 lb Yukon creamer potatoes
1 clove garlic sliced
1/4 c grated Asiago (or less, enough to sprinkle over potatoes)
1/4 c tahini (Arrowhead Mills)
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp lime juice
1 bundle chard, stems and centers removed and leaves sliced

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cook bacon in oven proof skillet until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside. Leave all or some of the dripping in the pan.

Cut potatoes in bite-sized pieces. Spread potatoes in a single layer in pan and stir to coat in drippings. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Raise oven heat to 450 and roast potatoes for about 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Stir in garlic and roast for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and roast until cheese is melted and crispy in spots.

While potatoes roast, mix tahini, lime juice and salt until smooth. Thin with water if it's too thick.

Toss chard with hot potatoes until it wilts, then toss with tahini dressing. I just spotted it lightly with the dressing until I got a flavor I liked; I like a moderate tahini flavor. The recipe makes enough dressing that you could make it more like a traditional potatoe salad in regard to how creamy it is.

The original recipe doesn't mention the bacon again, so I just chopped it up and sprinkled it over the salad.

This was an interesting way to have both potato salad and chard. I'll definitely be making it again...maybe when the weather cools down. We at the salad with sliced tomatoes and Persian influenced meatballs (ground beef mixed with grated Vidalia onion, lime juice and a Persian spice mix with cumin, cinnamon, ginger, sesame seeds).