Green Bean and Purple Potato Salad

I love stopping by the Black Cat Farmstand at the Boulder Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings to see what Chef/Farmer Eric Skokan is harvesting. I’ve been getting into the habit of letting him suggest I try something, and then I ask him how I’m going to prepare it. He almost effortlessly rattles off a recipe to highlight something seasonal, and I rush home inspired to try it. This past week I bought his first harvest of green beans. They were a light green color, which leads me to believe they have some special name other than “green beans,” but for the purpose of this post, they were Black Cat Farm Green Beans. Chef Skokan suggested I blanch them, cool them off, and add them to a potato saldad in a mustard vinaigrette.  So, that’s exactly what I did. I bought a pound of local purple potatoes from the market that day and boiled them after blanching 2 big handfulls of the beans. When they were cool, I coarsely chopped them, mixed them with the green beans, and tossed them in a maple mustard vinaigrette. I let this chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving with turkey burgers and corn on the cob. A perfect summer meal. For a simple Maple Mustard Vinaigrette, whisk together:

  •  2 TB Grade B Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
  • 2 TB Dijon Mustard
  • 1/4 cup Walnut Oil
  • 1 TB Apple Cider Vinegar
  • a splash of soy sauce

Fall Harvest Veggie Soup

Fruits and veggies just taste better when they’re fresh, local, organic, and seasonal. That is the bottom line. I can pretty much guarantee that this soup would not have been so incredibly delicious had I purchased the ingredients at the store… especially in the middle of January.
But… that day will come. Right now, though, I will be savoring every last bite of my Fall Harvest Veggie Soup.

It was quite easy- Into a large stock pot went the following ingredients in the following order, allowing a little time in between each ingredient to bring the broth back to a boil:
  • 1 quart water (bring to a boil)
  • 2 yellow onions, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 shallots, chopped
  • 4 cups grilled, blended tomato puree
  • 4 carrots, quartered and chopped
  • 1 zucchini, sliced into pieces approximately the same size as the potatoes
  • 1 pound red fingerling potatoes, cubed
  • 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms from Hazel Dell
  • 2 green peppers, chopped
After this cooked for 45 minutes or so, I added a couple teaspoons of sea salt and some Smoked Spanish Sweet Paprika that I bought from Savory Spice Shop.
I served it with some bread and mozzarella cheese. It was really, really good soup. I’m glad I have some leftovers.

Bazaar Jaisey Aloo (Potatoes in Ginger Tomatoes)

I made this delicious, simple Indian dish once for Taste & Create. But, my version of bread was lacking in flavor, texture… just wasn’t very good. And, produce wasn’t in season, which changes everything. So, I made it again. Here’s the link to the Bazaar Jaisey Aloo recipe.

The only thing I did differently was use 3 nicely ripened, large, fresh tomatoes that I chopped instead of the canned tomatoes I used in the past, and I added a chopped zucchini… just because.
I served this with some homemade naan. Delicious dinner.

Potato and Turnip Salad

Scarlet Queen Turnips were in the CSA share, and I really had no plan for them. I tucked them in the fridge and didn’t pay attention to them until I decided to make a potato salad. Turnips go well with potatoes because they have a similarly smooth texture, add a little variety, and lighten some bites since you’ll get mouthfuls that are not all potato.

For this potato salad, I boiled 10 small Yukon Gold potatoes and 6 large Scarlet Queen Turnips until easily pierced by a fork. I drained them and gave them a rinsing in cold water to stop them from cooking.
When cool to touch, I quartered them, transferred them to a large mixing bowl, and dressed them with:
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4 TB apple cider vinegar
  • 2 TB Worcestershire
  • 2-3 TB German mustard
  • fresh ground black pepper
I whisked the dressing and mixed it into the potatoes. Turned out pretty good.

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A Bolder Table is a place where I bookmark my favorite recipes for later along with some occasional musings. It's my personal digital recipe compilation... Let's say it's my cookbook. Thanks for stopping by! -Megan
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