Potato Taco Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing
A couple years ago while we were on vacation together, Yancey's sister Kelly made taco salad with fried potatoes and I've been making it ever since. It was right on the heels of my pregnancy with Loretta, during which I craved taco salad night and day. It tasted so good, eating together in floating cabins on Ross Lake and watching the sun go down. Every time I make it, I get the gift of those memories.
Today, I read this excerpt from Mark Kurlansky's The Food of a Younger Land:
When someone says to me, "I went to Chicago last week" or "I went down to Virginia this summer," a question always comes into my mind, though I often resist asking it: "What did you eat? Anything interesting?"
I would like to know what politicians eat on the campaign trail, what Picasso ate in his pink period, what Walt Whitman ate while writing the verse that defined America, what mid-westerners bring to potlucks, what is served at company banquets, what is in a Sunday dinner these days, and what workers bring for lunch. What people eat is not well documented. Food writers prefer to focus on fashionable, expensive restaurants whose creative dishes reflect little of what most people are eating. We know everything about Paris restaurants but nothing about what Parisians eat. We know little about what Americans eat and less about what they ate.
"What people eat is not well documented." I think that's starting to change with the advent of food blogs, but lots of bloggers make special things to post or they are professional food stylists or bakers. What I really love is knowing what people bring to work for lunch (or what Wyatt had in the school cafeteria), what they have at family potlucks, what they scrounge for late at night. I've been a reader all my life, and even in childhood, it was the bits about food I read over and over--Tasha Tudor's A Time to Keep, Wind in the Willows' descriptive passages about picnics. Still, when I read fiction, poetry, non-fiction that's specifically not about food, it's the by-the-way descriptions of lunch or snacks that hook me. And when I remember vacations or anniversaries or pretty much any occasion, for that matter, it's the food that distinguishes it from other days. Yancey always rolls his eyes at how much we pack into Ross Lake, but the eating is what it's all about, right?
In the by-the-way spirit, this post is definitely not something I've made just for you (no offense). It's a salad I often make when I've forgotten about a bag of potatoes. Does that ever happen to you--standing at the sink, scrubbing the eyes off? And there are so many things you can add, depending on what the produce stand had or what's on the brink in your fridge. Last night, Yancey hardly looked up from his plate--is there anything as satisfying as feeding the ones you love?
Potato Taco Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing
Serves 4. The only non-negotiables here are hot potatoes, greens, and this dressing (or something akin to it). The rest is up to you, as long as it can somehow be construed to taste taco-like. You could also make a quick dressing by mixing sour cream with bottled salsa and adding a bit more lime and salt. Because it's sort of a pain to boil the potatoes and then cool them, I've tried this salad before with roasted potatoes. Not nearly as good. You need the mush factor. If I have some potatoes that need cooking OR ELSE, I'll just boil them up when I think of it and keep them in the fridge until I can use them.
For dressing:
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 ts. cumin
juice of one large lime
salt
1/2 ts chile powder
1/2 c. mayonnaise
For salad:
1 1/2 lbs. potatoes, boiled and cooled (I like to use red potatoes, but it can be any kind)
1/2 ts. cumin
salt and pepper
1 ts. chile powder
Lettuce or lettuce + cabbage, arranged on four dinner plates
Any combination of the following:
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Diced tomatoes
Diced avocados
Sliced black olives
Sliced green onions
Canned black or pinto beans, rinsed
Pickled or fresh jalapenos
Crushed tortilla chips
Diced red onions
Diced red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
Chopped fresh cilantro
For dressing, whisk everything together, adding more of anything to taste. Set aside.
For potatoes, dice (in pretty large chunks) your boiled, cooled potatoes. Heat 2 Tb. olive oil in a nonstick or cast iron skillet. Throw in potatoes, then cumin, salt and pepper, and chile powder. Cook until heated through and getting crispy around the edges. If you're using cheese, put it on now so it melts on top of the potatoes in the skillet while you assemble the rest of the salad.
To assemble salads, line salad plates with greens. Mound hot potatoes/cheese in the middle. Top with other chosen ingredients, leaving tortilla chips for last (if using). Drizzle dressing over.
June 27, 2009
Reader Comments (30)
If you must know, I'm currently eating a McDonalds Hot Fudge Sundae that was purchased at lunch, but not eaten and stuck in the freezer. It's not that good, but will hopefully help pass the time until the advil kicks in, the cramp pains lessen, and I can get to sleep...which I'm desperate to do since I woke up at 3 am...
Sarah--I have been enjoying your recipes & your stories. As far as your recipes, I made two batches of granola today (finally used my frozen hazelnuts) & brought some to a friend who just moved. I really agree with your post above. I was a history major and it's interesting how food history is on the move. I was also moved by the quote you had stand out. It's true how food has become an unreachable thing almost in our culture by some. I think it's the feeling that when reading food blogs for the most part it's not about the communal effort, but more about the fancy end product. My husband & I were talking about living missionally and what that looks like & a key area we came up with is sharing a meal. It's the original hospitality & evangelism, what I like to call "evangitality."
had the worst culinary weekend on record. had a quest to the island retreat and was humbled all weekend. paella with no sucurat, dutch baby that never rose. your famous galette that had uneatable leeks (can't figure that one out) and way to much salt (my fault not yours). we did have some delicious lemon cookies, amazing cheese, bits of salty chocolate and good wine, but what really made the weekend enjoyable was the company, who was grateful and excited to be there . could anything else matter?
O. M. G. I figured I had thought of pretty much everything, but the closest we have come to this wonderful combination in our family was baked potatoes with all of these toppings of choice----for each teenager to choose, as it turned out, when we had four teenagers---but I can see that frying the potatoes would add a whole layer of flavor/spices, and would interact better with the salad! (We built the salads over the tops of the split open potatoes with sour cream and cheese, then added all the avocados, tomatoes, green or sweet onion (chopped), chopped olives, jalapenos, guacamole, dressings, etc., that we could dredge up. Yours looks absolutely scrumptious, Sarah! Thank you so much!
I can tell you that our kids and their cousins (I'm the oldest of four sisters, all very close, with all twelve of our kids born in just six years and ALSO very close!) still talk about the year all four families voted to fix baked potatoes with toppings for CHRISTMAS DINNER, since the Moms were tired of using up a big chunk of the family gathering day roasting turkey and mashing potatoes----we divvied up the ingredient list, and had the most wonderful day which we spent visiting and making music! That may have informally led to the "hanging out together" holiday tradition, rather than gift madness.........
:: Proclamation ::
I have two completely unrelated comments.
1. I saw http://sassafrascafe.blogspot.com/2009/06/chipotle-chopped-salad.html rel="nofollow">this recipe for chipotle buttermilk dressing. And then I thought, AHA! I know someone who has helped me keep buttermilk in my fridge, though i'm not exactly sure what for. And then I saw this recipe with the creamy lime dressing. So I'm wondering if there is some way to use buttermilk? What happens if you add acid to buttermilk? Can't be good, can it? Does it turn into creme fraiche or something?
2. I saw another recipe to make Spanish tortillas today. A Spanish tortilla is actually an omelet of sorts. It starts with onions and garlic that are fried with potatoes. After the potatoes are cooked through, add beaten eggs and fixings. I made it today and it was super yummy (first try, a little greasy, but next time it'll be divine). Anyway, we added sour cream and realized that we could jazz up our tortilla in much the same way you did these potatoes. We were like totally in sync.
Wow. I'm re-reading this thoughtful blog, and thinking further about treasured memories of specific meals on specific vacations, and it's running away with me! We used to HOOT about the amount of food we packed into the really rustic little cabin (basically 10 x 10 plus a screened in sleeping porch, an outhouse, and no running water----but we did have an ancient refrigerator, a hotplate, and an electric frypan!) we inhabited for a week or two at Priest Lake with our kids throughout their growing up, but we still talk about how much fun we had! And my sister Anne and I and our spouses could probably recite the entire daily menu we enjoyed while camping nightly as we rafted down the Rogue River! We still laugh about hanging our garbage on hooks over the raft at night so the bears wouldn't raid our little tents, and how thoughtfully we connived a "refrigeration" system in the raft's bench seats, made up of strategic use of the few frozen things we had with us, including some blocks of ice. Communal cooking was so fun.
I think this is my favorite post of yours yet. Why is that, you ask?
1. I cook exactly like this, scrounge up anything in the fridge that needs to be cooked up...or else. I've even made mashed potatoes out of nearly past potatoes under the not-so-approving eye of my mother-in-law. She would've definitely tossed them. But bless her heart, she didn't say a word.
2. I just drafted a post about the same thing - food magazines not reflecting what people actually eat, except my drafted post ended up sounding almost angry so I haven't posted it. You maintain a grace and eloquence in your musings that makes your writing so enjoyable. I must find that Kurlasky book.
3. Your recipes are easy, but still uber-flavorful. Do you know how much I adore fried potatoes and anything cumin? Drool is covering my keyboard right now. Just thought you'd like to know that. TMI (too much info)?
Sunday morning routine over here--PBS cartoons while Mom checks her blog. And what wonderful stories you have all shared! Lynn, I LOVE the baked potato story, and I think I may emulate it soon. When I was growing up, we always had baked potatoes with canned chili on top when our parents went on a date and we had a babysitter. I just bought a few cans of chili the other day because I got a craving for it all of a sudden. Now to find some babysitters...
Mom, I purchased some inedible leeks recently, as well. Organic ones from the Asian market whose core was hard as a rock. Was that the problem with yours?
Yes I was so dissapointed, cuz the crust,was so good and we were so hungry and we just couldn't chew the leeks for the life of us. They were sauted for 15 min and baked for another 35. What's up with that?
Never had that happened.darn.
I agree, I always ask people what they ate on vacation first! This salad looks lovely and the dressing sounds fantastic!
Hey there. mfm...had the same problem with some leeks I got earlier this week. The center was as hard as a rock about 1/2 of them...really disappointing. Have never had that happen before. Just ended up not have as many lovely leeks in the risotto...on another note here - just had our adoption HS with Antioch this past Friday and it went just swell. HS walk through here at home in just a few weeks and then we wait for placement! YEA!!!
Hi Naomi - Keep meaning to email you...has been busy time...just had Home Study with Antioch on Friday...will try to sit down later today or tonight! Beth
i love this comment thread almost as much as i love the post. you all are great fun to read. mfm, i wonder if your leeks were past their prime and had started to produce the core that shoots up and flowers? i have grown leeks many times and if they are left in the ground, this is how they eventually pass on into the next world. still doesn't explain why anyone would sell them... sarah, this sounds like ultimate comfort food...with a healthy twist! :) sounds like a match made in my chris's heaven. i just dug up three potatoes from our plants (just to peek at them and see how big they were) and they are BEAUTIFUL...one blue, one red and one white. how patriotic. but, just made me realize that soon, i will be making this salad with potatoes from my garden! yay!
A home visit in just a few weeks?! How exciting. Can't wait to follow your journey into motherhood.
The recipe looks delicious! Your prose is beautiful, as always. There is nothing better than feeding family. I am so glad I have found blog-friends like you who understand the passion that drives me (us) into the kitchen. Have a lovely day. I am sending lots of happy thoughts your way :)
I am so thankful I found your blog in the comments on the Wednesday chef. I absolutely love your writing, approach to food, and of course all the wonderful recipes.
ok, i did not actually make this recipe. I had another mexican creation last night and decided to use your creamy lime dressing (YUM) and tonight I made pancakes for the kids while Jim was at kickboxing and decided I was in the mood for something savory. in the spirit of the leftoverist I made a scramble and threw in all the random ingredients i had hanging out in the fridge (eggs, of course, some mexican cheese, spinach, onion, some diced tomato) then instead of crusty bread I had tortilla chips to scoop it up and decided at the last minute to take a risk and drizzle the scramble with the creamy lime dressing. Surprise, surprise--it was amazing!
After reading your blog for a couple of months, I finally made one of your delicious-looking recipes. I didn't have many of the ingredients, but I put them on my shopping list and planned a dinner for a change. My motivation was my son's groaning at my suggestion for dinner of one of my usual meals. I liked this meatless taco salad, and so did Tony. From now on, when I'm feeling like making a good meal, I will turn to your blog for inspiration and recipes. Thanks, Sarah, for helping me out of my cooking rut.
Zip
Hi Zip! I know--planning is the key sometimes. We all have cooking ruts we need help out of. I'm happy to be your helper :)
Erika, that does sound amazing. Eggs are one of my favorite leftover vehicles. And eggs with creamy dressing? Even better.
I'm beginning to think like a Leftoverist and am excited to prepare this salad later this week. I made the Red Potato Salad with Blue Cheese and Grilled Corn tonight and while at the store picked up extra potatoes for this salad later this week. I look forward to trying out this dressing! By the way, I also picked up some broccoli for the Blasted Broccoli Bowl I'll be preparing on Tuesday, and flat bread that I can top off with left over veggies for another evening! I haven't been on much (on line in general) and your site was on my list of reads. Glad to be back!
This salad is delicious! I'm eating it for the third night in a row right now and look forward to a couple more nights of it. I can't wait for my avocados are finally ripen and see what that adds to it. Any chance the potato burrito at Casa que Pasa in Bellingham inspired this salad? Both Dusty and I thought the same thing last night. I think we'll try using these potatoes in a burrito next!! How long do you boil your potatoes? Mine were a little underdone at 15 minutes. Thanks for another fabulous recipe! You've changed my cooking life this year.
Hi Jenny! No, Casa que Pasa didn't figure into my recipe, but I certainly ate there a lot back in the day. It probably seeped in somehow. Potato burritos are a favorite around our house--good thinking :) I boil my potatoes till they are just done--tender, but not mushy. It really depends on how big they are. I test them by pulling one out and sticking a knife in. If it goes all the way to the middle without much resistance, they're done. If you want to get them a bit more done, you could microwave them (covered) for a couple minutes.
We enjoyed this recipe tonight! Who would have ever thought of throwing potatoes in a "taco" salad? Was delicious and the dressing...amazing!
As someone who proudly boasts "I'll never follow your recipes", I sure have been a lot lately. Jasmine did this one for me while I was doing homework the other day. Her teenaged brain could NOT get over the potatoes on salad. AT ALL. But I thought it was absolutely GREAT. "We" did roasted potatoes thus lacking The Smush Factor™, but it was great as it was.
Oh, and the dressing I've made again already. We topped nachos with it and I made more for ... um ... Oh I remember! Montana Potatoes (Lake Route Cafe) with some zip!