Potato Palooza Salad is inspired by my new Instant Pot that has me cooking an entire 5 pound bag of organic potatoes at a time on a regular basis.   This means I’m a fast 15  minutes away from a bucket of taters good for steaming hot spuds for dinner, leftovers for breakfast, and a big batch of potato salad to last a good couple of days.

I posted the picture of this salad creation on facebook the first time I whipped it up last week and with so many requests for the recipe, how could I not tell you all the delicious details?  I don’t usually follow recipes, preferring to simply throw things together in patterns – and it was pretty much the same with this yummy dish.  But I made some quick notes as I went along so that I could share it with you. And without the layer of mayo usually found in potato salads, I think you’ll agree this one’s a winner!  It made enough for two meals for the two of us – but keep in mind that we like a good mountain of salad when it’s mealtime – and my husband is the original potato hound.

Dr. Will Tuttle inspired the perfect name for this salad when he asked me to present at Veganpalooza at the exact time I was trying to come up with a name. Thanks Doc!

As for the name – Potato Palooza Salad – while brainstorming for a perfect name, I received an email from Dr. Will Tuttle – whom I shared a book signing table with at Berkeley Earth Day (photo right)- inviting me to present to the VIP membership in this year’s Veganpalooza.  More about Veganpalooza below.  Let me get this recipe into your hands pronto:

Potato Palooza Salad

5  large cooked potatoes (I prefer organic Yukon Gold or red but have found russet is a keeper too)
1/2 cup chopped sweet red onion
1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh arugula (parsley or cilantro can pinch hit)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar (you could use any favorite vinegar, really – I just      wanted some thing light
2 Tablespoons lime juice (lemon works too!)
1 teaspoon garlic granules
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
fresh ground pepper and salt if you like

Directions

1. Chop the potatoes into bite sized pieces – I just leave the skin on and it adds flavor, color, and phytonutrition.
2. Add the other vegetables.
3. Mix all the seasonings in a separate container and then pour over all, tossing to mix.  Store in the refrigerator for a few hours, tossing on occasion to mix the flavors.  This is even better on day two – if it lasts that long.

Cooking the potatoes

You can cook the potatoes in your favorite fashion – but here’s how I do it in the instant pot.

1)  Wash a 5 pound bag of medium sized organic potatoes, any variety

2)  Put them on a steam rack in the Instant Pot

3)  Add 1  1/2 cups of water to the Instant Pot.

4)  Using the manual setting and in pressure cook mode, set the time for 15 minutes.

5)  When cooking time is complete and the beeper goes off, simply release the steam.  Chill the potatoes for the salad so that they are easier to handle.

For more on the Instant Pot click here

More on Veganpalooza

Veganpalooza Vegetarian World Summit is a four-day, free Telesummit featuring several speakers and world-class leaders in the plant-happy vegan world.  And there’s no charge!

The brainchild of Dr. Will Tuttle and Steven Prussack, my editor at VegWorld Magazine, this year’s event features James Cromwell, Dr. Michael Greger, Melanie Joy, Dr. Michael Klaper, Ellen Jaffe Jones, Chef Aj, Gene Baur – and that’s just for starters.  See the starting speakers lineup on the Veganpalooza Vegetarian World Summit page here.  

Plus, if you opt for the VIP level, you receive recordings of all of the presentations as well as access to special gifts and highlighted events – such as the guest speaking appearance by yours truly at Veganpalooza on Saturday, August 17.  Here are more Veganpalooza details:

Veganpalooza 2013 is a home program that will empower you with the tools to heal and awaken your Mind, Body and Spirit!

The vegan movement is growing by leaps and bounds. We can see it everywhere! Why is this, and what does it have to offer us and our world today? We have gathered together the leading writers, researchers, activists, educators, and coaches in the vegan movement, with collectively hundreds of years of accumulated wisdom and experience in vegan living — so you can plumb the depths and breadth of vegan understanding of the keys to radiant wellness, social harmony, and joyful, creative, and abundant living.

Veganpalooza is for everyone! It’s for you if you’re already a vegan and would like to deepen your understanding of how to thrive in your life, and how to more effectively bring this message to others. It’s for you if you’re a vegetarian or flexitarian and are open to learning more about how you can increase your health and happiness, and reduce your environmental footprint. And it’s for you if you’re an omnivore and would like to find out how you can find greater inner peace, be a better lover, reduce your chances of cancer, stroke, and other diseases, and increase the joy and compassion in our world.

Here again is the link to register at Veganpalooza – and hope to see you Saturday August 17th in the VIP room!

P.S.  Veganpalooza launches Thursday, August 15!

P.P.S.  I’m scheduled to speak in the Veganpalooza VIP room at 6:00 p.m.  Pacific Time, Saturday, August 17.  If and when you register for the VIP option, details become available to you.

P.P.S. Do let me know how that Potato Palooza Salad comes out!  And if you have some best-ever  potato-salad secrets to share, by all means put them in comments below.