Purple Potato Pepper Salad

With Julia Child's "beef stew" - or at least my first attempt at it - in the oven simmering, I feel I've almost reached a home chef's nirvana. For now, at least. As it turns out, french cooking is a lot of work! I love the food it produces, but I don't always have the four hours it takes to create it.

Last weekend I had a hankering for potato salad, but had a very limited number of ingredients. This recipe gives a close look into what my refrigerator looks like when I'm too busy to buy food. Purple potatoes are small, deeply colored potatoes that are rich and creamy, without being particularly sweet or buttery, like yams and yukon golds. I love them mostly because they make meals fun, and several vendors at the Fulton St. Farmer's Market carry them in the summer. These came from the grocery store.

1 bag (1 dozen medium-sized) purple potatoes (aka Peruvian potatoes)

8 hard boiled eggs, diced

3 cups fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1 cup pickled banana (yellow) peppers, chopped (well drained)

1/2 cup pickled jalapeno peppers, chopped (well drained)

1 small sweet onion, chopped

1 cup Helman's salad dressing

3 Tblsp yellow mustard

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp paprika

2 tsp salt

The potatoes were best chopped in small cubes, cooked al dente (soft but not mushy) well drained and cooled before mixing with the other ingredients. Toss all dry ingredients into a large bowl before mixing in the dressing and spices, then gently mix with a large wooden spoon until well blended.

It all comes out to a tart, snappy salad that pops in your mouth. The eggs and salad dressing temper the hotness, so it's really not very spicy.

I'd like to point out that I did a little housecleaning this evening, and my blogroll is updated. The Michigan Lady Food Bloggers group was kind enough to invite me to their blogger's group, and there are some unique, lovely blogs in the MLFB blogroll. Check out TeacherPatti over at the MLFB blog, and have a look at smitten kitchen's studio-like photos.

Valentine's Day in 2 weeks! I'm thinking red velvet cake.

Thanks for stopping by!