Mayonnaise-Free Potato Salad w/ Garden Vegetables
This potato salad actually qualifies as a salad! Rather than just being drowned in mayonnaise, this dairy-free recipe pairs hardboiled eggs, and homegrown potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and banana peppers with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice. For a light and refreshing summer salad with a little bit of kick, optionally add a habanero or other hot pepper.
Equipment
- Large Pot
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar (divided, 1 tsp. + 1 tsp.)
- ~12 baby potatoes
- ~12 cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 banana peppers diced
- 2 habaneros minced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 lemons juiced
- dash salt
Instructions
Hard Boil Eggs
- Add eggs and a splash of vinegar (~1 tsp) to a pot. Cover with 2 inches of water.
- Bring uncovered to a boil.
- Once the pot reaches a rapid boil, immediately remove from heat and add a lid.
- Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fill a bowl with a tray of ice and cold water. Add a teaspoon of vinegar.
- When the eggs have set, either drain or use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from heat. Immediately add to ice bath. I will crack the eggs as I add them. The eggs are already cooked, so you don't need to worry about them not cooking properly. But cracking them now lets the vinegar permeate in between the shell and the egg, making them easier to peel later.
- Peel the shell off of the eggs and cut into quarters. Set aside in the fridge.
Boil Potatoes
- Dice potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Smaller potatoes can be quartered, but larger ones might need to be diced a little bit more.
- Add potatoes to a pot and cover with 2 inches of water.
- Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. You should be able to spear them with a fork and they will break apart.
- Drain and set aside.
Make Salad
- Cut up cherry tomatoes, banana peppers, and habaneros. Juice 2 lemons. You can easily substitute any other produce that you have.
- Add all if the ingredients, except for the eggs, to a large bowl. This includes the potatoes, tomatoes, banana peppers, habaneros, olive oil, lemon juice, and a dash of salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir to coat and add eggs. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.This isn't explicitly necessary, but this is one of those recipes where the flavors will slowly seep into the dish. It's great to make a day or two ahead of time and have on reserve. If you're serving right away, you may need more salt and pepper up front. Although this might not necessarily translate as well for leftovers as the flavors mix together over time. I suggest adding less seasoning and then having it available on the table for individual tastes at that time.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
- One of the keys to perfectly hard boiling eggs is not adding salt. Salt increases the boiling temperature and throws off the cooking time. There's a lot of debate over this and I am firmly a no salter!
- It's also important to cook the eggs before the potatoes. If you're like me and re-using the same pot, you don't want the pot to be heated at all when you start. So, even though the potatoes might take longer to cook, you will still want to cook the eggs first. If you have large pots, you can cook both simultaneously.
- If you're cooking ahead of time, eggs and tomatoes should be added last. The eggs tend to break apart while stirring and the tomato can get soggy.