Warm Potato Salad with Smoked Sausage and Chive Dijon Vinaigrette

In 2017, sheet pan dinners were the culinary trend du jour and I posted a collection of five recipes that we had tried and liked, called Sheet Pan Shenanigans, found here.  The fad seemed to have quickly faded and I haven't seen a sheet pan recipe in some time until recently receiving a promotional brochure in the mail from the corporate marketing offices of our local chain grocery store.  They were touting this recipe as "A One Dish Wonder."  Hyperbole aside, it did present what I think is an ingenious take on the classic German Potato Salad recipe, prepared on a sheet pan, and clearly meant as a convenience recipe, hearty and low-cost, for busy working families.

German Potato Salad (for which I admit I have no recipe as yet) has many regional variations but harbors the common theme of potatoes, bacon and onion in a vinegary, mustard-based sauce, served warm.  I used to eat it frequently as a kid from a mom who, like me, enjoyed experimental cooking.

This recipe is a much simpler preparation which requires little time to assemble, unlike it's German cousin which is actually quite labor-intensive.  For starters, there is no bacon to chop and fry.  As the name implies, this recipe calls for smoked sausage.  The dish can be served as an entree or on the side, so I've labeled them both as such for easy index searches.  The only modification I made to the original recipe is leaving out the added sugar.  The dish is already quite rich and simply didn't need the added glucose.

If you can't find the petite Yukon Gold potatoes, sometime packaged as Gold Gourmet potatoes, you can substitute red or new potatoes or larger Yukon Gold potatoes, pared down to roughly 1" x 2" pieces.

Ingredients
For the Potatoes
1.5 lb petite Yukon Gold or Gold Gourmet potatoes, washed and halved
1/2 medium red onion, diced
14-oz to 16-oz smoked link sausage or Kielbasa, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (or "lightly dried" like, Gourmet Garden)

Ingredients
For the Dressing
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp whole grain mustard (like, Grey Poupon "Country Dijon")
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dried or fresh chives

The Recipe
Pre-heat the oven to 400F degrees and line a sheet pan or cookie sheet in aluminum foil for easy clean-up afterward.

In a large mixing bowl, add the onions, potatoes, thyme and olive oil and toss well to coat.  Add the sausage and toss again.  Grind the black pepper over all.

Arrange the ingredients in a single layer on the sheet pan and place on the upper rack of the oven.

Bake 35-45 minutes, flipping the potatoes and sausages half way through.  Remove from the oven when the potatoes are golden brown and fork tender.

In the mean time, mix the mustard, vinegar, olive oil and chives in a small mixing bowl.  Allow this to sit for about half an hour, especially if using dried chives so they will reconstitute.

When the potatoes come out of the oven, portion out into serving bowls and drizzle the dressing over.  Garnish with the fresh parsley and serve immediately.