Crispy Potato Gem and Cucumber Salad

Crikey!  I first made a version of this recipe in December last year!  And now I've made this recipe, which we both preferred.  Potato Gems are not a product we normally have in our freezer, but I bought them just for this.  (And I do like 'em, now and then.)  

This recipe comes from Mingle, the Aussie company which sells "No Nasties" seasonings, condiments and spices.  (Nope, not an ad; in fact I'm not a huge fan of their products.)  So I made their recipe, but used my fave seasonings.  I added a hot-smoked salmon and chickpea salad to add protein, and make it into a more substantial dinner.

They were a wee bit sparing in the details of the recipe, so I've had to make do.  I think I've done a fair job of it.  They said to bake the Gems at 180C, which took over an hour!  So I've definitely upped the baking temp. here, and made a few changes.  (Measurements devised by moi.)

crunchy, cuke-y, salty, seedy - all the good stuff!

Serves 3 as a main, or 4 as an (Aussie) entrée:

ingredients:

500g./18 oz of Potato Gems (frozen)   see Notes 

2 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled (or not, as you prefer) and sliced thinly

260g./1 cup/9 oz Greek (plain) yoghurt

1/2 red onion, finely sliced:  = around 100g./3.5 oz

1 Tbs capers

1/4 cup of parsley, chopped

juice of half a lemon

1-2 spring onions/scallions, finely sliced (optional)

seasonings of your choice - I used 1 Tbs (Bush Tucker) dukkah, some sea salt and black pepper, Aleppo pepper (maybe 1 tsp), and a good sprinkling of dried onion flakes, dried garlic granules, and dried chives (1-2 tsp of each)

Sherry's Pickings recipe:

For the salmon salad:

1 tin of chickpeas - 400g./14 oz, drained

150g./5.3 oz hot-smoked salmon, flaked and skin removed

herbs and seasonings of your choice - I used salt and pepper, dried chives and fresh parsley

1 Tbs EV olive oil

1-2 Tbs Kewpie mayonnaise or Greek yoghurt (optional)

2 spring onions/scallions, finely sliced (optional)

cukes!

you guessed it!

Method:

Whack on your oven to 210C/410F to heat up

Place the Gems on a large, lined baking tray in a single layer, and bake for 20 minutes

Take the tray out of the oven, throw on the seasonings, flatten them with the base of a glass, and back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes - or till golden brown and crunchy  see Notes

While that's happening, slice the cukes finely, (and the red onion), and place them into a large salad bowl with the yoghurt, capers, parsley, lemon juice, spring onions and the seasonings

Give it a firm, but loving stir till just combined

Place the Gems over the top of the salad, throw on some more parsley if you like, and serve with the salmon salad - the ingredients of which have just been stirred gently together in a medium bowl

This can be an entrée for several people, or a main meal for 3

Notes:

The Mingle recipe doesn't give the quantity for the Potato Gems, so I just guesstimated it at 500 grams - you could use more, if you please

Oh yes, I forgot to say that they are called Tater Tots in the U.S.!

I ended up adding 1.5 Tbs of lemon juice to each of the salads

Crank up the heat to 220C/430F for 5-10 minutes at the end, if they still won't go nicely golden and crunchy

and you guessed it again :=)

ingredients gathered

toss 'em in the herbs and spices

baked and squished

cukes and yoghurt almost ready for their blanket of Potato Gems :=)

on they go

salmon salad ready for mixing

and mixed!

even Winnie-the-Pooh approves :=)

As a side note, the recipe I first made in December 2024 (from Better Homes and Gardens mag.) had no cukes, but instead added 2 garlic cloves, 2 rashers of fried bacon, 1/4 cup mayo and 1/4 cup sour cream, herbs and seasonings - we found all this way too rich!  It also had 3 gherkins and 2 Tbs of the pickling juice, plus fresh dill.  We preferred this simpler, (maybe) healthier dish from Mingle.  And my salmon salad really filled out the meal.

ingredients for the BH&G recipe

which I served with chicken kebabs

Just a little side story to our week - it was a Public Holiday on the Wednesday for the Royal Agricultural Show here in Brisbane.  Other areas have a different day for it, so we headed out a bit west to the Scenic Rim for a country drive.  We picked up a desk lamp that Mr P. had commissioned from an artist who uses recycled items to make her fabulous artworks.  This lamp is made from a (handmade) staircase banister (or is it a newel post?), a carpenter's plane (watch out for the sharp blade), and a very old spirit level - so gorgeous!  I love that the spirit level is still in working order.  

handmade desk lamp by Terina Smith Recycling Artist