Pumped Up Potato Salad

Pumped up potato salad combines new potatoes with charred red peppers, tomatoes, olives, feta and basil for a wonderful summer salad.

 

I love new potatoes. In fact, if I can make a confession, we ate them for dinner last night and they are on the menu again tonight. You see, it’s the season. One can find little potatoes at other times of the year but what separates a new potato from a simply small potato is the thin skin that can be eaten. In some varieties, like the Jersey Royal, it’s so thin that it can be rubbed off with bare hands. In any case, with new potatoes, no peeling is necessary.

Here's another confession. I wanted to name these Pimp My Potato Salad but my younger daughter wouldn't let me.

Pumped Up Potato Salad

This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing easy recipes for the Fourth of July. While my grandmother’s more labor-intensive mayo-based potato salad is far and away my favorite, this pumped up potato salad is a close second. It’s easy to make and travels well – no big worries about refrigeration - which makes it the perfect for bringing to an Independence Day picnic or barbecue.

Ingredients
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons salt
1 lb or 450g new potatoes
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
14 oz or 400g grape tomatoes, assorted colors
1 red pepper
1/2 cup or 70g pitted, sliced black olives
3 1/2 oz or 100g feta cheese
Black pepper
handful basil leaves

Method
Put the potatoes to cook in a pot of boiling water with about 1 1/2 teaspoon salt added in, until fork tender.

Meanwhile thinly slice your onion and crush/mince your garlic. Add them to a large bowl with the white balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle on some salt and give the content a good stir. Set aside to marinate.

Skewer your red pepper with a fork and hold it over the flame of your gas stove, turning slowing until the pepper is charred on all side.

If you don’t have gas, you can also roast the pepper in a very hot oven. Pop charred pepper in a sturdy plastic bag when it’s done and twist the top closed.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them well and set aside to cool for about five minutes.

Mix the olive oil in with the other dressing ingredients.

Remove the red pepper from the bag and use your clean hands to rub off the charred skin. Cut off and discard the interior membranes and seeds. Slice the red pepper into strips.

When the potatoes are still warm but not hot, add them to the bowl and toss to make sure that they are covered with the onion garlic dressing. If there are a few that are bigger than bite-sized, you can cut these in half.

Add the pepper strips, tomatoes and olives to the salad bowl. Toss well.

Crumble in the feta and sprinkle on some more salt, to taste and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Tear the basil leaves with your hands and toss them with the rest of the salad.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to Cindy from Cindy's Recipes and Writings who is hosting this week and Shelby from Grumpy's Honeybunch, our event manager. Your hard work is greatly appreciated, ladies!

Are you looking for some easy recipes to bring to a Fourth of July celebration? Sunday Supper has got you covered! Check out all great recipes below – so many that are red, white and blue as well!

All-American Appetizers

• Chicken Yakitori in Skewers by Asian In America
• Honey Berry Blue Cheese Ball by Magnolia Days

America the Beautiful Beverages

• Apple Pie Milkshake by Love and Confections
• Summer Berry Pitcher Mojitos by The Crumby Cupcake

Raise the Flag Breakfasts

• Breakfast Cake Stars with Strawberry Syrup by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Red, White, and Blue Berrylicious Smoothie Bowl by The Hungry Goddess

For the Red, White and Blue Salads and Main Dishes

• Bang Bang Pork Chops by Wholistic Woman
• Blueberry and Watermelon Arugula Salad by A Mind Full Mom
• Blueberry Barbecue Sauce for Red, White and Blue Chicken Skewers by Caroline’s Cooking
• Firecracker Hot Dogs by Sunday Supper Movement
• Founder’s Mac and Cheese by Cooking Chat
• Pumped Up Potato Salad by Food Lust People Love
• Red Hot Chicken and Blue Cheese Bites by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Red White & Blue Caprese Salad by Go Epicurista
• Red White and Blue Fruit Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Red, White, and Blue Salad by Simple and Savory
• Watermelon Salad with Feta & Blueberries by Monica’s Table
• Yankee Doodle Noodle Salad by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Oh Say Can You See Desserts

• All-American Patriotic Dessert Tarts by Family Around The Table
• Berry Cheesecake Flag Dessert by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Cherry Vanilla Poke Cake by Cookin’ Mimi
• Easy (No Bake!) Two Bite Berry Pies by Cooking With Carlee
• Firecracker Muddy Buddies by The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Flag Fruit Pizza by Dash of Evans
• Homemade Snow Cones by Palatable Pastime
• Patriotic M&M Cookie Bars by Alida’s Kitchen
• Patriotic Smoothie Pops by Crazed Mom
• Red, White, and Blue Berry Pound Cake Bites by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Red, White and Blue Fruit Kabob Flag by La Bella Vita Cucina
• Red, White, and Blue Fruit Tart by Life Tastes Good
• Red, White and Blue Granita by Dessert Geek
• Red, White, and Blue M&M Cookies by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Red White and Blue Parfaits by Desserts Required
• Red, White and Blue Popsicles by Our Good Life
• Red, White, and Blue Rice Krispie Treats by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Red, White and Blue Shooting Stars by The Freshman Cook
• Red White and Blue Strawberries with Chantilly Cream by Pine Needles In My Salad
• Rice Krispies Treat Birthday Cake by Pies and Plots
• Rosemary Cookies with Tomato Jam by The Finer Cookie 

Pin this Pumped up Potato Salad! 

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Grilled Shrimp Corn Salad with Avocado Vinaigrette

This beautiful grilled shrimp corn salad with avocado vinaigrette can be enjoyed as a main course for two or three or as an appetizer for more. 

This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing grilling recipes. Since weather is unpredictable, the powers that be are being flexible and allowing us to use grill pans too. Or share recipes associated with grilling like sauces, rubs and spices. You will find lots of inspiration and deliciousness in the link list below. Many thanks to our host this week, Sue from Palatable Pastime.

Use your grill pan or actual grill to roast the corn on the cob and cook the seasoned shrimp before adding them to a fresh salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and feta. The vinaigrette with avocado adds a subtle creaminess that is bright with flavor. Serve the whole shebang on top of some leafy greens.

Ingredients
For the salad:
2 ears corn
1 lb 13 3/4 oz or 860g cleaned, peeled shrimp (I leave the little tail on though because I like the way they look.)
Sea salt
Black pepper
Cayenne
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium cucumbers
4.4 oz or 125g grape tomatoes
1 shallot or purple onion
6 1/3 oz or 180g goat’s milk feta, crumbled
Good handful flat leaf parsley

For the avocado vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
Few grinds black pepper
Healthy pinch flakey sea salt
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium avocados

To serve: Clean mixed greens or arugula

Method
Season your shrimp with a good sprinkle of fine sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and cayenne. Add in the two tablespoons of olive oil, mix well and set aside.

Heat your grill pan till it’s smoking hot and cook the corn on the cob, turning several times until it’s got charred marks all over. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.

Add shrimp to the hot grill pan and cook for just a few minutes on each side until they are cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Halve then quarter your cucumbers lengthwise. Use a sharp knife to remove the seeds from the middle. Then cut them into bite-sized pieces.

My helper is a huge fan of cucumber innards so he’s always poised waiting for this part of the job.

When the corn is cool enough to handle, use a sharp knife to slice the kernels off.

Half your grape tomatoes, chop your purple onion and parsley. Pile them all in a big bowl with the cucumber, corn and crumbled feta. Toss to combine.

Add in the shrimp and toss again.

Add all of the dressing ingredients, except the avocado, to another glass bowl and whisk to combine.

When you are almost ready to serve the salad, scoop the avocado into the dressing bowl and stir well to coat the avocado pieces.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to mix it in.

Serve as is or on top of some fresh mixed greens.

Enjoy!

Check out this great link list for grilling inspiration:

Patio Libations

• Grilled Peach and Pineapple Sangria by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Let’s Get This BBQ Started!

• Bruschetta with Grilled Bread by Wholistic Woman
• Cilantro Lime Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa by Taste And See
• Grilled Avocado with Cilantro-Lime Cream by Grumpy’s Honeybunch

The Main Event

• Bison Sliders with Special Sauce by Un Assaggio of Food, Wine & Marriage
• Bourbon & Brown Sugar Marinated Grilled Steak by Books n’ Cooks
• Buffalo Wing Burger by Red Cottage Chronicles
• Chicken Mazatlan by Palatable Pastime
• Greek Lamb Burgers by Positively Stacey
• Grilled Avocado with Confetti Shrimp Salad by The Weekend Gourmet
• Grilled Shrimp Corn Salad with Avocado Vinaigrette by Food Lust People Love
• Grilled Duck with a Red Wine Reduction by Monica’s Table
• Grilled London Broil Steak Tacos by The Freshman Cook
• Grilled Pork and Pineapple Salad by Caroline’s Cooking
• Grilled Ribeye with Simple Spice Rub by Cooking Chat
• Grilled Salami Sandwich by Magnolia Days
• Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce by Angels Home Sweet Homestead
• Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs by Moore or Less Cooking
• Grilled Honey Balsamic Chicken by Alida’s Kitchen
• Grilled Tuna Steaks with Orange Tomato Sauce by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Grilled Tuna Steaks with Strawberry Mango Salsa by simple and savory
• Honey Mustard Grilled Pork Chops by My World Simplified
• How to Grill Salmon and Shrimps in Banana Leaves by Asian In America
• Lemon Herbed Yogurt Chicken Kabobs by Momma’s Meals
• The Best Baby Back Ribs Ever!! by A Day in the Life on the Farm

On a Side Note

• Easy Garlicky Grilled Polenta by She Loves Biscotti
• Easy Grilled Artichokes by April Golightly
• Grilled Asparagus with Lemon and Manchego Cheese by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Grilled Cantaloupe Salad with Queso Fresco and Herbs by Cooking With Carlee
• Grilled Corn with Herb Butter by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad by Cookin’ Mimi

Saucy Sentiments and Rebellious Rubs

• Homemade Burger Sauce by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Homemade Coffee Steak Rub by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures

Finishing Touches

• Grilled Banana Boats by Our Good Life
• Grilled Blueberry Cobbler by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Grilled Dessert Pizza by Baking Sense
• Grilled Pineapple with Vanilla Sorbet by The Chef Next Door
• Grilled Strawberry & Blue Basil Granita by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Super Simple Grilled Peaches by And She Cooks

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Tuscan Bean Salad #BloggerCLUE

Perfect picnic fare, this delicious salad of kale, cannellini beans, grape tomatoes and canned tuna can be made ahead because it gets better as all the tasty ingredients spend more time together.  Seriously, we had only the tiniest bowl of leftovers so it got lost but my daughter reclaimed it from the refrigerator four days later. Still delicious! How many salads can say that?!

It’s Blogger C.L.U.E. time again, where I am assigned another blog from our group in which to snoop and find a recipe to share that fits the current theme or “clue,” which is Picnic. My favorite part of this process is getting to know my fellow food bloggers because although we have a love of tasty food in common, it’s great to find other commonalities and learn about their interests, work, families and the cities in which they live. This month I spent time getting acquainted with Kate from Kate’s Kitchen.

Kate and her husband recently moved house and I’ve been following that story with interest because, you know, moving is kind of my thing. I know the drill only too well and it amuses me to read other people’s stories of the trials and tribulations of a move. Kate has done it with aplomb, still working in the field of finance, cooking deliciousness and recently posting a fabulous mushroom lasagna roll from under a pile of boxes with scant kitchen equipment. She’s an avid gardener so her recipes often take advantage of that fresh, homegrown bounty. I’m so jealous of the rich soil of Indiana!

So, I needed to hunt for picnic friendly recipes! I love taking salads along to picnics or potlucks so that’s where I started my search. I was spoiled for choice on Kate’s blog, bookmarking her Blueberry Watermelon Salad with mint and lemon, Lana’s Chicken Salad with roasted chicken, grapes and pecans, her Lemon Apricot Salad with lemon curd (!) stirred through it,  Green Bead Salad with Black Beluga Lentils made with tasty sun-dried tomatoes and salami, and Kate’s lovely Blue Cheese Potato Salad with bacon.  I simply couldn’t not make up my mind until I got to the Tuscan Beans with Tuna. Sold! We ate it for dinner with yesterday's Chickpea Moroccan Flatbread.

The couple of minor changes I made:
I was catering for one vegetarian (younger daughter) who isn’t so strict that meat or fish can’t touch her veggies but she didn’t want to eat the actual tuna so I just made little piles of it on top instead of mixing it in. If you want to make this strictly vegetarian, use olive oil instead of the tuna oil. And, obviously, leave off the tuna itself. Kate’s salad called for normal kale, which was on my shopping list, but I couldn’t resist the gorgeous purple kale I came across in my nearby supermarket. Kate adapted this recipe herself from Food Network where they used garlic and cooked the kale. I liked her easy no-cook method but decided to keep the original garlic since we are fans and I totally forgot to buy Italian dressing. Massaging the kale with the oil and vinegar softens it nicely without cooking if you want to serve immediately. Otherwise just mixing everything and leaving it for a while works great too, especially if you are taking it along to a picnic.

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons white balsamic
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cans (5 oz or 151g each) tuna packed in olive oil
1/2 lb or 225g purple kale (I medium head – bigger or smaller will still work.)
1 15.5 oz or 439g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup or 170g grape tomatoes
3 inner stalks celery with some leaves
3/4 cup or 100g pitted ripe black olives
3.5 oz or 100g roasted red peppers
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Chop your garlic and put it in a big salad bowl with the vinegar and a sprinkle of salt and pepper while you get on with the rest of the salad. This takes a little of the sharpness off of the garlic.

Cut your little tomatoes in half. Pull the strings off of the celery and chop it into pieces.

Remove the hard stems from your kale and cut the bigger leaves into smaller pieces. Small leaves can be left intact. If you are using thicker dark green kale, slice it finely.

How could I resist?!

Squeeze the tuna oil into the salad bowl with the garlic and vinegar and give it a stir and a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set the tuna aside for later.

Add in the kale and use your hands to massage the dressing into the leaves.

Slice your olives and roasted peppers.

Put everything, including the rinsed cannellini beans, into the bowl with the garlic, vinegar and oil. Toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the tuna and toss again. (Or set it on the top of the salad.)

Enjoy!

• (Almost) Nancy's Chopped Salad w/ Oregano Vinaigrette by Heather from girlichef
• Apple Chips by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Barbecue Chicken Salad w/ Smoky Barbecue Vinaigrette by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• California Quinoa Greek Salad by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
• Carrot Cake Cookies by Kathy from Bakeaway with Me
• Chicken Salad w/ Peanut Dressing by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
• Chicken Waldorf Salad by Aly from Cooking in Stilettos
• Duck with Pear Wraps + Limeade with Chia Seeds by Kelli from Kelli's Kitchen
• Fried Apple Pies by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Frozen Minty Cardinal Punch by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Green Bean & Corn Salad by Alice from A Mama, Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Loaded Baked Potato Salad by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
• Mushroom Parmesan Muffins by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• Oatmeal Peanut Butter Date Cookies by Rebekah from Making Miracles
• Olive Sables by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Puff Pastry Antipasto Squares by Anna from annaDishes
• Smoky Pimento Cheese Spread by Debra from Eliot's Eats
• Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Baked Beans + Chickenburger Roll-in-a-Basket by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
• Thomas Keller's Chocolate Chip Cookies by Kim from Liv Life
• Tuscan Bean Salad by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Watermelon Feta Salad by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
• White Bean, Bacon and Rosemary Salad by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm

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Quick Pasta Dinner

So we walked in the door after the flight from Hong Kong.  At 8:05 p.m.  By 8:25, I had dinner on the table. Seriously.  

If you don’t have mushrooms or grape tomatoes, use whatever you have in the vegetable drawer.  Zucchini would work, or finely sliced cauliflower or broccoli, or asparagus cut into pieces, with whole fresh tomatoes or even a can of crushed tomatoes.  If you don’t have haloumi, add feta or some other salty cheese in at the end.  This is not even a recipe as much as a suggestion of how to add flavor to pasta.

Ingredients

250g or 8 oz of dried pasta

3 medium portabella mushrooms

2 large handfuls of grape tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

90g or 3 1/4 oz haloumi cheese

200g or 7 oz baby spinach

Extra virgin olive oil

Parmesan cheese

Sea salt

Chili flakes or crushed red chili

Method

Put a large pot of water on to boil.  Add some salt.

Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms, the garlic and halve the tomatoes.

Slice the haloumi and fry it till brown on both sides, in a non-stick skillet with a drizzle of olive oil.  

When your water is boiling, add the dried pasta.  Drizzle in a little olive oil and give it a good stir so it doesn't all stick together. 

Push the haloumi to the sides of the pan and add the mushrooms and garlic to the skillet.

Fry gently until they soften.  Add the tomato halves and cook briefly.

Use your spatula to cut the haloumi into one-inch pieces.

Check on your pasta.  When it is within a minute of so of being cooked, add the spinach to the pasta pot.  

Stir well and then pour the pasta and spinach into a colander to drain.

Add the spinach and pasta to the skillet.  

Stir well and top with freshly grated Parmesan and some chili flakes.  

Serve with extra Parmesan and a good drizzle of the olive oil.

The weekend in Hong Kong was wonderful but it’s good to be home and cooking again.