Potato Salad with Thai Basil

I know I know, potato salads are totally taboo these days, ohhh carbs! But there is something completely wonderful about a simple potato salad with really lovely smaller sweeter potatoes fresh from this season (season typically starts in August). My grandmother made the best german potato salad that yummy creamy mayonnaise with dijon mustard and probably heavy cream for all I know... it's heavy, but back in the day, a perfect side to a hefty cheeseburger. {yikes on the cholesterol - sorry grandma!}

This recipe puts a little bit of heart healthy back into a good side for a bbq. A perfect accompaniment to a pot luck that you can bring, still potato salad, but whole food centric with a flare of healthy, everyone will be satisfied. Thai basil is such  a lovely flavor that gets lost in the normal culinary world. The flavor is distinctly different than regular basil, softer almost, which is why I like it for cooking more than regular basil. The almost slightly minty essence mixes well with a lot of savory dishes, where usually basil, esp. fresh basil would completely overpower the dish.

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Thai Basil Potato Salad

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INGREDIENTS

3 purple potatoes

3 red russet potatoes

1/4 red onion or shallots

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup greek yogurt

juice of half a lemon

2-4 tbs olive oil

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped thai basil

extra thai basil for garnish

3-4 mint leaves chopped

salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by cleaning your potatoes and making them all around the same size. If the red potatoes are bigger cut them in half or quarters so they are about even with the purple ones.

Place them in a pot and cover with water and boil. When fork tender strain the water and immediately place into ice bath to stop the cooking.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to touch, chop into bite size pieces and immediately pour the red wine vinegar over the potatoes. Set aside in the fridge.

On the side mix yogurt, mustard, chopped herbs, olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

Chop onions so they are slivers about an inch and a half long.

Take the potatoes out of the fridge and place into bowl with the onions. Pour dressing over potatoes and set in the fridge for a good half an hour. Drain any leftover dressing that is on the bottom and serve with a little extra garnish of the thai basil. They are truly lovely when flowering, make sure you include those right on top!