Easy Recipe: Mayo-less Purple Potato Salad

I’m a big fan of potatoes – I love them in any shape or form.  I do notice however that I rarely eat potato salad.  Not because of the potatoes though, but I’m just not  a fan of mayo.  Eeeeek!

I’ve made a mayo-less potato salad a few times here and there inspired by a recipe by Ina Garten – The Barefoot Contessa.  During the summer you think of grilling and BBQing and there’s usually a potato salad in the mix so I thought this was a good time to try it again.  Also without the mayo you don’t have to worry about it spoiling in the heat so it’s a great dish to make and bring to a BBQ.

The girls and I were in the store the other day and I spotted these Purple Creamer Potatoes. I thought they would be perfect for this potato salad.  Doesn’t purple make everything more fun?!?

I started with a bag of the small purple creamer potatoes – about one and a half pounds.  I just rinsed them off and cut them in half lengthwise.  I put them in a pot of water, covered and let it come to a boil.  When it did,  I added some kosher salt and cooked it until it was soft – test it out with a fork – about 15-20 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, it’s time to get the herbs ready.  I had dill, Italian parsley and I also had scallions so I used that as well.  I took a handful of each of for the dill and parsley and then used 2 large scallions.  Chop them all up.

Once the potatoes are ready, drain them and put them in a bowl.   If you have on hand, add a splash of white wine and some chicken stock.  You want to add it while it’s hot so the potatoes can soak in the flavors.  Add your chopped herbs on top and now it’s time to make a vinaigrette.

In a separate bowl, mix together a teaspoon of dijon mustard, about 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (it’s what I had but use whatever vinegar you have),  kosher salt (approx 1 teaspoon), cracked black pepper (as much as you want) and some extra virgin olive oil – about 1/4 cup.  (I’m giving you approximates because I don’t usually measure!)

Mix everything together and taste to see if there’s enough salt.  if you feel like it  needs more, add it in a pinch at a time.

We’re done!  Time to eat!

We ate this as a side dish with grilled steak and vegetables.  Don’e let living in an apartment stop you from grilling!  We do, so we use a stove top grill pan that goes right over the burners.

If you can’t find purple potatoes, use any small potato – the red or white ones are perfectly fine.  I have to say though for kids, purple may be better.  My girls really liked this version – there was nothing left!   The power of purple!

Do you have a favorite potato salad recipe? Share in the comments…