Now that I’m past the best of what morning sickness has to offer this world, I’m finally spending more time in the kitchen making food and a mess for my maid (me) to clean up.
We’re mid-summer here in tropical Vanuatu, so you might think we could escape catching the common cold – not the case. There is a nasty one going around and both hubbeth and I have started to feel the sneaky symptoms. [I would just like to insert here that I think we’re pros at killing colds before they set in. My favourite go to is fresh ginger extract, honey and lemon with warm water. I know, you’ve heard of that before, but I mean heaps of that mixture, not just a tablespoon. I make a bottle of the mixture and drink it with warm water with a 1:1 ratio.]
Moving on.
So I’ve been craving potatoes. Potatoes in any form.
Yesterday I happily satisfied my craving with a potato salad and stellar dressing. It’s stellar because there’s no mayo and it’s fighting this cold – which I still haven’t got, and am feeling pretty darn good at the moment.
Ingredients:
Salad:
- 500g potatoes (cubed, cooked, cooled)
- 1 cucumber cubed
- sun-dried tomatoes, gherkins (called pickles in America?), capers, sesame seeds, fresh sweet basil leaves (We all know how much we like of each so you determine the quantities. Chop them however you like.)
Dressing:
- 1 brown onion (quartered)
- 1tbs extra virgin olive oil (optional)
- 3 garlic cloves
- Juice from 2 limes or 1 large lemon
- 1 med size avocado (optional but creates the creaminess in the dressing)
- Salt to season
Method:
Potatoes: The recipe does call for the potatoes to be cooked, so I’m cheating a little not providing great instructions. Basically peel, cube, boil potatoes until soft enough to bite through, but not soft enough for mashed potatoes (there could very well be an obvious word for this state of potato of which is not entering my mind – bbb (blame baby brain)). Once the potatoes are reading – reading?! What the heck are the potatoes reading? (bbb) Once the potatoes are ready, drain the hot water and put the potatoes in a bowl of cool water for 30 seconds. Drain and put in cool water again, drain again. (This could also be a good time to cook a big batch and freeze some pre-cooked potatoes ready for your next stew or soup.)
Gently toss all the salad ingredients together except the basil leaves.
Put all the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour dressing over salad, mix, and garnish with basil leaves. (I forgot to take a photo of the salad all mixed up, it was lunch time, I’m pregnant, so you know…)
If you really want to attack this common cold, add two onions. We did this once with a similar dressing, and instantly our sinuses were clearing up – we were really in a state of disbelief (no exaggeration!).
*If you’re not keen on potatoes, substitute it with pasta and call it a pasta salad. Easy. Enjoy.
Gesundheit!
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