Spring Potato Salad

“Simplicity” is the best advice I can give to those wanting to know how to create delicious food. Very often as humans we tend to over think things, making our lives much more difficult than they have to be. This can often be seen in the kitchen where we feel we must marinade, mince, and muscle our way to something special to eat. In reality it is quality, not quantity, which makes all the difference. I have been reading a book off and on for the last couple of months (It’s called An Everlasting Meal, if you’re interested) in which the author suggests starting every meal with a pot of boiling water and when the water begins to boil, start looking for things to put in it. It’s a very simple approach and one that is often overlooked. Boiling water became a method of cooking as soon as man figured out how to make a vessel to hold water but for some reason we have shunned boiling our food for the last few decades, opting instead for microwaving, frying, or searing our way to dinner. Putting in a little effort for your meal also seems to have become a faux pas of the processed food world and the effect has been that many of us have no idea how to make the simple ingredients that our grandmothers would have inherently known how to do. The act of making mayonnaise is easy and the ingredients are cheap, but the result is a thick, yellow, creamy concoction that tastes nothing like the gelatinous spread found on supermarket shelves. Fancy chefs will call it aioli, but it’s mayonnaise through and through, and it takes 5 minutes to make. The point of all this is that a return to simplicity will solve many of life’s struggles and if we concentrate on making our efforts worthwhile, we will be rewarded with deliciousness.

Spring Potato Salad

Ingredients

• Course salt (such as kosher or sea salt)
• 4 red potatoes
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
• ½ cup frozen (or fresh) baby lima beans
• ½ cup of frozen (or fresh) green peas
• 1 (15oz) can of artichoke hearts in water (or frozen if you can find them)
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 egg yolks, at room temp
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 4 garlic cloves, put through a press
• 1 lemon juiced
• ½ t. dried tarragon

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a liberal amount, 2-3 tablespoons, of salt (no, this will not all go into your food, but it will season everything you cook in it. Trust me.) Add the potatoes to the water and boil until just tender, but not mushy. Remove them to a colander, rinse with cool water and then dice into cubes and add to a large bowl. Meanwhile add in the carrots, boil for 2-3 minutes until tender but still crisp. Remove them to the colander, rinse with cold water, add them to the potatoes. Continue with the lima beans, which should take about 5 minutes, and then to the peas, which should only need a minute or two. Rinse both under cold water and add to the potatoes and carrots. Throw the artichokes in the water to heat up and remove any tinny taste and then add to the rest of the vegetables.

While your vegetables are blanching, beat the egg yolks until foamy, then while whisking, very slowly drizzle in the oil (mix the two oils together in a measuring cup first). The mixture should be very thick (like mayo!). Once all of the oil is absorbed stir in the garlic ,tarragon, half the lemon juice and season with salt. Add the mayo to the vegetables and gently stir to combine. Season with pepper and additional salt and lemon juice if needed. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or up to 3 days.

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