I was so excited to pick the first ripe cherry tomatoes. Now our regular tomatoes are no where near producing fruit, but are covered with blossoms, so we should have a good harvest.  Several of our green onions/scallions are harvest ready, too. And we had volunteer cilantro come up in one of the flower pots near the back door.

Just enough of each to make a somewhat unusual potato salad with southwestern flavors for celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary. 

Basically, you mix cooked potatoes with tomato, bell pepper and onions. It’s the dressing that’s the star: mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lime, garlic and cilantro with the added kick of chipotle peppers and cayenne. Oh and a bit of cumin. Finish it off with a sprinkle of cotija cheese and maybe a little more hot pepper sauce, and you’ve got your own fireworks in a bowl!   

Southwestern potato salad with chipotles 

As I often tell you, use this recipe as a guide and do your own thing here. The original is from the food network and my adaptation doesn’t stray too far. One reader suggested using smoked paprika and cayenne pepper as a sub for the chipotle sauce. 

Ingredients

3 pounds or so Yukon gold or new potatoes, cooked and diced or sliced 1/2” thick and kept a bit warm.

1 nice tomato, diced

1/2 bell pepper, diced – optional 

2-3 green onions, white and green parts both, sliced thin

1 small to medium red onion, diced or sliced thin

1-1/2 cups real mayonnaise

3-4 tablespoons Dijon mustard – I used 4

Lime juice to taste

Up to 2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pureed or chipotle pepper puree

3-4 cloves garlic, minced – a generous tablespoon or so

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or to taste or chipotle chili powder

Cumin to taste – I used several shakes – optional but good

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful cilantro, torn coarsely or chopped

Cotija cheese – optional

Instructions

Gently mix potatoes with tomato, pepper and onions. Set aside while making dressing:

Whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, lime juice, chipotle peppers in sauce, garlic, cayenne and cumin. Stir in cilantro, then add salt and pepper.

Pour mixture over potatoes and vegetables and mix well. 

Gilding the lily: 

Drizzle a bit more hot sauce over salad before serving.

Sprinkle with cotija cheese before serving.

Tips: Chipotle peppers in adobo vs chipotle puree – what’s the difference?

Chipotle in adobo: chipotle chilies with a spicy tomato sauce.They usually come canned in whole form, so I puree them first for easier measuring.

Chipotle pepper puree: the pure form of just peppers, vinegar and salt. No tomato sauce. 

Both can be frozen for long term storage. I like to freeze in ice cube trays until hard, then put in containers and take out frozen portions as needed.

Cilantro flowering and going to seed?

Let it go! The seeds that form are called coriander seeds. They have a lemony flavor and can be stored in the pantry. BTW you can’t sub in the leaf for the seeds.