Pan-Fried Baby Potatoes with Sundried Tomato Dressing

Till a month back, I had had sundried tomatoes only in the bottled, preserved form. Much as I liked it, I was cautious of its salt and preservative content and would use it sparingly.

I never knew how delightfully simple and light sundried tomatoes could be till I got myself a pack of Ladakhi sundried tomatoes – they are chewy, tomatoey (as opposed to pickle-y), and induce no "junk food" guilt pangs.

I have been trying out different recipes using Ladakhi sundried tomatoes of late. This recipe – pan-fried baby potatoes with sundried tomato dressing – is a sure keeper.

On to the recipe…but first a picture of the key ingredient: Ladakhi sundried tomatoes:

You Need:

• Baby potatoes – 250 grams
• Olive oil – 1 teaspoon

For the sundried tomato dressing:

• Extra-virgin olive oil – 1.5 tablespoons
• Sundried tomatoes – 1/2 cup
• Kashmiri dry red chillies – 4
• Garlic – 3 to 4 cloves
• Salt – 1/2 teaspoon or to taste

How To:

1. Making the sundried tomato dressing

On a hot skillet, dry roast Kashmiri red chillies on low flame till they become fragrant (about a minute). Let them cool to room temperature. In a grinder, put together sundried tomatoes, garlic, roasted red chillies and salt. Grind coarsely.

Mix the ground powder into extra-virgin olive oil. Let it stand for a day to let the flavours blend well.

2. Pan-frying baby potatoes

Boil baby potatoes till just done. If using a pressure-cooker, cook till one whistle on high heat. Let the pressure release naturally. Let the potatoes cool to room temperature. Peel and with the prongs of a fork, prick several holes through each baby potato.

In a flat-bottomed non-stick pan, heat a teaspoon of olive oil. Place the baby potatoes on the pan in a single layer.

Cook the potatoes on medium flame, turning them around every other minute so that they turn golden evenly. This should take about 10 minutes. When done, take the pan-fried baby potatoes off the heat.

3. Putting it all together

Pour the dressing over the baby potatoes. Mix gently.

I had baby potatoes with sundried tomato dressing on its own, without any accompaniments :-). You could probably pair it with garlic bread, or fried rice.