Sunday, July 21, 2013

Potato salad with creamy avo-nnaise dressing

It’s only in the last few years that I’ve really started liking potato salad. Up till then I was always put off by the vats of bought mayonnaise too often slicked over it. When I eventually started making my own, I would make the dressing with half and half mayonnaise with yoghurt, and add a good dollop of wholegrain mustard, which to me gave the perfect balance of tanginess.

For ZZ2’s Afrikado "More than just guacamole!" Blogger Challenge, I thought I’d try making a dressing for potato salad that didn’t have any mayonnaise at all. I had a feeling that the avo would provide all the creamy texture needed and the mustard would supply the tang.

I finally tried it today and it worked perfectly. My only worry had been whether the green of the avo would make the salad a bit too, well green. But actually it looked great and tasted even better. My family tell me I can do this one again any time I like!

And the best thing that this is an incredibly healthy dressing for potato salad – no oil, no mayo and, if you want, you can make it dairy-free by leaving out the yoghurt – it still tastes fantastic.

There’s no problem either with the dressing turning colour before you serve it. The lemon juice keeps it fresh for a good few hours, and in fact the small bowl of leftovers is still looking fine this evening!.



Recipe for potato salad with avo-nnaise

For the avo-nnaise
1 ripe avocado
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons plain yoghurt
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs – mint , parsley and either fennel or dill
Salt and pepper

Blend together the avo, mustard and lemon juice. Stir in the yoghurt and the fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper. If you prefer to make this dairy free you can leave out the yoghurt and just use 2 tablespoons of water to let down the dressing to the right consistency.

For the potato salad
1 kg potatoes, boiled in their skins then peeled
4-6 small gherkins chopped
4-6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs as above
Salt and pepper
Serves 6

This is my second entry for the challenge, my first being a delicious chocolate avo parfait, which we finished off today after our braai, alongside some wonderful guava parfait. All in all a wonderful Sunday lunch on a beautiful winter’s day, sitting around the braai while the old man snoozed in the sun and the youngster played in the grasses.





Disclosure: I developed this recipe to enter into the Afrikado challenge. There is a prize for the winning recipe which will be decided by a panel of judges. I received no remuneration for writing this post and bought all the ingredients myself.

9 comments:

  1. I have a similar recipe that I use for all sorts of salads :)

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  2. Kit - this sounds delicious! I'm a huge lover of all things avocado, and now your tater salad recipe will be added to that list. 8-)

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    1. Hope you enjoy it, Marcheline. You could use it for all sorts of salads that need a thicker creamy dressing and I can see it with plenty of crispy bacon crumbled on top too.

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  3. Good luck with the judges.
    I love that shot of youngster playing in the grasses!

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    1. Thanks, Scriptor. He does have a most wonderful bushy tail!

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  4. Kit! I simply love avos and this sounds so yummy! I love avos even more since I read that eating one a day keeps your weight at bay haha! I think this will be made for supper for the whole week.....it could be that I just died and went to heaven because I love potatoes as well. What a perfect combination, thank you!

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    1. Great. Tell me what you think, Carol - we all loved it, except of course for our son, who prefers his potatoes unsullied by dressing!

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  5. Oh the kitties!!!!!!!!! That last action shot is priceless. Love the idea of avo dressing on the salad - I did a coleslaw like that earlier this year - divine.

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  6. He is pretty special! The avo dressing is a fantastic discovery, quick enough to whizz together with leftover potatoes for a school lunch even first thing in the morning.

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Thanks for your comments - I appreciate every one!