We are having the most insanely awesome fresh produce week! It is just so inspiring to have such deliciousness at your fingertips – the problem is deciding what to make! It all started with my veggie box delivery from Grown and Gathered, which looked like this.
So much excitement for one little naturopath! Heirloom tomatoes, mixed basil, multicoloured squash, apple cucumbers, other cute cucumbers, garlic, carrots, green rhubarb, rocquet (arugula), shallots, chillis, bok choy, and a jar of edible flowers – my favourite! Then, on visiting my gorgeous friend Jo out of town, we came away with this:
Green beans, chard, red and yellow tomatoes, giant spring onions (green onions), a cucumber, and some variety of Italian bitter green. Oh and let’s not forget a few bottles of natural spring water collected from the source – amazing! So lucky. As much as I adore shopping for my own ingredients, I also love eating this way as it forces you to use produce that you may not normally have on hand, and you will no doubt come up with some new favourites.
I have the edible flowers marked for a few things, but today I want to share a pimped up potato salad with a zingy dressing. Growing up, I was fairly obsessed with potato salad, and it was one of the first things I remembered being able to help with – I was allowed to pick the mint! This connection with our food – how it grows, where it comes from, what it looks like, how you cook it, is VITAL to the way that we eat and our relationship with food. The more that we can learn about our own food, the greater satisfaction we will have in enjoying it and the more respect we have for the way that it has come into our hands. Teaching children about this is a passion of mine, and is also a fantastic way to encourage them to be more adventurous eaters.
This potato salad is a very different version than the one my mum makes, and is packed with loads of other friends to accompany the potato – and I have used sweet potato instead of regular to keep it low GI and as nutrient rich as possible. This salad works really well with most things from the fridge, so feel free to change it up, and you could also use the ‘life changing golden vinaigrette’ from last post.
Pretty Potato Salad
1 medium – large sweet potato (about 450g)
1 small zucchini
A handful of green beans, sliced lengthways
1/2 cucumber, roughly chopped
A large handful of cherry tomatoes
2-3 spring onions (green onions), sliced
2 big handfuls of roquet (arugula) or another leafy green
1/4 cup pepitas
For the dressing:
2 tbs seeded mustard
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 – 1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp sea salt
A few edible flowers – I used nasturtium and cornflowers
Wash and cut the sweet potato into 5cm chunks (peel if desired). Gently steam until they are tender (you can also lightly boil if you don’t have a steamer).
Meanwhile, spread the pepitas onto a baking tray and bake at 170 C (340F) for 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted.
Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar and set aside.
Take a vegetable peeler and peel into ‘ribbons’, slowly turning the zucchini around as you go.
Once the potato is cooked, transfer to a large bowl and sprinkle with around 1/3 of the dressing and gently mix through. Add the rest of the salad ingredients, the dressing and gently toss to combine. Sprinkle over the pepitas and decorate with edible flowers if you like. If you don’t have any flowers, you could use a few raspberries, or other berries, to pretty it up a little.
Now, if anyone has any suggestions for the rest of those giant spring onions, I’m all ears! x
