Two Great Salads

I'm always looking for a good side dish that can be made ahead of time.  Here are two I made for the past holiday weekend, both of which I will be making again. The first one is from the May issue of Bon Appetit.

Eggy Potato Salad with Pickles

8-10 Servings

Sweet pickle juice and a mustard consistency give this Southern potato salad, inspired by one at Sally Bell's Kitchen, its character.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 lb medium red-skinned potatoes, peeled (about 8)

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt plus more 

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sweet pickle juice from jar plus 8-10 sweet-pickle chips

1 1/2 Tbs Dijon mustard 

1 tsp sugar 

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper plus more 

5 large hard-boiled egg yolks 

2 Tbs chopped red onion

2 Tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley 

Paprika 

Directions:

Place potatoes in a large pot.  Add water to cover by 2", season with salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, 20-30 minutes.  Drain and place potatoes in a large bowl and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk mayonnaise, pickle juice, Dijon mustard, sugar, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1 1/4 tsp salt into a small bowl for dressing.

Using a large wooden spoon, coarsely smash potatoes, leaving some larger pieces with some well-mashed pieces.

Add dressing and egg yolks to potatoes and toss to coat, coarsely smashing egg yolks.  Add onion and parsley; gently mix to incorporate.  Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired. 

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead.  Cover and chill.

Divide potato salad among bowls; dust with paprika. Top each serving with a pickle chip.

Notes:  I leave the skin on the potatoes and use Veganaise, an eggless mayonnaise since there are eggs in the salad.  My taste tester has stated that we should have a bowl of this potato salad in the refrigerator at all times. 

For a tasty and healthy grain-type salad, I found this in 201 Quinoa Recipes.

Quinoa & Black Bean Salad

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 C quinoa

2 1/4 C water

1 1/2 C black beans

1 1/2 Tb red wine vinegar

1 1/2 C cooked corn (fresh, canned or frozen)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

4 scallions, chopped

1 tsp garlic, minced fine

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 C cilantro, chopped fine

1/3 C fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/3 C olive oil

Directions:

Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve under cold running water until water runs clear.  Put quinoa and water in a pot, bring to boil, then cover and simmer 20 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender.  Fluff quinoa with a fork and transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool. 

While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans with vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  Add beans, corn, bell pepper, scallions, garlic, cayenne and cilantro to the cooled quinoa.  Toss well.

In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, salt, cumin and slowly add the oil while whisking.  Drizzle over salad and toss well with salt and pepper.  Salad my be made a day ahead, in fact the flavors blend better if left in the refrigerator over night.  Bring to room temperature before serving. 

Notes:  Since there was a large amount of cooked quinoa, I doubled the amount of corn and beans and used a roasted red pepper for more depth of flavor.  Also, I prefer biting into fresh kernels of corn in my summer salads, no cooking, just slice it off the cob and into the bowl.  For good measure I mixed in a tablespoon of Penzy's Greek Seasoning.  A light and refreshing mix of flavors and textures.