Fresh from the Farmers Market: Dandelion Greens

Now that spring is in full swing the farmers market is up and running again, and there’s no better place to be. The lush, vibrant produce is so inspiring after the long winter.

If these displays don’t make you get excited about cooking and eating your vegetables, then nothing will.

Of course, there are sweets there too to tempt you as you load up on the healthy stuff.

Eat your vegetables and you earn your dessert, right?

Believe it or not though, I’m drawn to the greens more than the sweets this time. The rainbow of greens.

This day my basked is filled with eggs, kale, chard, arugula, broccoli raab, dandelion greens, red radishes, daikon radishes, a chuck-eye steak, and a pork rib chop.

The Clio Italian dandelion greens were mislabeled puntarelle, which is what gave me the idea for this salad.

Dandelion Greens with Lemon-Anchovy Dressing & Crispy Crumbs
Printable Recipe

1 1-pound bunch young dandelion greens, chopped
3 ounces sourdough bread, torn into pieces
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ounce grated Parmegiano-Reggiano
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeeze lemon juice
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, grated
3 anchovy fillets, minced
Freshly ground black pepper

Soak the dandelion greens in a large bowl of ice-cold water for 30 to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Toss together the breadcrumbs and 3 tablespoons of the oil in a small bowl, making sure that the breadcrumbs are evenly coated. Stir in the Parmegiano and a generous pinch of salt. Spread on a baking tray and bake, stirring once or twice, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

Whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and anchovies in a small bowl. Continue whisking while adding the remaining 1/3 cup oil in a thin stream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drain the dandelion greens and dry in a salad spinner. Toss together the dandelion greens and dressing in a large bowl and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes. Arrange the salad on individual plates, divide the breadcrumbs among them, and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side salad. This recipe was inspired by the classic Roman puntarelle salad with anchovy dressing. Italian dandelion, like puntarelle and other chicories, has a pleasantly bitter flavor. Use young dandelion greens for this salad and other raw applications as they are relatively tender and sweet. Soaking the dandelion greens in ice water, though not absolutely necessary, leeches out excess bitterness and makes them crisp and succulent.

Colorful Carrots and Other Exciting Things

Exciting things are happening around here. Exciting things like…

The summer issue of Cooking Club magazine just arrived! I'm super excited to see it because it contains four recipes by yours truly. If Asian Pork Tenderloin with Sriracha Dipping Sauce, Chicken Salad with Pine Nuts and Feta, Ratatouille Pasta, and Chipotle Macaroni Salad with Chicken and Corn sound good to you, then you've got to check out the "Weeknight Cook" column (on page 44). All of the recipes can be prepared in under half an hour, and they're absolutely delicious, even if I do say so myself.

Also, the summer Clark College class schedule just came out. I'll be teaching Fabulous Frozen Desserts and Seafood Primer. Please join me in the kitchen! Current class listings can always be found in the Cooking Classes, Book Signings & Appearances sidebar on the right.

Then there's the farmers market. After endless months of Pacific Northwest rain and gloom, the early season farmers market is as exciting as anything can be around here. Just have a look at what I discovered on a recent trip.

The most stunning carrots. Purple Haze, White Satin, Jet Black, and Creme de Lite carrots.

Every year, I look forward to this season and the abundance of local produce it brings with the greatest anticipation, and now it's finally here. Exciting and inspiring!

And there's even more exciting news coming. BIG news. News I hope to share very soon, so stay tuned!

Spicy Carrot Salad
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
Generous pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt
4 large carrots, julienned

Whisk together the rice vinegar, garlic, sugar, cayenne, and oil in a small bowl. Toss together the carrots and dressing in a large bowl and season to taste with salt. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.

Egg Salad

Here's my favorite ingredient in another starring role…


But first, big thanks go out to The Kitchn for including my Cheesy Masa Cornbread in their Delicious Links and BlogEats for featuring my Semolina Crackers.

Mom's Egg Salad
Printable Recipe

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon canola oil
1 large yellow onion, julienned
8 hard-cooked eggs
½ cup sliced green onions
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large, heavy sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add ¼ cup of the oil and the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until caramelized.* Let cool.

In a large bowl, mash the eggs with a fork or potato masher until the desired texture. Toss in the caramelized onions along with their oil, green onions, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Serves 4. This is my mother's version of Russian Jewish egg salad, but my baba, like any good Jewish grandmother, made it with chicken schmaltz and cracklings. Don't be shy with the black pepper—it really needs a generous quantity. Often used as a filling for baked Russian pastries called pirozhki.

*For information on making and using caramelized onions and everything you ever wanted to know about searing, plus dozens of fabulous searing recipes, look for my book Seared to Perfection in stores now.

A Big Salad for Dinner

It's that time of year when what you want for dinner is a big salad. The farmers market is bursting with lovely yellow and green beans, tender lettuces, sweet tomatoes, and earthy potatoes. Put that all together and a big salad is exactly what you get.


Tuna Salad Niçoise*
Printable Recipe

12 ounces fingerling potatoes
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme
½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 7.8-ounce jar canned oil-packed tuna
Freshly ground black pepper
2 hard-cooked eggs
4 ounces haricot vert, trimmed and blanched
6 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
4 ounces mesclun greens
¼ cup Niçoise or Kalamata olives

Place the potatoes in a medium pot and add enough water to cover by several inches. Add several large pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a plate. Let rest for about 15 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle.

Whisk together the red wine vinegar, shallot, mustard, thyme, rosemary, and parsley in a medium bowl. Continue whisking while adding the oil in a thin stream. Drain the tuna and whisk the oil from the tuna into the vinaigrette. Season the vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper. Cut the potatoes into quarters when they are cool enough to handle and toss with enough vinaigrette to coat in a medium bowl.

Cut the eggs into sixths and flake the tuna. In separate bowls, toss the haricot vert, tomatoes, and greens with enough vinaigrette to coat.

Mound the greens on a platter. Arrange the potatoes, haricot vert, tomatoes, eggs, olives, and tuna decoratively atop the greens. Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Serves 2 as a main course. This composed salad hails from sunny Nice in the South of France. The flavor depends largely on the quality of the tuna, so splurge on the best you can afford. Personally, I like Ortiz Bonito del Norte. Any yellow-fleshed potatoes may be used. Haricot vert, which are French green beans, are very slender and more tender than other varieties. They are often available at gourmet grocers and farmers markets. If you cannot find them, use the smallest green beans you can find. You can also use a combination of green and yellow wax beans.

*For a related Seared Tuna Salad Niçoise recipe and everything you ever wanted to know about searing, plus dozens of fabulous searing recipes, look for my book Seared to Perfection in stores now.

Radish

In Russian you call someone “rediska”, which means radish, when they’re naughty and misbehaving. At least that’s what my mother does. I never could understand why, but perhaps it’s because radishes are sharp and peppery. Anyway, being called a radish doesn’t hurt my feelings any because I happen to love radishes.

In other news, I’m excited to announce that my first cookbook Seared to Perfection: The Simple Art of Sealing in Flavor is now available for preorder on Amazon! Hooray! It comes out in October, and I cannot wait to hold a copy in my hands.


Radish & Cucumber Salad
Printable Recipe

12 ounces radishes, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
2/3 English cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, and thinly sliced
2/3 cup sliced green onions
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill, optional
½ cup sour cream
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Toss together the radishes, cucumber, green onions, dill, if desired, and sour cream in a large bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a side dish. I grew up eating this cool and refreshing salad, and as far as I can tell, it’s a Russian classic. My mother makes it with Kirby cucumbers, but I usually use English cucumbers because they’re much easier to find. And Mom never used the dill, though it is a common addition. I can’t remember what Mom served this with, and she’s being a radish and not answering her phone right now so I can’t ask, but I think it’s great on the side with roast chicken. One large bunch of radishes is usually enough to make the recipe.

UPDATE: This post has been selected as a winner of Beet ‘n Squash YOU! Battle Radish.

Caesar Salad

I’m not going to wax poetic about the inherent beauty of a leaf of romaine lettuce or tell you a romantic story involving garlic and anchovies. But that doesn’t make Caesar Salad any less special. All I can say about it is that it’s something we in my family always crave—we could eat it every day and never tire of it.

Please try this recipe. It’s simple and delicious, and the dressing in the plastic bottle bears absolutely no resemblance to the real thing.

Caesar Salad
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 anchovy fillets, minced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 hearts romaine lettuce, leaves separated
2 handfuls Craveable Croutons
1 ounce (about ¼ cup) shaved Parmegiano-Reggiano

Whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, and anchovies in a small bowl. Continue whisking while adding the oil in a thin stream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss together the lettuce, croutons, and dressing in a large bowl. Arrange the salad on individual plates, divide the Parmegiano among them, top with a generous grinding of pepper, and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a first course or 2 as a main course. If you like a creamy dressing, whisk an egg yolk into the dressing before adding the olive oil. As much as I love eggs, I usually leave the egg out of my Caesar Salad dressing; I like to make a large batch of the dressing and keep it in the refrigerator for use at a moment’s notice, and it keeps better without the egg. Use good quality anchovies—the ones that come in a glass jar are preferable to the ones from a tin. Some people prefer to cut the romaine into bite-size pieces. To shave Parmegiano, use a vegetable peeler. Of course this salad is good topped with grilled chicken, shrimp, or steak, but you should really try it with Pan-Fried Razor Clams.

Salad, Please

Since our indulgent trip to San Francisco, I’ve had the desire to eat light and healthy food and lots and lots of vegetables. So this week we’ve had salad nearly every night. I’ve made Cobb salad and Chinese Chicken Salad, and I’m making another big composed salad (I would call it a “chef salad”, but I’m afraid of being judged) for dinner this weekend. I did make a mushroom, spinach & Swiss frittata last night, but it was mostly greens. I’m sure that this craving for light food will pass soon, I can’t seem to stay away from cream and butter for long…


Chinese Chicken Salad
Printable Recipe

1 quart chicken broth
1 star anise
1 1-inch cinnamon stick
3 cloves garlic, crushed, plus 2 cloves, grated
3 ¼-inch slices ginger, plus 1 ½ teaspoons grated
¼ cup soy sauce
2 10-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 ½ teaspoons dark sesame oil
12 ounces napa cabbage, thinly sliced
4 ounces red cabbage, thinly sliced
3 ounces baby spinach, chiffonaded
2 carrots, julienned
½ red bell pepper, julienned
½ cup sliced green onions
½ cup minced cilantro
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Combine the broth, star anise, cinnamon, crushed garlic, sliced ginger, and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the chicken breasts and poach at a bare simmer for about 20 minutes, or until just cooked through. The chicken breasts will be firm to the touch and the juices will run clear when they are just cooked through. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate, reserving the broth for another use, and let cool.

Whisk together the mayonnaise, lime juice, honey, sesame oil, grated garlic, grated ginger, and remaining 2 tablespoons of soy sauce in a small bowl. Combine the napa cabbage, red cabbage, spinach, carrots, bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds in a large bowl, add the mayonnaise mixture, and toss to coat. Arrange the salad on individual plates, slice the chicken breasts thinly and fan out the slices atop each salad, and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a main course. Delicious served on a bed of deep-fried cellophane noodles, but since I was going for light and healthy, I didn’t go there.

Too Hot to Cook

Forecast: a week of 100-degree temperatures. Back when I lived in Texas, I would’ve though nothing of it. But now I am acclimated to the mild temperatures, endless drizzle, and pale skin of the Pacific Northwest. So this kind of forecast puts the fear in me. If anyone’s looking for me, I’ll be in the refrigerator.


Carrot & Garbanzo Bean Salad
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated ginger
½ teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Generous pinch cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces carrots, shredded
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the lemon juice, ginger, coriander, cumin, cayenne, and oil in a small bowl. Toss together the carrots, garbanzo beans, onion, cilantro, and dressing in a large bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Serves 4. Healthy and light and refreshing for the summertime. Use sweet, colorful heirloom carrots if you can find them.

Purple Potatoes

At the farmers market, the purple potatoes called my name. They begged to be turned into a salad. Do your vegetables talk to you?


Purple Potato Salad
Printable Recipe

1 ½ pounds medium purple potatoes
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon capers
¼ cup minced Italian parsley
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the potatoes into a large pot and add enough water to cover by several inches. Add several large pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a plate. Let rest for about 15 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle.

Combine the vinegar, mustard, shallot, capers, and parsley in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. With the motor running, add the oil in a thin stream. Dice the potatoes when they are cool enough to handle. Toss together the potatoes and dressing in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a serving bowl, and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6. Also good with Yukon Gold or red potatoes instead of purple potatoes. Boiled potatoes absorb dressing best when they’re still hot, so don’t let them cool too much before dressing them. This salad is tasty at room temperature or even chilled, but it’s most delicious served right away, while it’s still warm. Keeps for a couple of days tightly sealed in the refrigerator.

Three Bean Salad, Reinvented

Is this what comes to mind when you think of three bean salad?


Maybe not. But it’s what I think of. It’s not that I have anything against the classic version or canned beans. But when there’s so much to choose from at the farmers market, I can’t open cans. For my version of three bean salad, I use fresh shelling peas.


And fresh fava beans.


And fresh haricot vert.


The farmers market also had snow peas and sugar snap peas that looked very tempting, but who’s ever heard of five bean salad?

Three Bean Salad with Peas, Favas & Haricot Vert
Printable Recipe

3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 shallot, minced
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound English peas, shelled and blanched
1 ¼ pounds fava beans, shelled, blanched, and peeled
4 ounces haricot vert, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces, and blanched
2 ounces shaved Pecorino-Romano
6 ounces baby spinach, stemmed

Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Arrange the prosciutto slices about an inch apart on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, turn the slices and bake another 5 to 6 minutes, or until crisp. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, shallot, lemon zest, mint, and oil in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Crumble the prosciutto. Toss together the prosciutto, peas, favas, haricot vert, Pecorino, and half of the dressing in a medium bowl. Toss together the spinach and remaining dressing in a large bowl. Arrange the spinach on individual plates, divide the bean mixture among them, and serve immediately.

Serves 6 as a first course or 2 as a main course. Substitute young green beans if you can’t find haricot vert. To shave Pecorino, use a vegetable peeler. Serve with crusty bread.

Invasion of the Alien Vegetables!

Kohlrabi always makes me think of space aliens. Just look at it. It’s probably the single weirdest vegetable, except for maybe Brussels sprouts on the stalk. Kohlrabi looks like it’s from another planet, and I can imagine hundreds of kohlrabies parachuting down from the sky, leaves spread wide and blocking out the rays of the sun, on their way to invade planet Earth. But their sweet and mild cabbage/turnip-like flavor assures me the kohlrabies come on a mission of good, not evil.

Kohlrabi-Carrot Slaw
Printable Recipe

¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 kohlrabi bulbs trimmed, peeled, and julienned
2 carrots, julienned
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add the kohlrabi and carrot and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a serving bowl, and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6. If possible, select kohlrabies with the greens attached—kohlrabi greens are great cooked like Garlicky Braised Kale.

Another Asparagus Salad

I stocked up on Oregon asparagus at the farmers market again this week. It’s amazingly juicy and sweet right now and definitely the best I’ve ever had. I love it in different salads, like this one with orange and sesame. I can’t remember what inspired it anymore, but this particular salad has been one of my most popular ever since I came up with it years ago.

Asparagus-Orange Salad
Printable Recipe

2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 clove garlic, grated
½ teaspoon grated ginger
¾ pound asparagus, trimmed of woody ends, cut on a bias into 1 ½-inch pieces, and blanched
Suprêmes from 1 orange
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Whisk together the honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl. Toss together the asparagus, suprêmes along with their juices, sesame seeds, and dressing in a large bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a side dish. This healthy salad is especially delicious with stir-fried shrimp or grilled salmon fillets.

Duck Eggs

By now you probably know that I’m head over heels for eggs. So when I saw big, white, farm-fresh duck eggs at the farmers market, I couldn’t resist. They just dwarf chicken eggs, they’re so big.


What better way to showcase these beauties than with the classic French salad?


Frisée aux Lardons
Printable Recipe

¼ pound bacon, cut into 1½×¼×¼-inch strips
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Kosher salt
2 duck eggs
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 medium head frisée, torn into bite-size pieces
Fleur de sel
Freshly ground black pepper

Add enough water to a large, heavy sauté pan to come to a depth of 1 inch. Heat over medium heat to a bare simmer. Heat a small, heavy sauté pan over medium-low heat until hot but not smoking. Add the bacon and fry, tossing frequently, for 7 to 8 minutes, or until rendered.

Meanwhile, crack each egg into its own ramekin. Add the white vinegar and a generous pinch of kosher salt to the pan of water. Gently slip each egg from its ramekin into the barely simmering water and poach for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the desired doneness. Using a wire skimmer, remove the eggs to a paper towel-lined plate and drain.

When the bacon is rendered, remove it to a plate. Add the shallot to the pan and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, or until translucent and fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the oil, red wine vinegar, and mustard. Immediately toss together the frisée, bacon, and dressing in a large bowl and season to taste with fleur de sel and pepper. Arrange the salad on individual plates, top each with an egg, and serve immediately.

Serves 2 as a main course. Narrow strips of bacon like the ones used in this recipe are known as lardons. Pepper bacon is a fantastic choice here. If you cannot find duck eggs, use chicken eggs instead; poaching time is 2 to 3 minutes for large ones. The fresher the eggs, the better they will hold their shape during poaching. Maintain the water at a bare simmer throughout the poaching time for the best results. A baguette is the perfect accompaniment to this salad.

Crab

In a blind tasting of snow crab, king crab, and Dungeness crab, this taster found that Dungeness crabmeat was by far the sweetest, most tender, and most delicious. But you can judge for yourself.


Salad of Crab, Avocado & Grapefruit
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ripe Hass avocado
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
1/3 cup diced red onion
Suprêmes from 1 grapefruit
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, and oil in a small bowl. Halve, pit, peel, and dice the avocado. Combine the avocado, crabmeat, onion, and suprêmes along with their juices in a large bowl, add the oil mixture, and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to individual bowls, and serve immediately.

Serves 8 to 10 as a first course. For the most brilliant color, use Ruby Red grapefruit if you can find it.

Coleslaw

You know what else you just have to have with smork? Coleslaw.


Barbeque and coleslaw just belong together.

Classic Coleslaw
Printable Recipe

1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon celery seed
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
½ head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 carrot, shredded
Kosher salt

Whisk together the mayonnaise, cider vinegar, honey, celery seed, and pepper in a small bowl. Combine the green cabbage, red cabbage, and carrot in a large bowl, add the mayonnaise mixture, and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt, transfer to a serving bowl, and serve immediately.

Serves 8 to 10. Delicious as a side dish or sandwich topping. Cabbage is fairly bland and need lots of salt to bring out its flavor, so season the coleslaw liberally, tasting as you go.

Must Have Potato Salad

We just made smork again. A big smork dinner would be incomplete without potato salad. But it doesn’t have to be the same old potato salad.


Potato Salad with Sesame
Printable Recipe

6 large Yukon Gold potatoes
Kosher salt
¾ cup canola oil
¼ cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the potatoes into a large pot and add enough water to cover by several inches. Add several large pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a plate. Let rest for about 15 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle.

Whisk together the canola oil, soy sauce, cider vinegar, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Peel and dice the potatoes when they are cool enough to handle. Mix together the potatoes, onion, sesame seeds, and oil mixture in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a serving bowl, and serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8. Boiled potatoes absorb dressing best when they’re still hot, so don’t let them cool too much before dressing them. This salad is tasty at room temperature or even chilled, but it’s most delicious served right away, while it’s still warm. Keeps for a couple of days tightly sealed in the refrigerator. Also try it with the addition of blanched green beans—it’s tremendous.