Stetson Chunky Potato Salad

If I had my druthers—which I often do—I’d skip the traditional main protein (chicken or meat) and instead go for a selection of side dishes. I’d much rather have a taste of this and a bite of that, a smattering of tastes to satisfy my undecided thanks to so many options cravings.

When I shared my Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon Dressing recipe I mentioned I’d be sharing a few new recipes with you this summer. Potato salad is one of my all time favorites, and lucky for me, there are plenty of options out there. Mayonnaise based, olive oil based, some with pickles, some with herbs and more, more, more. I may never run out of recipes and flavor combinations to try.

One would think that since I’m writing this while visiting my sister in Houston, and after a visit to Blogher Food in Austin, I may have been inspired to implicate this salad with the 10-gallon hat for obvious reasons. But you’d be mistaken.

This Stetson Potato Salad was inspired by my recent trip to Monterey, CA where on the way home I had a layover in the Phoenix airport. In need of some travel fortification, I did a quick scan of the dining options in the US Airways terminal and rather than go for the standard cheeseburger at the sign with the two arches aka McD’s, I set my sights on something local.

What I discovered was a Scottsdale–based restaurant with a selection of better than average fare, and a salad that was especially inspired, Cowboy Ciao’s Stetson Salad. Freshly made and topped with a buttermilk pesto dressing, the combination of arugula, corn, pepitas, and tomatoes, this was not your typical airport food.

Once I got home I was still craving it’s taste and when I had friends coming over I thought this could be the opportunity for a little combo creating of chunky potatoes with this new-to-me salad. With plenty of tastes to go around.

About the recipe:

The original Stetson Salad is also served with chicken or salmon. I didn’t realize the salmon option was actually smoked salmon, which offered a delectable salty bite to the salad. Adding either one of these ingredients would easily make for a one dish dinner.

The original salad also includes black currants, which I had a hard time finding and just didn’t think sounded good in the salad with my addition of sun dried tomatoes. If you’re craving a little something sweet, dried cranberries or craisins would probably fit the bill.

5 from 1 vote

Stetson Potato Salad

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Ingredients 

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• 3 ½ pounds small potatoes I used a combo of white, red and purple
• 2 small shallots diced
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup prepared or jarred pesto
• freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt
• 2 cups corn kernels
• 1 ½ cups sun dried tomatoes thinly sliced
• 2 cups arugula chopped
• 1 cup grated asiago cheese
• ½ cups pepitas or pumpkin seeds

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Instructions

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain, cool and then slice into large chunks.
• Prepare the dressing by blending the shallots, buttermilk, lemon juice, mayonnaise, pesto and ground pepper and kosher salt, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, corn, sun dried tomatoes and arugula. Add the dressing and stir to coat. Add the asiago cheese and pumpkin seeds and gently combine. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper as desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and serve.

Notes

Slightly adapted from Epicurious

I can’t get enough of potato salad. Really, it’s one of my can’t say no to dishes. Below are a few food bloggers who have made their potato salads special. And chunky. Sit back and enjoy the potato salad ride and chunk it up yourself.

Gerry works his daddy magic and pulls this herby version out of his Father’s Day pocket with FoodnessGracious’s Mixed Herb Potato Salad.

The boys are proving their metal with another male entry in the potato salad field thanks to Brian of My Food Thought’s Potato Salad with Dill and Horseradish Aioli.

Fancy without being fussy, Emily gussies up the traditional potato salad with a burst of vinegar in Jelly Toast‘s Balsamic Vinaigrette Potato Salad.

Whitney take the traditional potato salad for a spin around the hot and spicy block by tossing in a little buffalo sauce into Little Leopard Book’s Buffalo Potato Salad.

Stephanie boasts that Eat Drink Love’s Lemony Potato Salad is perfect cold, warm and even at room temperature. The perfect addition for any party.

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