Artful Living: Spud salads to celebrate solstice

Linda Brazill  —  8/22/2008 3:32 pm

You can sense it in the light, in the very air. Midsummer, the solstice, the longest day of the year is here on Saturday. Alas, it's not a day that most Americans note. We have our eye ahead to the Fourth of July instead.

But this weekend's seasonal marker is the perfect occasion to celebrate. And what better way to do it than with that quintessentially American summer food: potato salad.

I have to admit I'm not a big fan of spud salads dressed with mayonnaise, unless it's homemade. Potato salads made with oil and vinegar offer much more of a palette for creative cooks. You can use olive or safflower oil, walnut or sesame, to name a few.

There are light fruit vinegars like raspberry; herb vinegars like tarragon; resonant balsamics; and wine, sherry, cider and champagne vinegars. You can also use the juice of citrus fruits like lemon or lime in place of the vinegar.

In summer, I use potatoes the way I use pasta in the winter: as a vehicle for interesting sauces and combinations of ingredients. Almost any kind of potatoes, except Russets or baking potatoes, can be used for potato salads -- even sweet potatoes.

Here are some possible combinations of ingredients to add to basic potato salad to liven it up:

Garbanzo or cannellini beans and shrimp

Pesto, shrimp and toasted pine nuts

Roasted red and yellow peppers

Chopped fennel tops with green apples

Chopped mint leaves and new green peas

Corn, black beans and chiles

Tomatoes and capers

Green beans, toasted walnuts and blue cheese

Smoked trout or salmon with capers and dill

Sugar snap peas, edible pansies, mint and basil

Tomatoes, black olives and feta cheese

Lemon thyme, lemon balm, lemon geranium (and lemon zest and juice in the dressing)

Pickled beets, dill pickles, green apples, and red onions

Anchovies, green olives and capers

Watercress or arugula, blue cheese and toasted sesame seeds

Fresh spinach, crisp bacon, avocado chunks

Cook the potatoes by steaming or boiling. If you are using fresh herbs, either in the salad or the dressing, toss a few in with the potatoes while they cook as well. Slice or dice and marinate the potatoes while they are still warm in the dressing of your choice. They absorb more flavor that way. Also bring oil-and-vinegar-dressed potato salad to room temperature before serving for optimum flavor.

The following recipes are hand-written on index cards and I've used them for so many years I have no idea of the original sources:

FRENCH POTATO SALAD

This is my basic, everyday recipe. It is the main reason I grow tarragon in the garden. This salad is a bit unusual in that the vinegar and oil amounts are almost equal. Usually the proportions are one part vinegar to three parts oil.

1 pound new red potatoes

2-4 tablespoons dry white wine (I use white Vermouth)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons tarragon white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 heaping teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon (or more to taste)

1/4 cup each chopped chives and parlsey

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the unpeeled potatoes until just tender. Drain, slice and drizzle with the white wine. In a small bowl or jar mix the oil, vinegar and mustard. Pour over the potatoes and stir in herbs.

MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, depending on taste (I use close to a tablespoon)

1 large clove garlic, mashed

2 tablespoons minced chives or scallions

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

6 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Using a whisk, mix everything but the oil together in a glass bowl. Slowly add the oil in a thin stream, whisking all the while until it thickens. If you prefer, you can also toss all the ingredients into a jar and shake to combine.

If you're making this in advance, just drop in a whole garlic clove but don't mash it. The longer garlic sits in the vinaigrette, the stronger the flavor. This dressing is also excellent on warm lentil salad or any strong greens like arugula, spinach, watercress, endive, etc.

LEMON VINAIGRETTE

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons minced chives or scallions

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix as per Mustard Vinaigrette. Use white pepper if you don't want little black specks floating in the dressing.

Linda Brazill  —  8/22/2008 3:32 pm