Rocket salad, or arugula, with crispy golden potatoes and almonds, is a classic at our house. Over the years, we’ve eaten it as a side and as a meal. We’ve enjoyed it for both casual and formal dinner parties, on winter holidays as comfort food, at Easter lunch in the spring. We’ve even made it on late summer vacations, cooking the potatoes on a makeshift grill at the seaside.
If you like salads like this, check out the Mesclun Salad with Avocado and Spanish Fried Egg.
Ingredients
Rocket Lettuce or Wild Rocket?
For this rocket salad, you can use regular rocket leaves, wild rocket, baby arugula or any kind you find at the market or grow in your garden (or forage). We like to use wild arugula.
FAQ
Yes, rocket is the same as arugula, as well as rugula, rucola (Italian), ruchetta (Italian), roquette (French), rocket lettuce, rocket herb and rocket greens. (Whew!) All come from the Latin word Eruca.
Arugula (rocket) is a peppery leaved plant native to the Mediterranean. Rocket lettuce has been known for its healthy benefits since ancient Roman times, and was believed to have aphrodisiac powers. It gets its healthy properties from the noble Brassicaceae lineage it shares with the super foods like cabbage, broccoli, kale and collard greens.
If you can’t find arugula (rocket), wild rocket or baby arugula, the best substitutes would be fellow peppery or bitter greens. Some best options include mâche, frisée, radicchio, escarole and dandelion greens.
Almonds
I have always pan-roasted whole almonds, coating them in the thinnest possible film of olive oil, and slowly toasting them until they become nicely plump. Let to cool, they become insanely crisp, and utterly addictive — even without salt!
Tip – When having guests over, I toast enough extra almonds to accompany aperitifs on the patio. I suggest you toast extra almonds in any case, as they tend to mysteriously disappear before making it onto the salad.
Pan for Pan-Roasting Almonds
I recommend using a small, heavy, stainless steel skillet (around 8″, 20cm or less), like the one in the photo. If I were in the market for one, Cristel has very small skillets with the kind of big comfortable handle I like, plus measuring marks.
Note: I have cooked them both in a nonstick skillet and a stainless steel pan, and both work. But they are easier to get nice and plump before they start to brown with stainless steel.
Potatoes
What kind of potatoes you use can depend on your taste or what you have on hand. Russet (Idaho, baking) and the medium yellow potatoes can become more of a golden crispy crumble on your salad, especially when overcooked. I have settled into using smaller waxier fingerling potatoes, or other small new potatoes. They boil up quicker and retain their structure while still crisping up beautifully.
Pan for Crisping Potatoes
I recommend either a cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet with a ovenproof handle that you can put in the oven to keep the potatoes crisp while you’re finishing up the meal.
Dijon Dressing
Making your own Dijon mustard dressing takes only a few minutes. You can use smooth or grainy country Dijon. Add some vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, and you have some great salad dressing.
Serving Rocket Salad
While this salad is meant to be a side dish (great with grilled steak), we often enjoy it as a meal. Pears roasted in wine have been known to follow.
Recipe
Tools
- Stainless Steel Pan for the almonds – I have cooked them both in a stainless steel pan and a nonstick skillet. Both work, but they are easier to get nice and plump before they start to brown with stainless steel.
- Nonstick Skillet with a metal handle or a cast iron skillet for crisping the potatoes – and keeping them crisp in oven while you finish up preparing the meal.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1.5 lb waxy potatoes (fingerling or other small new potatoes), washed and left unpeeled
- a handful of unsalted whole raw almonds (10-12 per person, See Notes*)
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 5 oz rocket lettuce (regular, wild or baby arugula), washed and dried
For the Dressing:
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard (smooth or grainy), more if desired
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (or a good red wine vinegar)
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (more at your discretion)
- to taste black pepper, ideally freshly ground
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475°F (250°C)
- Boil the potatoes: Add the potatoes to a pot of cold salted water. Optionally, add a tablespoon of vinegar for flavor. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. The potatoes should be able to be pierced with a fork, but slightly firm. Let dry off and cool down in a colander.
- Pan-roast the almonds: While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the almonds. Toss the almonds with just enough olive oil to thinly coat, and throw into a small skillet. Cook on medium heat, tossing or stirring them often to ensure even cooking. If they start to brown soon, turn down heat. For perfect crispness, the goal is to get them to plump out without browning first. As soon as you can smell them, whether plump or not (they'll still be great), take them off the heat to prevent browning on the inside, and place on paper towel.
- Crisp the potatoes: The potatoes should be dry and cool enough to handle. Roughly split the potatoes with a fork into about 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces. Heat the skillet on high heat for a moment. When a test drop of water sizzles when it hits the pan, add the olive oil and let get hot before adding the potatoes. They should sizzle immediately. Let cook undisturbed and uncrowded until one side has turned golden. Flip to caramelize the other side. When the potatoes are golden and crispy to your liking, you can put them in the oven to keep warm and deepen their golden crispness.
- Make the dressing: In a very small bowl, whisk the mustard, vinegar and pepper together. Now whisk in the olive oil.
- To Serve: Put the warm potatoes in a bowl, add the rocket lettuce, sprinkle with salt and toss with the dressing. Transfer to a serving platter. Scatter the almonds on top. Enjoy!
