Summer is winding down but if you’re like me parts of your garden are still going strong. I am happy to report that many of my herbs (thyme, rosemary, tarragon, mint and lavender) are still growing at a good pace. While I plan on freezing some of these for the winter, I also want to use them while they’re fresh.
This potato salad is a great way to use up some of your fresh herbs even if you need to supplement a bit from the grocery store. While this is a mayonnaise-based salad the stars of the dressing are the fresh herbs. You’ll need a cup of roughly chopped herbs and a mix works best. I like to use equal parts of parsley, basil, tarragon and dill – but any combination of these will do (even if you don’t use all of them). Chervil and chives are often other additions.
It’s said that the Green Goddess dressing was created in the 1920’s by the chef at San Francisco’s Palace Hotel to honor George Arliss, the lead actor in the play The Green Goddess. Many modern variations include tahini (sesame paste – key ingredient in traditional hummus) which adds a unique taste but strays from the original flavors.
While I love anchovies (thanks to both of my parents) on a Caesar salad I don’t typically cook with them at home. In the case of this dressing I knew that I couldn’t leave that part out as it ties all the flavors together. I served this salad at a work picnic this summer and didn’t tell many people about this ingredient. I’d recommend calling it the “secret ingredient” and only sharing it when people exclaim their love of the salad (those little fish can scare people off). I renamed this salad “Incredible Hulk Potato Salad” for this picnic since it had a super hero theme. It was a big hit.
While this dressing makes for a great potato salad it’s quite versatile and can be served on a traditional salad of mixed greens, as a sauce for grilled chicken or as a dip with veggies. Isn’t the color wonderful?
| Green Goddess Potato Salad | Print |
- 3 pounds baby gold potatoes
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
- 3 scallions, roughly chopped
- 1 cup roughly chopped mixture of fresh parsley, basil, tarragon and dill (~ equal parts)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- Salt and pepper
- Steam potatoes over high heat until you can easily break them with a fork, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Let cool.
- In a Vitamix, food processor or blender, add mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, anchovy paste, scallions, and fresh herb mixture. Blend until entirely smooth.
- Cut potatoes and cherry tomatoes in half and place in a large bowl. Mix dressing with potatoes and tomatoes until well covered.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and store in the refrigerator up to a day.
- Remove from refrigerator about a half hour before serving.
* If you're using larger potatoes you'll want to cut them into at least quarters.
* You may have extra dressing - if so it can be used on lots of other things including as a dressing for a green salad, atop grilled chicken or as a dip served with veggies.
* Dressing keeps for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
* Recipe can easily be cut in half or doubled.
It will be fun to mke this – it really is different from my mother’s, but sounds just as good! Happy long weekend!
David – I loved our email exchanged that was inspired by this recipe.