Vegan for a Day: Salt n' Vinegar Potato Salad

I'm so excited to share my very first vegan recipe post! I hope to do one of these posts every Monday.  Have you heard of Meatless Mondays? A lot of people across America are choosing to go meat-free once a week. Not only is is great for your health, but it's also great for the environment. Check out the link to learn more!  I thought it made perfect sense to share a recipe on the blog on Mondays for this very reason. You can be Vegan for a day and see how you like it! It's not a huge commitment, but it makes a huge difference.

My parents make an awesome redskin potato salad...heavy on the hardboiled egg and mayo.  Potato salads are a summer BBQ staple, but I didn't think just substituting vegenaise for the mayo and eliminating the eggs would do the job.  So I decided to look for a vinaigrette-based potato salad.  I adapted this recipe from Gourmet and I couldn't have been more pleased!  (Neither could my non-vegan husband and parents, who loved it too!)

Salt n' Vinegar Potato Salad
adapted from Gourmet

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 green onions (scallions), chopped
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3-4 lbs. baby redskin potatoes, boiled (or microwaved), cut into quarters
• 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning*
• 1 T agave syrup
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

Toss together onions, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Marinate at room temperature, tossing occasionally, until slightly softened, about 30 minutes. 

Cook potatoes until tender.

While potatoes cook, whisk together 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning with sugar, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and remaining 1/2 cup vinegar in a small bowl. This will form your "sauce."

When potatoes are cool enough to handle but still warm, cut into wedges (peel if desired, but personally, I like to leave the skins on!). Toss warm potatoes with vinegar mixture in a large bowl. Add onion mixture and oil, tossing to combine. Add more Old Bay seasoning (to taste) if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature (though it's still yummy when it's cold too!)

*I didn't have Old Bay seasoning, so I made this mixture with paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, cayenne. It was still delicious!

I know potato salad is more of a side dish than a meal...but we made it an easy vegan meal by pairing it with grilled zucchini strips and pineapple/veggie kabobs.

 I brushed the zucchini strips with a mixture of:  

2T olive oil, 1T Italian seasoning and 1-2T white wine vinegar.

white button mushrooms, red pepper, green pepper, pineapple, and sweet onions. Brush w/ olive oil and add salt and pepper before grilling.

Our rustic, cinder block grill. 

This was a refreshing, healthy and filling meal. A great way to end a busy summer day!

I hope you'll try the potato salad...and let me know how you like it.

Bon Apetit!
Amanda