David Rubel's

What's For Dinner?

7/25/06 

Potato Salad with Basil, Walnuts, and Gorgonzola

(serves two adults and two children)

For our last big barbecue, I made twenty pounds of this with no trouble at all. Note, however, that the basil deteriorates quickly, so it’s a poor leftover.

• 2 lb new potatoes
• 1 c walnuts
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1/4 c rice vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• large handful of basil
• 4 oz crumbled gorgonzola

1. Roast the potatoes until the centers are soft (see tip below). Once they have cooled, cut the smaller potatoes in half and the larger ones into quarters or sixths.

2. Coarsely chop and toast the walnuts. Let cool.

3. In a minichopper, blend the olive oil, rice wine vinegar, and mustard to form the vinaigrette.

4. Chiffonade the basil (see tip below).

5. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes with the basil, walnuts, and gorgonzola. Toss with the vinaigrette and serve.

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Tips

* Although you can use other/larger potatoes, new potatoes are ideal because they roast quickly and need only one or two cuts to turn them into bite-sized pieces.

* During the summer, to keep the heat out of the kitchen, I roast the potatoes on my gas grill. With the burners turned down to low (to minimize scorching), the roasting takes about 20 minutes.

* To chiffonade the basil, stack 6-8 large leaves together in a pile. Then roll them up as though rolling a cigar. Finally, cut across the width to create thin strips (about 1/8-inch wide).

* Buy the gorgonzola already crumbled. You will not be able to crumble it yourself.

Listener Feeback

Lynne Flanagan writes that she has been experimenting with potato salads recently and has found success with white balsamic vinegar, fresh rosemary, and fresh marjoram. I had never heard of white balsamic vinegar, so I went out and found some. Lynne’s right: It’s quite nice— a mellower version of the regular balsamic.

If you have tried one of these recipes and have an improvement or tip or variation to suggest, please e-mail David at dinner@wamc.org. Also feel free to send along your own family cuisine recipes. You can even request dishes that you'd like David to present in the future.

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David Rubel is president of Agincourt Press, a book production company in Chatham, New York. He spends his days writing American history, then heads home after work to cook for his wife and two young children. His most recent book is The Story of America (DK, 2002).