Rediscovering the Potato as a Cool Summer Side.

Potato? Potahto? According to Daffy Duck, “no one pronounces it potahto, so it’s a moot point.” (He actually says mute point!) Moot... and so is everything you know about potatoes.

You think you know spuds? Think twice. I thought I did too. If you read this blog regularly you know I love fries. Really, really love fries. I’m fairly well-versed in the potato department. But I never knew you could pickle a potato.

Let’s backtrack. I took my daughter for lunch at Just Plain Dave’s, near her theater camp in Clark. JPD is a great out-of-the-way diner for pancakes, burgers, salads and just about everything. I usually get the turkey reuben but one of the specials caught my eye: Fried Pickles. As good as I thought they might be, they were even better. After downing 3, smothered in cool ranch dip, I wondered, if you can French fry a pickle, can you pickle a potato? Still at JPD, wiping grease and pickle juice off my hands, I google “pickled potato” and dozens of results pop up immediately.

So I did not discover the nexus of pickle and potato, but I did get a fantastic potato salad recipe out of it. I served it at a bbq along with chicken and fish. It's so easy to make, and unique. You place 2 large carrots, six potatoes and 2 eggs in a pot and cover with cold water.  Turn on the heat. A raw egg in there with the veggies? I felt sinfully simple. I just never cooked eggs together with vegetables this way before, but of course it made perfect sense. I couldn't believe I was out of mayonnaise. I substituted peas with edamame and used The Ojai Cook Lemonaise. Also, as you can tell from the photo, I only had 1 egg. I managed to spend two and a half hours on a mission to Whole Foods for whole red snapper, bulk granola and fresh daisies, and forgot eggs and mayonnaise.

Hey, it happens! When life gives you spuds, make spud salad.