fresh dill – Simply Splendid Food

🔆Summer Is Salad Season 🔆
Let’s give a shout out to potato salad! Do you have a favorite potato salad recipe? If not, this may be it! GREEN jalapeño peppers, RED bell peppers and WHITE onions, straight from Italy. I have converted potato salad haters after tasting this IRRESISTIBLE Italian Potato Salad.

MUST HAVE ~ for Italian Potato Salad

First, start with yellow flesh potatoes (medium starch – slightly creamy texture) or organic garden potatoes [small new potatoes, red potatoes (firm, lowest starch) or fingerling (great flavour)]. Tiny potatoes are best. Lemon is the FIRST magic ingredient. DILL is the SECOND secret ingredient. My fresh dill – salmon sandwiches always bring smiles. When I added dill to my potato salad – more raves and cheers! Make sure to add (1) Lemon & lemon zest, (2) DILL and (3) ‘HOT’ dry mustard. This THIRD ‘hot’ magic ingredient is essential in the potato salad. The mustard powder does not taste hot at all. You will see. Whatever else you add is good. These first three ingredients are a ‘MUST HAVE“ and your creation becomes IRRESISTIBLE.!!

Irrestistible Potato Salad Recipe

Italian Potato Salad Recipe

Servings: 8-10
Time: 30 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

INGREDIENTS
12-14 small potatoes
1/2 cup mayonnaise (home made) see recipe
1/2 cup sour cream ( or Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup of fresh dill – chopped
1 fresh lemon (juice) and zest
1-2 GREEN jalapino peppers (no seeds)- diced
1 RED bell pepper – diced
1 WHITE sweet vidalia onion (finely chopped) Substitute scallions or leeks.
1 tsp hot dried mustard
Add fine Himalayan red salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Optional: 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced, 1-2 chopped dill pickles (a must for mom’s potato salad)

DIRECTIONS

Boil water and place (unpeeled) potatoes in a large pot. Make sure potatoes are completely covered Reduce heat to medium. In about 20 minutes potatoes are cooked. Test with a sharp knife or fork. Drain and set aside. Peel cooled potatoes while watching TV. Then dice potatoes in the bowl with a sharp knife
Mix mayonnaise & sour cream with lemon juice, lemon zest, dill, powdered mustard and peppers
Incorporate the spicy mayonnaise with the chopped potatoes
Taste your mix and add more salt or lemon juice. You decide what is needed to get that irresistible flavour.

Play with ingredients for different results. I sometimes add 1 raw, minced garlic clove for added zest.

Once I ordered salad in a hotel. It arrived in a chilled cucumber bowl. My version of this potato salad was to rim the potato salad with thin sliced cucumber when serving guests. Garnish with radishes, cucumber and celery boats. TIP: I use an empty tin can open on both ends and line the can with a single layer of thin cucumber. Overlap the edge and cut off excess cucumber to make an even stand up edge. Add potato salad inside the can up to the top of the cucumber slices and chill for at least one hour. See picture above.

No-Mayo Italian Potato Salad (Vegan Friendly)

Add Italian dressing or oil and vinegar. Optional; chopped scallions or onions on hand. Add any greens like parsley, cilantro, a bit of thyme, finely chopped kale. Rosemary would be a great addition! This is how mom made her potato salad. She used dill and chopped dill pickles.

This Dill~Cucumber Salad recipe is so easy and simple to make with just a few ingredients. It is very refreshing and delicious in summer and equally as good during the winter months.

Chilly Dilly Cucumber

An excellent salad to accompany those tasty Finnish meatballs, meatloaf, smoked salmon and as a side dish for any meal. I brought the cucumber salad to my neighbour’s place. We had this salad with smoked salmon, capers, lemon, cream cheese and rye crackers. The cool cucumber salad cuts the richness of the smoked salmon in a most pleasant way. Since we are all of different nationalities, we discussed and critiqued other country’s versions of cucumber salad. The election was over after we counted the votes. My Dill~Cucumber Salad won!
Chilly Dilly cucumber will not be making any speeches. However, his winning secret is in the dill ~ a subtle, delicious flavour that really enhances the cucumber.

.
.

INGREDIENTS
1 medium cucumber thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar substitute
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons avocado or salad oil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix the vinegar, water, sugar substitute, salt and oil together and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar substitute
2. Add the dill and cucumber slices.
3. Refrigerate for several hours to let the flavours meld.
TOP SEVEN ALKALINE FOODS: The cucumber is one of the most alkaline foods (#3) that you can eat. Combined with the effect of the apple cider vinegar, it will help to make you body alkaline or at least closer to a neutral pH when you are eating acidic proteins. Both meat and even fish and chicken are acidic. Your body wants to stay alkaline or at least closer to a neutral pH to stay healthy along with fighting off and prevent disease. Eat your veggies!

BONUS: This is a very tasty cucumber salad recipe! Until you make this cucumber recipe perhaps for the first time, you will know what you have been missing! My taste testers (friends) tell me all the time. You will make this salad again and again!
HEALTHY OIL
This salad contains 2 tablespoons of healthy oil, which is my variation to the traditional Finnish cucumber salad. Not only does it prevents the cucumber slices from sticking together it is so good and healthy for you. If you recall the true story about Lorenzo’s oil. (actually containing two specific long chain fatty acids, isolated from rapeseed oil and olive oil) will know the miracle of oils. We don’t know everything about food/medicine. Some people have a shot of oil in the morning to start their day!

CUCUMBER TIPS and benefits!