Greek Potato Salad

This winter has been long. Very long. It finally turned nice this week, and the kids wanted a cookout. Among the traditional cookout sides, potato salad has always been an issue with food allergies (see Red Skin Potato Salad), but I thought I had found a recipe that sounded good, and that was Daniel-friendly.  I also thought I remembered all the ingredients when we spontaneously decided to get cookout food.

I should know better than to trust my memory.  The recipe called for store-bought tzatziki sauce, which, aside from the fact that it cannot be found in town, I did not remember.  I did remember the cucumber.

So, potato salad with cucumbers. Okay, I can do that. Hm, sounds Greek to me!

For Red Skin Potato Salad, I used sour cream, but since then, I've discovered Greek yogurt. Toss is the kalamata olives in the fridge, some oregano, some olive oil, some white balsamic vinegar, and it becomes yummy.

Credit does have to go to Thomas, my taste-tester, for suggesting the addition of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. For this, I prefer the white balsamic vinegar for it's lighter taste and color.

Greek Potato Salad

Ingredients:
3 to 4 red-skinned potatoes, cubed
1/2 large cucumber, diced
1/2 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
1 carton (6 ounces) plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon oregano
Sea salt and pepper
Olive oil (a good drizzle)
White balsamic vinegar (a good splash - maybe a couple of tablespoons)

Cook potatoes in water until tender, about 10 minutes.  Allow to cool while chopping the cucumber and olives. Mix cucumber, olives and potatoes in a large bowl. Add yogurt and gently fold to coat vegetables. Add oregano, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil and vinegar. Gently combine, but make sure it's mixed well.  Chill, if desired.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

This would be good with feta cheese, too, but I didn't happen to have any.

Red Skin Potato Salad

Spring is finally coming to our corner of the world, and we've had some very warm days already. Thomas, my oldest son, was clambering for a cook-out (which really means Mommy grills on the grill). Part of the traditional picnic fare includes potato salad, and Thomas and Josh's favorite is red skin potato salad. Unfortunately it's made with mayonnaise, which contains eggs, which Daniel cannot have. So, to go along with the hot dogs (wheat-free, of course) and bunless burgers, I decided to experiment with potato salad.

While egg-free mayonnaise is available, I'm not a big fan. I think it tastes funny and doesn't quite have the right consistency. It's too gelatinous and not creamy enough. For the creamy base for this potato salad, I turned instead to sour cream. That, however, proved to be too thick, so I added a little milk to thin it to the perfect consistency.

Red-Skin Potato Salad

Ingredients:
3-4 medium red-skinned potatoes, cubed
3 tablespoons sour cream
Milk, to get the desired consistency
1 teaspoon dried dill weed (I'm sure fresh dill would have packed a better flavor punch, but you work with what you've got.)
Splash lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons garlic powder, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, put in serving bowl and toss with the dressing. Chill for 30 minutes or so to let flavors meld, if you can wait that long. Makes 4 servings.