Another popular picnic and summer party side is potato salad. I do love the taste of this summer staple, but I’m not thrilled with the prospect of eating yet another mayonnaise covered vegetable. Not when I have a bathing suit to put on. And not when there is 90 degrees of heat beating down on my food. While I’ve already found mouthwatering alternative to hum-drum mayo covered coleslaw, I was confused as to which avenue to take with potato salad. On the one hand, potatoes demand a much creamier coating than does cabbage. But on the other hand, I’m not sure how I feel about products like Vegenaise and Nayonnaise. Some of these products are highly processed while all of them contain soy. I’m not against soy per se, but I don’t think that everything vegetarian/vegan needs to or should include soy. So what to do? Well I figure if companies can manufacture a vegan version of mayonnaise, I’m sure some very clever at home cooks have done the same. And I was right. I found this recipe from Healthy Blender Recipes – exactly my kind of website! The best part is that it takes no time at all, except the time required to soak the cashews. And you can bring your potato cooking time way down by cutting them up in to bite size pieces before boiling. So without spending 20 minutes in the kitchen, you’ve got a delicious, vegan, mayo-free potato salad. Using some tips from The Blender Girl’s potato salad, I’ve posted my version. Here’s how to do it…
For the Potatoes:
What You Need:
8 cups of potatoes (use whatever kind you like – I used a mix of small potatoes from Trader Joe’s)
2 tbsp of chopped chives
1 small red onion or 1 large shallot, diced
4 or 5 ribs of celery, chopped
1 batch of The Blender Girl’s Vegan Mayonnaise (recipe below)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Any other chopped herb you wish to include (dill, parsley, tarragon, etc)
What to Do:
Fill a large pot with water and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil. In the meantime, wash the potatoes and cut them into large, bite-size dices. Prep all the other ingredients while you wait for the water to boil. Once the water comes to a boil, carefully add in the potatoes and let cook 12-15 minutes until completely tender throughout.
While the potatoes boil, make the vegan mayonnaise (recipe below).
When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and let them cool a bit before handling. Put them back into the pot and add in all of the rest of the ingredients. Toss together well and transfer to a serving dish.
For the Vegan Mayo:
What You Need:
1 cup raw cashews soaked in water for 2 hours
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup raw cauliflower
½ cup filtered water
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
1 tsp mustard (Dijon if you like a little kick)
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Celtic sea salt to taste
What to Do:
Using a food processor or a blender, combine cashews, water and cauliflower until combined well. Slowly add in the oil until thick and creamy. Then add the rest of the ingredients until smooth.
Note: The smoothness of the mixture depends on your machine. I use a Cuisinart food processor that yields a relatively smooth texture in appearance and a slightly grainy consistency on the tongue.
Currently based out of Boston, Jesal is a blogger, freelance writer, yoga enthusiast and lifelong vegetarian who spent four years eating her way through New York City and various other cities around the globe. After answering hundreds of emails and phone calls answering the question, "Where's a cool place I can take my vegetarian friend out to eat" she started Veggiewala to efficiently share her knowledge of the vegetarian food scene with curious carnivores, flexitarians and other vegetarians.