Greta’s gran’s potatoes with kefir & summer vegetables

I first met Greta in a south London cafe, where we talked about her childhood in Lithuania.

She remembers staying at her grandmother’s dacha (summer cottage), which overlooked a vegetable patch. They used to eat a simple dish of dill potatoes with kefir and fresh vegetables straight from the garden — ripe tomatoes, prickly cucumbers and spring onions. I’ve also added radishes to the recipe, as I can’t resist tangy kefir with salty radishes.

SERVES: 4 TAKES: 20 MINS

INGREDIENTS

500g new potatoes handful of chopped dill

2 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil 2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped 2 spring onions, finely chopped 2 prickly cucumbers or ½ cucumber,

peeled and diced

50g radishes, thinly sliced

150ml thick milk kefir or kefir yoghurt

METHOD

Cook the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 15 mins, or until soft but not falling apart. Drain well and leave to cool.

Cut the cooled potatoes in half, then mix with half of the dill.

Pour the oil into a frying pan set over a medium heat and fry the potatoes until lightly browned. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and set aside.

Combine the tomatoes, spring onions, cucumbers and radishes in a bowl. Season with plenty of salt, then pour over the kefir and gently mix. Spoon the vegetables and kefir on top of the potatoes, sprinkle with the remaining dill and serve.