A healthier potato salad recipe




This easy potato salad has an oil and vinegar dressing and lots of extra vegetables

Summer weekends were for day trips when I was growing up. Mom and dad would pack us all into the station wagon and off we’d go to New River Beach or Deer Island, Campobello and Eastport, sometimes to St. Andrews or St. Martins and occasionally King’s Landing and Mactaquac.

These were dad’s “tours to nowhere” as we called them, fun car trips that didn’t always take us where we originally planned. We sang, a lot, and I suspect I had the whole Camp Glenburn repertoire memorized by age four.

There’s a lot to be said about getting away as a family on weekends, even if it’s just for a day. These little trips were about making memories and mom and dad knew that.

We did lots of beach exploring, took many ferryboat rides and had fantastic picnics.

Have you ever packed a picnic for nine people?

That’s what mom did for these getaways. An easy picnic addition was this potato salad from an early 1970’s Red Book magazine.

The dressing isn’t mayonnaise-based so you don’t have the same hot weather storage worries. The salad is also loaded with vegetables, so there is more flavour and textures than your regular potato salad.

Mom’s Potato salad

• 3 lbs red potatoes
• 2-3 cups diced celery
• 2 red peppers, diced
• ½ cup scallions (green onions) sliced, including greens or ½ cup chopped chives
• 2-2 ½ cups peas
• 3 Tbsp. each fresh chopped basil and mint
• 2 tsp. fresh chopped thyme

Dressing:

• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. mustard powder or Dijon mustard
• 4 tsp. honey or molasses
• Sea salt and pepper to taste 

To make the dressing:

 

1. Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.

 

To make the salad:

1. Cut the potatoes into 1” pieces and boil until fork tender (take care not to overcook).
2. In the meantime, in a large bowl toss the celery, peppers, scallions and herbs with half of the dressing.
3. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and immediately add to the bowl of veggies.
4. Toss well.
5. Add additional dressing, as required, along with the peas.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Let rest in the fridge overnight, if you have time.