Purple Potato + Wax Bean Salad

Potatoes don't get much more exciting than purple potatoes.  The same thing goes for purple cauliflower, purple carrots, purple tomatoes and their respective more common counterparts.  The same thing does not, however, apply to purple ketchup, which totally freaks me out.  The majority of the potatoes we eat aren't much to look at.  Red potatoes are about as exciting as it gets, but if you peel away that red skin all you have left is the same boring potato.  Not so with purple potatoes, which are purple through and through.  If you're looking for a little excitement in your potato consumption, purple potatoes should do the trick.  

We got purple potatoes last week while in Iowa, and since it was in the 90s and insanely humid I decided to use them for a classic summer side dish - potato salad.  Along with the traditional potato salad ingredients - hard-boiled eggs, celery, mayo, mustard - I threw in some crunchy wax beans and salty capers.  I like having just enough dressing to bind everything together and not an ounce more.  Not only are mayonnaise-drenched salads really unhealthy, but they also mask the flavors of the individual ingredients.  They may be fine for grocery store salad bars and all-you-can-eat buffets, but they have no place on my plate.  

Purple Potato + Wax Bean Salad

8-10 purple potatoes 

A couple handfuls of wax beans

3 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 tbsp capers

2-3 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp dijon mustard

Splash of worcestershire sauce

Salt & pepper

As with most salad recipes, I didn't do much precise measuring with this.  Actually, I did no measuring whatsoever.  

Scrub the potatoes, cut off any bad spots, and cut into 1/2"-1" pieces.  Place the potatoes in a pot, cover them with water, cover the pot and boil until tender.  

While the potatoes boil, prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Snap off the ends of the beans, and then break them into about 1-inch pieces.  You can blanch the beans before adding them to the salad if you wish.  To be honest the thought never crossed my mind until we were sitting at the dinner table and my dad asked, "Did you blanch these beans?"  My mom quickly said, "Of course," and shot me a look that said what my dad didn't know wouldn't kill him.  

In a large bowl combine the beans, celery, eggs, and capers.  I added a little salt and pepper at this point because I was getting antsy waiting for the potatoes to cool and I had to do something to occupy my time.  If you're less restless you can wait until the end to season with salt and pepper.  

Add the potatoes to the bowl once they have cooled down a bit.  You want them to still be warm as warm potatoes absorb seasoning better than cold ones.  

For the dressing combine 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of mayonnaise, 1 spoonful of dijon mustard, and a few squirts of worcestershire sauce.  

Pour the dressing over the other ingredients, and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper.  

Refrigerate until serving.  

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On an entirely different note, I thought I'd post a few pictures from the third round of the PGA Championship at Hazeltine.  I've been lucky enough to spend two days this week in Chaska, wandering the course on Thursday with Matt and his parents (and making an appearance on TV!) and again yesterday in our friend Nick's backyard, conveniently located across the fence from the 5th green.  It was an awesome week, and I found myself within shouting distance of Tiger, Phil, Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Kenny Perry, Angel Cabrera, an angry John Daly, a sharply dressed (but with overly gelled hair) Ian Poulter, fellow Iowa native Zach Johnson, Minnesota native Tom Lehman (who I once stood behind in the security line at MSP airport and had no idea who he was), and the handsome Alvaro Quiros.  The closest I'd ever come to professional golf before this week was meeting Verne Lundquist in a jewelry store in Steamboat, Colorado when I was 13.  It took a viewing of Happy Gilmore for me to actually realize who he was.  The PGA folks don't allow cameras or phones on the course, so I had to wait until yesterday to get some pictures of golf's elite.   

Ernie Els

Padraig Harrington

Tiger Woods

 

One last thing, happy anniversary (last Thursday) to Matt's parents!  This can only mean one thing - it's only 9 months and 1 day until Matt's birthday.