Grilled Potato & Arugula Salad

Grilled Potato & Arugula Salad // loveandlemons.com

I might be from the land of meat and potatoes, but you all know how that my heart lies with the green stuff. I rarely eat potatoes, but I just couldn’t pass up these little cuties. And since it’s summer, I felt I needed to share a true picnic/cookout side dish.

These little ones grill up so well – they cook through without having to boil them first, and they get that nice charred edge. Off the grill, I drizzled them with a lemony dijon dressing. I let that soak in for a bit and then tossed them peppery arugula, pickled red onions, capers and chives. The end result… bright & tangy, filling but still light. I might just be eating a lot more potato salads this summer.

Grilled Potato & Arugula Salad // loveandlemons.com

We ate this alongside some grilled salmon. The leftover potatoes were even better the next day – I snacked on them for lunch, and then repurposed what was left for a second’s night dinner… I made full-meal salads by adding more arugula, smoked salmon, chopped cucumbers, pine nuts and a bit of the dressing that I had leftover.

grilled potato & arugula salad

 
Author:
Serves: serves 4 as a side
Ingredients
  • 1 pound little potatoes, sliced in half
  • salt, pepper
  • olive oil, for roasting/grilling
  • a few big handfuls of arugula
  • ¼ cup chopped chives
  • 1-2 tablespoons capers
  • lemon juice and zest
quick pickled red onions: (optional)
  • ½ small red onion
  • a good splash of sherry vinegar
  • generous pinches of salt
dressing:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1-2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • ½ -1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 2 cloves chopped garlic
  • squeeze of lemon
Instructions
  1. Slice potatoes in half and season with salt and pepper.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the red onions with sherry vinegar and salt. Chill while you make everything else (or make ahead, the longer they sit the better).
  3. Whisk together the dressing ingredients at the bottom of a large bowl. Set aside.
  4. Heat a grill pan* to high heat and brush with oil. Place the potatoes, cut side down and let them cook without moving them until nice char marks start to form (flip one to check).
  5. Flip them, add a good squeeze of lemon juice and continue cooking until roasted on the outside and tender in the middle. Reduce heat and cover if necessary (my grill pan doesn't have a cover, but we placed a baking sheet over it). I cooked my 1" potatoes for about 20-25 minutes total.
  6. Transfer cooked potatoes to the large bowl with the dressing and toss to coat. Let cool and toss with arugula, onions, capers, chives and lemon zest.
  7. Taste and add more dressing to your liking. Serve at room temp, or make ahead and chill.
Notes
*if using an outdoor grill, you may need a pan or grill basket so the potatoes don't fall through the grates. You could also could boil your potatoes or roast them in the oven.

32 comments

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  1. natalia mori
    06.03.2015

    Delicious! perfect dinner! I couldn’t find arugula so I used watercress instead and also added asparagus! 🙂

    • jeanine
      06.04.2015

      Hi Natalia, I’m so glad you liked it! I bet it was delicious with asparagus!

  2. martha
    05.23.2015

    This was the best OUTSTANDING! I made it tonight for a cookout we’re hosting tomorrow and it will be hard to not eat all of it before the morning. Thanks for mentioning that it tasted great the next day, it helped me feel safe make ahead!
    This is the first time I’ve commented on your recipes but my young daughters, husband and I have been knee deep in love with them for a long time now:) Keep rocking them!

    • jeanine
      05.28.2015

      I’m so glad you liked it! I hope you found it just as delicious the next day… and thanks so much for commenting! Means so much to me…

  3. rachel from healthyrachelpage.blogspot.com
    03.12.2015

    This is a fantastic recipe! My entire family (even the 11 year old) loved it. Thank you!

  4. Scarlet from familyfocusblog.com
    09.09.2013

    This looks delish. I am pinning it to my vegan board right now:)

  5. I just made this salad last night and must say that it was just incredible. I didn’t have sherry vinegar, so used white balsamic which worked beautifully. Thank you so much for posting it, and for sharing so much on this blog.

  6. I love the addition of arugula to these warm potatoes. A little bit of peppery bite and pickled red onion with the mustardy vinaigrette, mmmmm!

  7. Such lovely flavours here. I am crushing on that red onion pickle recipe. A little potato is the cutest thing! x

  8. Oh my gosh YUM, I make something so very similar. It is a summer staple in our house. Sometimes I add kale if that’s what we have on hand, plus I usually add tons of fresh herbs and toasted pine nuts if I have them. Of course your photos make my salad look like slop comparatively. Stop being so awesome please 😉

  9. Kathryn from londonbakes.com
    07.18.2013

    I love this idea of grilled potato salad especially when you use such overwhelmingly cute potatoes!

  10. Clotilde from meltingpotaufeu.wordpress.com
    07.18.2013

    This is the perfect dish for a picnic! I love the different colored potatoes! Great post!

  11. Connie from heshewee.wordpress.com
    07.17.2013

    I absolutely have to make this, it looks like the perfect summer salad. Great share!

  12. Tieghan from halfbakedharvest.com
    07.17.2013

    Gorgeous! I love grilled potatoes and these flavors sound awesome!

  13. Eileen from hampiesandwiches.blogspot.com
    07.17.2013

    Potatoes are some of my favorite vegetables ever–so much so that I’m totally willing to turn on the oven in the middle of summer occasionally. 🙂 So amazing with greens in a salad like this!

    • jeanine
      07.17.2013

      I loved these teeny ones because technically you could grill them outside and not turn on your oven. (Although where I live, our outside is an oven so we made them in our temperature-controlled kitchen :).

  14. oh i adore waxy potatoes, especially when cold. I have been known the cook them in preparation for nibbles the next day or night. Grilling potatoes is such a summery idea that I have to try it, beautiful.

    • jeanine
      07.17.2013

      I couldn’t stop eating them the next day, a bite here and there – they were pretty addicting 🙂

  15. Emma from coconutandberries.com
    07.17.2013

    These little new potatoes and sweet potatoes are the only kinds I’m really in to. This salad looks perfect. I’m really regretting not having planted rocket (arugula) this year- I miss being able to just pick a handful for salads.

    • jeanine
      07.17.2013

      Me too, they’re less starchy aren’t they? I just love how arugula is called rocket over there 🙂

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.