happen to me. I am all for getting sick from eating something good like raw meat, sushi or fresh cheese, but a mayo potato salad is not worth it. But I do love potatoes so this summer I took an old walnut oil salad dressing recipe and created this summer potato salad. No mayo needed. I got this idea after visiting my favorite Uncle in Idaho and at the end of our visit he gave me a big bag of Yukon potatoes. (Cliche, I know, but Idaho does have great potatoes). On the six hour journey home I thought about creative ways to cook these tasty little spuds and upon arriving home my husband noticed that our parsley plant had doubled in size. And that sealed the deal. This recipe feeds two, but it could easily be doubled to accommodate more people.
Parsley from our garden
2 to 4 Yukon gold or red potatoes
1 handful fresh green beans
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
3 to 5 pieces of bacon
1 small Roma tomato
1/4 red onion
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons walnut oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt
Pepper
Get those potatoes boiling because this is a chilled salad and they need time to cool down. I cut the potatoes in half, leave the skin on, and boil. It is important not to over cook the spuds, so check them frequently and when you can stick a knife into these with just a little resistance they are done. Depending upon the size of the potatoes, it takes around 10-15 minutes for them to cook. When the potatoes are almost done chop off the ends of the green beans and dunk them into the boiling water for about a minute. To stop the cooking process for the green bean and the potatoes, drain the pot, fill the pot with ice water. After the potatoes and the green beans have cooled down slightly, cut them into 1 inch chunks, place in a bowl and stick it in the refridgerator (and sometimes, if I am hungry, I put them in the freezer.) While the potatoes are cooling fry bacon until crispy. This usually take about 10 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon. While the bacon is frying, finely dice the tomato, red onion, cheddar cheese, and chop the parsley and walnuts. In a small bowl whisk the walnut oil, red wine vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper together to make a dressing. Take your chilled spuds and green beans out and add all the chopped veggies, cheese, and walnuts in the the potatoes. Chop the bacon up finely and add that to the salad. Add the walnut oil salad dressing to the mixture and toss. Eat immediately while all the ingredients are crisp. I like to eat mine with salmon or steak.
Enjoy and I promise you it will be better than a mayo potato salad.
