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When you make potato salad, whether it’s French or Italian vinaigrette style or American-style with mayonnaise, the potatoes have to be cooked with the skin on to keep them from getting mushy. I usually make the former, because the American style is so labor-intensive, what with boiling, cooling, peeling, slicing, etc.
Gourmets believe in getting the dressing—or at least the vinegar—onto the potatoes while they’re still as hot as can be, which means peeling the steaming hot spuds by hand while they’re still scalding. There was a day when I would attempt such a thing, rubber gloves and all, but gradually I came to realize that life just might be too short for such things. Now, not only do I not cut them into tempting little bite-size pieces, I don’t even peel the potatoes at all, and I’m sure I’m the better for it. (Ail the vitamins are in the skin, you know.)
This whole-spud approach can only be done, of course, if you have tiny potatoes, so buy the littlest new potatoes you can find. The red-skinned ones look nice in the following salad. You may want to double this recipe because it’s great to have leftovers. The dressing here is the standard vinaigrette that I throw together for any green salad, with or without garlic, but don’t skimp on the Dijon, which holds the whole thing together and makes the texture creamy.
Serves 4

• 11/2 pounds new potatoes
• 1/2 pound fresh green beans
• Dressing
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1. Scrub any dirt off the potatoes and put them in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and add a couple of teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until tender and the skins just start to crack, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, snap the ends off the green beans and break them into bite-size lengths. Before the end of the potato-cooking time, add the green beans and cook them until they’re bright green but still crunchy, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. While the beans and potatoes finish cooking, make the dressing. Push the garlic through a press into a small jar with a tightly fitted lid. Add the remaining dressing ingredients and shake hard until the dressing is thick and creamy.
4. Drain the beans and potatoes, and place them in a large serving bowl. Pour dressing over all and toss well to coat. Eat right away or let cool for several hours. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Lamb and onion curry

While preparing this cute and tiny winter packets, remember to add in stock and wine right before serving. With the accompaniment of poached salmon or with roast partridge, it tastes incredibly yummy.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 13 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

2 onions, cut into 1/3 inch dice

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/3 inch dice, boiled in salted water for 3 minutes, and drained

1 medium Russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/3 inch dice, boiled in salted water for 3 minutes, and drained

2 medium, firm turnips, peeled, cut into 1/3 inch dice, boiled in salted water for 3 minutes, and drained

2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 1/3 inch dice, boiled in salted water for 3 minutes, and drained

5 medium napa cabbage leaves, boiled in water to, about 3 minutes, and drained on kitchen towels

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

½  teaspoon dried marjoram

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

½  cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup well-flavored chicken stock

¼  cup dry white wine

2 cup blender Hollandaise sauce

Method:

Using medium heat, warm up the butter in heavy skillet. Stir in the onion and cook, about 2 minutes. Pour in all the remaining vegetable, except the cabbage, and  continue to cook, about  4 to 5 minutes. Add in the ginger and marjoram. Season well with salt and pepper, as well as parsley. Remove from the heat.

By spreading out the cabbage leaves, pour the vegetables among the leaves. Fold the edges of the cabbage leaves over the filling and roll up like a sausage. Arrange the packets, seam side down, in a skillet just large enough to hold them in one layer. Add in the stock and wine. Cover and cook about 6 minutes and remove the packets from the stock. After drained, serve this wonderful dish very hot with a little of the Hollandaise over them.

More about Simple Green Turnips Cooking Recipes and Simple Sweet Potato Cooking Recipes.

A good accompany of grilled steak and crusty baked potatoes. You will love its fresh and delicious taste.

Makes 7 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 medium size green bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
• 3 medium size red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 large sweet onion, very thinly sliced
• 2 large poblano chiles, seeded and thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Leaf lettuce, chilled

Method:

Mix the bell peppers, onion, chiles, and garlic in a medium size bowl. In a smaller bowl, stir in the olive oil, vinegar, 4 tablespoons of parsley, salt and pepper. Toss this dressing with the vegetables. Refrigerate several hours.

To serve, arrange the lettuce in the salad bowl and mound the chilled pepper mixture in the middle.

More information on All Simple Vegetable Recipes.

Tuna and tomatoes are an ideal combination with the added fresh and fragrant flavor of basil.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

10 ml (2 tsp) chopped fresh basil

45ml (3 tbsp) French dressing

175g (6 oz) pasta shapes of your choice

3 tomatoes

175g (6 oz) canned tuna, preferably in water or brine, drained and flaked

Method:

Mix the basil with the French dressing in a small jug or bowl. Set aside.

Cook the pasta shapes in a large saucepan of lightly salted, boiling water for about 10 minutes, until tender.

Rinse in cold water and drain well, shaking off any excess water.

Place the pasta shapes in a bowl and toss with half the French dressing, mixing well to ensure that they are evenly coated. Set aside to cool

Slice enough of tomatoes to arrange around the outside of a serving dish, then chop the remainder

Place the chopped tomatoes in another bowl and pour over the remaining French dressing. Place this in the centre of a  serving dish

Add the flaked tuna to the pasta shapes and toss together gently

Pile the pasta shapes and tuna over the chopped tomatoes in the centre of the dish

Arrange the tomato slices around the edge of the serving dish and chill well until required

Serving suggestion:

Serve this salad as part of a summer lunch, with a crisp green salad and lots of French bread.

Variations

Add 15ml (1 tablespoons) halved, stoned black olives for a different flavor. Use canned salmon or crab in place of tuna. Use fresh parsley, chives or coriander in place of basil.

More about Simple Salad Recipe.