Monday, August 4, 2008

Potato Salad to Rule the Universe

We all want things to eat in the summer that are light and filling and that don't require us to do much cooking. Turning on that oven when it's already an inferno in your place is not fun. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with summer salads lately. I have a bit of an aversion to mayonnaise, as I think I've mentioned before, so let me tell you - I was so excited for this potato salad. It's pretty much a tweaked version of a recipe I saw on Jamie Oliver's show. I was a little skeptical at first for some reason. But really... you shouldn't be. It's amazing. I loved this so much that I just ate a bowl of it for lunch one day instead of just using it as an accompaniment to something else. Yes, it's that good.

potatoSalad_002

The original recipe called for creme fraiche. Interestingly enough I find that most commercial vegan sour creams kinda taste like creme fraiche, so it works out nicely. If you have something that you think might work better to replicate that flavor, then by all means, use that instead. Just steer away from using anything that has that sour tang to it.

Potato Salad to Rule the Universe

12 or so small yellow potatoes
3 Tablespoons capers
1 lemon (for juice and zest)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
a handfull of fresh dill, chopped
a few dollops of vegan sour cream

Boil the potatoes in salted water just until they're tender. You don't want them to fall apart. A good test is to stab one or two with a fork until the potato gives easily. Depending on the size of your potatoes, it could be anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes, so do check them every 5 minutes or so. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and add them to a large bowl.

To the potatoes, add the capers, juice and zest of your lemon, salt and pepper and olive oil while the potatoes are still hot. Stir it up until the potatoes are well coated and then let the bowl sit on the counter until the potatoes are room temperature. Don't put it in the fridge to cool it in a hurry, though. Part of what you want to happen right here is for the flavors to meld together and seep into the potatoes while it's cooling down. Putting this in the cold of the fridge will stop that from happening as well. Be patient, it won't take too long.

Once everything is room temperature, add the dill and the vegan sour cream and stir it up. How much of the sour cream you add is up to you, I think I used about two-thirds of a container and that seemed to work out nicely. Maybe you want more, maybe you want less. It's your potato salad. :)

Eat and enjoy the awesomeness.

potatoSalad_001

9 comments:

  1. this looks super refreshing! yum. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. oh and i hope you don't mind that i've added you to my blogroll.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum! I'll take potatoes prepared any way. I guess it's my Irish blood :) Great photos. I love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  4. that is some glorious awesomeness! thanks for the recipe! mmmmmm! your photos are perfect, too! i love it all!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The sour cream idea is fantastic! I had to make a few changes to this recipe but it still came out great! 1) I could not find fresh dill *anywhere* (ridiculous) so I used fresh rosemary instead and 2) I forgot capers and ended up putting in three green onions instead. It's a struggle to let it cool in the fridge because I want it NOW.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mmm! I can't believe I haven't had potato salad this season.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beazle, that sounds like an interesting variation. :) I feel like a whole new world has opened up now that I've made potato salad with no mayonnaise. Yay!

    ReplyDelete
  8. yummy..yummy..It make me hungry..
    thanks for sharing..!!
    cheers,
    magnetic bracelet clasp

    ReplyDelete