Tags
almond butter, buttercrunch lettuce, celery, gwyneth paltrow, honey, kidoing in season cooking, my father's daughter, new red potatoes, potato salad, red onions, scallions, spring onions, tarragon, vegenaise
When I first planned to write about cooking with in season ingredients, I thought I would be sticking to the more obscure vegetables such as kohlrabi, escarole, brussels sprouts, turnips…but today I have a delightful potato salad made from the sweetest little new red potatoes we got in our CSA box this week. (Pictured below was my lunch today: potato salad, sprouted muffin with homemade almond butter and local honey, red buttercrunch lettuce salad with local cucumbers, olive tapanade and our favorite creamy miso dressing.)
This potato salad recipe evolved from a chicken salad recipe that is (was) my daughter’s favorite. I say “was” because I don’t cook much chicken anymore. But, since I loved the flavor of the salad, I wanted it to have a place in my new recipe repertoire. There are apples, red onions, celery, spring onions, too…and of course bite-sized potatoes and fresh tarragon. Did you know that tarragon was a perennial? I didn’t until it came back the second year and the third year in our garden.
Lemon Tarragon Potato Salad
- 3/4 lb of new red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3/4 c. finely chopped celery
- 1 finely chopped apple (grapes are nice, too)
- 1/4 c. finely chopped red onion
- 1/4 c. finely chopped spring onions or scallions
- 1/2 c. mayonnaise (I used Vegenaise)
- 2 T. chopped fresh tarragon
- 2 T. fresh lemon juice (or the juice from one medium lemon)
- 1 tsp. grated lemon zest (or the zest from one medium lemon)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Steam new red potatoes in a steamer basket for about 15-20 minutes. Let cool.
Mix mayonnaise, tarragon, lemon juice and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add in the potatoes, celery, apples, red onion. Fold mixture together (be careful not to break up the potatoes). Season with salt and pepper.
Refrigerate and serve on a bed of greens, on crackers, on bread or however you wish! This salad is even better the next day after the flavors have come together.
You can get creative with the ingredients. If you don’t like red onions, just use spring onions (or scallions) or even chives. Use grapes in addition to, or instead of, apples. Add raisins or dates and even sliced orange segments.
Some trivia: Do you know what Gwyneth Paltrow’s favorite kind of mayonnaise is? You guessed it: Vegenaise. Read more about what she likes to cook in her new cookbook My Father’s Daughter.
Keep an eye out for my next post which will feature another “ice cream” recipe with bananas and peanut butter. You will not want to miss it!
Do you have a favorite potato salad recipe?