Vegan new potato salad with creamy dressing

Vegan new potato salad with creamy dressing

vegan new potato salad

Happy hump day! Hope you are having a good week? After a tiring weekend of cutting and fitting skirting boards (which we still need 2-3 more weekends to finish), we finally welcomed our long awaited sofa on Monday morning. We’ve been beyond ecstatic about something soft and comfortable to sit on ever since. When we told the delivery men that we’ve spent the last 15 months watching films on a laptop on two deckchairs in the middle of our spare bedroom they thought we were exaggerating for effect. We were not!

Despite having some doubts about whether we’ve purchased the right sofa – we are really happy with it, it is a perfect size, really comfortable to sit on (it’s a chaise lounge style sofa or a lounger as some people call it) and a subtle nod to the Mid-century aesthetic we both love. A TV is arriving in a week and currently I am obsessing about finding two similar yet different sideboards for our fireplace alcoves as we got rid of the tired looking inbuilt cupboards and we won’t be putting new ones in, we’ve decided.

We want something a little less conventional and predictable, plus one of the alcoves has an unsightly damp patch that would benefit from the air flow that you get with a free standing unit. The trouble is that in a typical Victorian style house the two alcoves are different sizes – arg…! After many hours online, I did find two Mid-century sideboards that we both like and now the question is whether to go for one to put the TV on and leave the other alcove free for a comfy armchair and a floor lamp, plus floating shelves up high or whether to have a sideboard in each alcove plus shelves up high. This is what I am pondering today. I do love interior design so I am enjoying myself looking for solutions. Our ambition is to have the room furnished and decorated entirely, down to the smallest detail, ahead of Xmas. I think it’s manageable even in the face of my propensity to be a lousy decision maker…

Recipe-wise, I made a delicious and very BBQ-appropriate potato salad for the blog today in the hope that I will be able to coax the sun out a little for the weekend. Potato salad is such a BBQ classic and I’ve already made a few for the blog in the past few years (this one with wild garlic pesto and this one, which was inspired by a BLT sandwich). This new version is Duncan’s favourite. It features a deliciously creamy yet nut-free dressing that really steals the show. It’s mustardy, lemony and has a hit of sweetness. Goes perfectly well with new potatoes, boiled or pan-fried (I am a sucker for the latter so I pan-fried mine) and a whole host of late spring, early summer veggies: cucumber, radish, Gem lettuce, garden peas and my spring favourite: asparagus. If that’s too many ingredients for you – I like to pull out all the stops when I make a salad – feel free to skip some of them, it will still be delicious. Enjoy.

vegan new potato salad ingredients

vegan new potato salad creamy dressing

vegan new potato salad serving

serves
4-6 as starter
PREP
20 min
COOKING
30 min
serves
4-6 as starter
PREPARATION
20 min
COOKING
30 min
INGREDIENTS
SALAD

  • 500 g / 1 lb new potatoes, boiled (I used Maris Piper)
  • 10 asparagus spears + 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 Gem lettuce
  • ½ large cucumber, sliced thinly
  • bunch of radishes, chopped into thick matchsticks
  • 60 g / ½ cup garden peas, boiled
  • 2 tbsp capers, chopped finely or a few gherkins, sliced small
  • fresh chives, chopped finely
  • pea shoots, fresh mint leaves or dill, to garnish (optional)

DRESSING

  • 150 g / 1 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes
  • approx. 240 ml / 1 cup soy milk (or other neutral tasting milk)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1½ tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 2 tsp white / shiro miso paste
  • juice of ½-1 lemon, adjust to taste (I like it quite tangy)
  • 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard*, more to taste
  • 1-2 tsp maple syrup
  • approx. ¾ tsp coarse sea salt, less if fine
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper

METHOD
SALAD

  1. OPTIONAL STEP: You may want to pan-fry cold (that’s important) potatoes in a little bit of oil. In that case, slice them into thick coins and fry in 1-2 tbsp of oil (I use mild olive oil) until golden on both sides. Allow them to cool down before making the salad.
  2. Heat up a griddle on a low-medium heat (you can also do them on a BBQ). Snap wooden ends off (and discard) the asparagus spears, place asparagus on a large, flat plate and drizzle with 1 tsp of olive oil. Roll the spears in the oil to coat. If you would rather not use any oil, steam or blanch asparagus instead.
  3. Once the griddle pan is ready, place oiled asparagus spears on it (make sure they do not overlap). Allow them to char for about 3-4 minutes on one side, then gently roll to the other side. They should be cooked but still retain a bit of a pleasant crunch.
  4. Transfer charred asparagus to a chopping board, season with sea salt and chop into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
  5. Combine torn salad leaves, potato slices (pan-fried or just boiled), asparagus, cucumber, radishes, boiled peas, chopped capers (or gherkins) and chives in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with the sunflower dressing and sprinkle with fresh herbs (if using).

DRESSING

  1. Place drained sunflower seeds in a blender with about 180 ml / ¾ cup of soy milk initially. Blend until very smooth, adding a bit more soy milk if needed, but I found that adding ¾ cup to begin with allows me to get the silkiest texture.
  2. Flavour with the remaining ingredients and once you are happy with the flavour, adjust the consistency by adding an extra splash of soy milk if needed. You could also add some olive oil, but the dressing will no longer be oil-free, of course.
  3. The dressing keeps in a air-tight jar in a fridge for at least a week.

NOTES
*Double-check that the brand you intend to buy does not contain honey or milk. Most of them don’t, but there are exceptions.

SHARE
NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
280
14%
sugars
7 g
8%
fats
15 g
22%
saturates
2 g
10%
proteins
11 g
22%
carbs
29 g
11%
*per serving
How would you rate this recipe?
This is a test string

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

5.0
3 reviews, 7 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Melissa:
This is my new favorite salad - I make it every week! The only things I do differently are changing up the vegetables I use with the potatoes and making the dressing with Vegenaise instead of the sunflower soy milk.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Great to hear that you enjoy it so much, Melissa! And thank you for taking the time to let me and others know! Ania
Yvette McPhail:
Oh wow. Thank you so much for that Ania. This is a mini chopper and very low power. I will get a nutribullet as they are on sale ATM but in the mean time your trick seems good! I tried the dressing again with just oil and it was good but quite rich. Winter here so that's fine! It really is a delicious recipe and so glad to have the seeds instead of nuts. Very healthy.
    Ania
    Ania:
    My pleasure, Yvette! Ania
Yvette McPhail:
I added rice milk but would not really recommend as it was too watery. I think my blender is not cut out for seed/nut blending as well as I have had no luck with cashews. I added olive oil and blended for a long time. (I also nearly doubled the dressing ingredients to add to the seed puree as I like a lot of flavour...each to their own). At the end I thought it was very tasty and I was actually dipping vegies in it before I even made the salad! I'll try next time with olive oil from the start and see how that goes. Another great recipe Ania!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Yvette,
    I'm so glad you enjoyed the taste. I totally understand your blender issues - believe it or not I also have a knackered old Kenwood and not a fancy Vitamix. Over the years I developed a technique that allows me to get my cashew / sunflower cream super smooth. The trick is to add just enough moisture initially to enable the blades to turn and the liquids have to go into the blender first, before the nuts/seeds. And once the mixture is thick and lumpy but stays put (what I mean by that it isn't liquidy enough to splurt all over your ceiling when you take the lid off), I take the lid off and gently nudge the mixture with a spatula while the motor is running. This bursts the air bubble that forms under the surface of the mixture and chokes the blender. Don't go anywhere near the blades, just a little but under the surface - keep on doing it and the mixture will get progressively smoother and smoother. It works every time. Hope this is helpful. Ania
Isabel:
Hi! Is there an alternative for the miso paste? Thank you!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Isabel,
    Unfortunately not but you can totally skip it, the dressing will still taste good. Maybe add a touch more nutritional yeast instead. Hope that helps! Ania
Yvette:
Looks fabulous Ania. Can you recommend a soy milk alternative please? It can be tricky with the fat content and taste I know. I use rice milk if the recipe does not require much creaminess (and guessing the seeds will add that on their own) or almond milk if more fat is required, but not sure if the taste will balance.
Thank you!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Yvette, I hope you'll enjoy it. Yes, the fat is contained within sunflower seeds so you don't need to worry about that. You could even use water if you prefer. I tend to use 100% natural (no additives, just water and a pinch of salt) soy or almond milk. Hope that helps! Ania
DON'T MISS A SINGLE RECIPE
Join our mailing list and we we will let you know when we publish a new recipe. You'll receive our DELIGHTFUL DESSERTS E-BOOK as a thank you for supporting us.