Tater Hater

The most exciting crop I planted this year is potatoes – it certainly doesn’t sound sexy or fascinating, but the taters have surprised me!  Because they are hidden throughout their growth process, I had some serious doubts that anything at all was happening.  Sure, plants began to sprout out of the baby reds that I dropped in the ground, and eventually they flowered and died off.  I still had no expectations of finding what I did.  As I dug under and around each beautiful stalk, ruby red jewels popped up – the perfect potatoes straight out of the ground.  I actually yelped the first time I found one, and called for Chris to grab the camera (like they were going to run away).  I actually grew some potatoes!

I ran back to the bed and dug up some more, and ended up with a big bowl of dirty, beautiful potatoes – now what to do?  I wanted to be able to taste the potatoes in all their homegrown glory, but wasn’t in the mood for a purely plain potato dish.  Since it’s been so warm here, it seemed like potato salad would be a good choice.  The problem with that choice?  Neither of us really like potato salad.  The traditional salad with heavy mayo and overcooked spuds is pretty unappetizing to me, so I had to do something different.  I also had an extra batch of garden green beans, just itching to be used, so this delicious tater salad alternative was the perfect solution.  From one of the Moosewood cookbooks:

Potato Bean Salad with Curried Mango Yogurt Dressing

3 C cubed potatoes
¼ red onion, thinly sliced (about ½ C)
3 C cut green beans (2” pieces)
2 C cooked chickpeas (16 oz. can, drained)
dressing ingredients:
1 C plain yogurt
3 tbsp. prepared mango chutney
1 ½ tsp. curry powder
2 tsp. finely minced red onion
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

In a saucepan, bring potatoes and enough cool salted water to cover to a boil on high heat. Lower heat and simmer 15 minutes, adding green beans for last 7 minutes of cooking time so they are al dente together. Drain, place in a large bowl and immediately stir in sliced red onions. Stir in drained chickpeas and set aside to cool. Combine all dressing ingredients, and when veggies are cool, stir in dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste, and either serve immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator.  My recommendation is to let the flavors combine and relax in the fridge overnight – this salad is better the second day.

Chris is even more of a tater hater than I am when it comes to potato salads, and he gave this one rave reviews, so it must be good, right?

Best enjoyed on a front porch, overlooking the source.  More to come on the greens dish later – possibly even better than the taters!