Wow! A New Twist On An Old Favorite
I haven't been inspired to cook much lately, but
for some reason I'm back in the groove. The plan for dinner last night was for
chicken on the grill and I needed a quick side item. I like potato salad as a
side to burgers and grilled chicken, but generally find it boring -- potatoes,
mayonnaise, onion, with an occasional boiled egg, maybe some pickle relish, etc.
My mother tends to throw in a whole lot of extras. Even so, there's nothing in
a potato salad to really tickle the taste buds.
I haven't been inspired to cook much lately, but
for some reason I'm back in the groove. The plan for dinner last night was for
chicken on the grill and I needed a quick side item. I like potato salad as a
side to burgers and grilled chicken, but generally find it boring -- potatoes,
mayonnaise, onion, with an occasional boiled egg, maybe some pickle relish, etc.
My mother tends to throw in a whole lot of extras. Even so, there's nothing in
a potato salad to really tickle the taste
buds.
So I was inspired to try a new
potato salad recipe from the July 2005 issue of Bon Appetit, "Creamy
Southwestern Potato Salad." The "surprise" ingredient in this recipe is
buttermilk -- don't know that I've ever seen buttermilk in a potato salad
recipe. I tend to love anything made with buttermilk, so I gave it a try. And,
wow! The flavors were alive and fresh. In addition to the buttermilk, the
recipe added some spice with cayenne and a southwestern twist with
cumin.
Here's the kicker -- Ariel even
liked it -- that may be the litmus test for this recipe since she's not a big
fan of potato salad to begin with. Her first (somewhat skeptical) comment
before trying the first bite was "That's a lot of potato salad." Of course, as
she and I ate almost half of it alone (Hannah was at work), it didn't seem like
so much at the end of the meal. If Hannah had joined us we may have finished it
off. The recipe says it serves 6-8, maybe
not!
Creamy Southwestern Potato
Salad
1/2 cup
buttermilk
1/4 cup
mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lime
juice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground
cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
pepper
2 lbs. small white-skinned
potatoes (such as White Rose)
1 cup
cooked corn kernels (from 1 medium ear)
1/2
cup chopped sweet onion (such as Vidalia or
Maui)
1-14 oz can hearts of palm, drained
each cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick
rounds
2 plum tomatoes, seeded, diced (about
1/4 cups)
1/2 cup chopped fresh
cilantro
1 avocado, pitted, peeled,
chopped
Whisk buttermilk, mayonnaise,
lime juice, cumin, and cayenne in medium bowl to
blend.
Cook potatoes in large pot of
boiling salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain;
cool.
Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes.
Place potatoes in large bowl; add corn, onion, hearts of palm, tomatoes, and
cilantro. Drizzle dressing over potato mixture; toss to coat. Season
generously with salt. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate).
Gently sir in avocado and serve. Serves
6-8.
*Cook's Notes:
Yum!!
- I used whatever white potatoes I had
in the fridge
- I did not use the hearts of
palm
- I used small cherry tomatoes someone
had given me from their garden
- I did not
add the avocado
Posted: Tue - June 21, 2005 at 09:45 AM