roasted new potato, rocket and goats cheese salad

I was lucky enough to grab a small mini break in December and drive up to Stilbaai and stay with my friend Alida Ryder at her family’s beautiful beach holiday home.  As mainly long distance friends I have been drooling over her food for a long time but had never eaten any of these meals, so on this trip, I was privileged to get to do a lot of that.  One of the meals she effortlessly knocked up was a rocket, roasted new potato and goats cheese salad served with lamb chops, pita breads, tzatziki with loads of lemon on the side to squeeze over everything.

Some of my favourite flavours.

I had all the ingredients at home so made this similar salad for my supper. I added toasted pine kernels and made my favourite vinaigrette, replacing the vinegar with lemon juice.

• a packet of fresh rocket leaves
• a cup of new potatoes halved (I love the pink fir cultivar)
• 100g or so of goats cheese / chevin
• a small handful of toasted pine kernels

Heat your oven to 180 C and coat the halved potatoes in olive oil.  Roast for about  25 – 30 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove and allow to cool slightly.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and serve straight away.

Its a lovely salad to serve on the side, but I did miss Ally’s juicy lamb chops, the warm pitas and the delightful company of her family.