Potato Salad

[Anneke]

I'm off to a beach BBQ this weekend and promised to deliver potato salad for 25. Since refrigeration may not be optimal, I'm looking for a mayonaise-free recipe. I just purchased tons of the baby white and red potatoes (was hoping for fingerling but there's not available anywhere). I also have a fair amount of tarragon which I thought would be nice. Any suggestions? What are your favourite recipes?

[coolJ]

I've got a recipe that uses sour cream. I'll post it for you later, as I'm just runing out ot do some errands.

[Mezzaluna]

I thought it was the eggs in potato salad that caused it to go bad, not the mayonnaise. Yes, mayo does contain eggs, but it also has acid to kill bacteria. I'm willing to be corrected on this score, but I'm fairly sure the sour cream would be even more risky.

Might I suggest a French style potato salad, dressed with a vinaigrette style dressing? That's sure to safer! Try here: http://www.google.com/search?q=French+potato+salad

Good luck!

[Isa]

From Bocuse's Cuisine de France


Cook 1 kilo potatoes. Once done, peel and slice them and pour 1 dl of white wine.

Prepare the vinaigrette with :

2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespooon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons peanut oil
3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped.
salt and pepper to taste

Pour on the still warm potatoes.

I often make this recipe but I never put white wine. Even without it, it's always very good.

[coolJ]

I totally forgot about the dairy products in the heat, I was thinking, maybe someone was allergic to mayonaise or something, but anyway here's the recipe.
Italian Potato Salad
this one only makes six portions though.

2 baking potatoes
water
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp crumbled basil
3/4 tsp crumbled thyme
1/8 tsp cayenne
4 fresh california plums
1/4 lb provolone, coarsley grated

1) pare and julienne the potatoes. put in a sauce pan, add the water to almost cover, add the salt, cover and bring to a boil. cook 4 - 5 minutes or just until tender. drain and cool.

2) combine sour cream, lemon juice, basil, thyme and cayenne

3) slice plums and combine with potatoes and provolone. toss gently with sour cream dressing. season to taste with salt. refrigerate until ready to serve.

[Pastachef]

Ranch dressing, (not the fat free kind) and crumbled bacon is good on potato salad too. At work I have a recipe for Greek potato salad that uses red wine vinegar and feta cheese with red potatoes.

[Kimmie]

Mmmmmmm CoolJ,

Who would have thought to add plums. Sounds great!

[Anneke]

Thanks for all your ideas. Mezz, I think you might be right about the egg. I can't remember the potato-salad horror stories: was it salmonella poisoning or something else? Maybe I should stick to a simple french dressing afterall. Hope it'll work with the tarragon.

[Pastachef]

Yes, CoolJ, that recipe sounds wonderful as well as different. I'm going to try it out. The addition of plums is very unusual. Do you mean the fruit or plum tomatoes?

[Linda Smith]

Anneke:

I catered an anniversary party for a friend of mine a year ago. She had 60 guests who were eating outdoors on a hot august afternoon. I solved the potatoe salad problem by making a dressing with lots roasted garlic and a very good olive oil and thyme. The dressing was lovely and creamy and quite tasty (if I do say so myself).

Have fun at the beach!
Linda

[shroomgirl]

I boil my potatoes in crab boil or in an herb water...throw your tarragon stems in the boiling water with salt and whole pepper corns.
Remoulade with creole or coasre mustard tarragon, celery, green onions, parsley, boiled garlic....boil with taters, add olive oil and yummmmm.

[coolJ]

Pastachef, the recipe uses the fruit, not plum tomatoes. by the way, would you mind emailing me a copy of your recipe for greek potato salad ?.

[nancya]

Pastachef: Why not post the Greek potato salad recipe? It sounds really good.

[Anneke]

Roasted garlic... great idea!

[Pastachef]

I would love to post the recipe for Greek potato salad but it's at work. We will be reopening around August 15th though, so I'll find it and post it. The nicest thing about it, (I thought) was that it was arranged on a platter, heaped in the middle. Other vegetables were arranged around it. It was made with red potatoes, red onions, black olives, feta cheese, and the dressing was red wine vinegar, olive oil, and I don't remember the herbs. Will post later on that.

So you don't have to wait, I found a Greek potato salad on a site that is very similar to the one I like.

8 servings

1 lb. potatoes, uniform in size - cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 cup sun dried tomato halves, slivered

I cup seedless cucumber

1/2 cup sliced red onion

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup Greek olives

Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mound potato salad on a platter
Arrange onions, cheese and olives around the mound.

I like to surround the mound with leaf lettuce first for color.

[ July 29, 2001: Message edited by: Pastachef ]