O’ it’s hot. It seems like we skipped over Spring and jumped straight from Winter to Summer. No complaints here because I love summertime. Who doesn’t right. Warm nights, road trips, camping, hanging out by the water, and absolutely a ton of BBQ’s. For all you meat lovers out there sorry for the bait and switch but this is not a post on the best method for slow cooking ribs or smoked brisket. I’ll get to that eventually. This post is a twist on a classic side dish of the good-old-American cookout. Potato salad.
I love potato salad because everyone has their own way of making it and usually it’s the one thing nowadays that people still make from scratch. Now I have a screaming recipe for my Grandmother’s potato salad that took me over 10 years to talk her out of, but we are not cooking that one today. This recipe turns tradition on its head.
Some of you out there may have heard the term A.I.P. It stands for Auto Immune Paleo. It refers to the Paleo diet without nuts or nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplant) designed for people struggling with auto immune issues. Some people are very sensitive to nightshades and a traditional potato salad would normally throw them into the weeds. So here is my fix. Swap Hannah sweet potatoes for regular potatoes, and presto change-o, you have created a magical dish that everyone can enjoy, and believe me they will. This is the most requested contribution we get asked for when invited to a BBQ or potluck in the summer. I hope you like it. Let’s cook
Sweet Potato Salad
- 6 large Hannah sweet potatoes
- 1 bunch green onion
- 1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup sea or Himalayan salt
- Large strainer
- 2 medium and 1 large bowl
- Fill a large stock pot with cold water and the sea salt. Taste the water it should be pretty salty like a soup that was over seasoned
- Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 1/8″ triangles by first cutting them in half across, then in half lengthwise, then in half lengthwise again. Then you slice to the correct thickness
- Add the sweet potatoes to the water as you cut them so they don’t brown
- When done bring the pot to the stove and cook on high to get a slow rolling boil. Watch closely not to overcook. This is key! Start testing the pieces as soon as it begins to boil. You want a firm consistency just barely past the point of crunchy. When it’s there immediately strain into a large colander then separate into the 3 bowls to let cool.
- While the potatoes are steaming off dice your green onions (white and green parts) into small pieces. Then remove the large stems from the parsley and chop into small pieces. Put the onions and parsley into the large bowl
- Wisk the avocado oil and both kinds of vinegar together to form a loose vinaigrette. Then after the potatoes have cooled off mix 1/2 the vinaigrette into the large bowl and mix, then add the rest of the potatoes and the remaining vinaigrette and mix thoroughly. At this point, you can serve it or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The longer it rests in the fridge the better the flavors will come together.
