AVO-TASTIC POTATO SALAD

 I'm a huge fan of potato salad and usually make it with a delicious garlicky vegan mayo, until I came across this recipe by Deliciously Ella. The photo caught my attention first, I love anything green, anything with avocados and I'm a sucker for a lovely big vibrant serving bowl and since
Deliciously Ella had all three  I had to try it!

I have to admit I wasn't disappointed! This takes potato salad to new heights of flavour and nutrition. Avocado, lemon, asparagus, mint, basil chives, olive oil and new potatoes are a wonderful combination, all green, healthy and delicious.
It is the end of British asparagus season so frozen peas or edamame beans are great alternatives!
I grow lots of herbs in the summer and I have loads of mint, basil and chives and I'm always looking for new recipes to use them in. They just taste great and are packed with all sorts of beneficial antioxidants, minerals and vitamins along with essential oils.

And now for the sciency bit......

I came across some research on resistant starch recently, which is present in many foods to varying degrees. It is resistant to digestion so reaches the colon intact, where  our gut bacteria use it for food and convert it into short chain fatty acids, namely acetate, butyrate and propionate.
Butyrate is of most importance and has unique health benefits including increasing metabolism, reducing inflammation and increasing insulin sensitivity;

and guess what....?

Resistant starch is much higher in cold cooked potatoes than hot ones, a
 good enough reason to eat lots of this delicious cold potato salad!
Add a delicious creamy dressing packed with healthy fats and vitamins, some heart healthy olive oil, alkalising lemon juice and a nice crunch from the asparagus with digestive benefits from the mint and you have a superstar salad, which is a perfect accompaniment for a summer BBQ or buffet spread. This salad will keep quite happily in a covered container in the fridge for a few days, if it lasts that long!

I hope you try this, it really ticks a lot of boxes for me in the nutrition and flavour departments.
So here is the recipe....

CREAMY AVOCADO POTATO SALAD
INGREDIENTS 
1kg new potatoes, washed
Bunch of spring onions, 4 or 5
2 tablespoons olive or rapeseed oil
Bunch of asparagus or a cup of frozen peas or edamame beans
1 lemon, juiced
2 ripe avocadoes
Mint, basil and chives, to taste, roughly a small handful of each
 
METHOD

1. Cut the potatoes into even sized pieces. If small just leave them whole and half or quarter any bigger ones.
2. Add the potatoes to a pan of cold water with a pinch of sea salt. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked through. Drain and leave to cool.
3. Finely chop the herbs.
4. Roughly chop the asparagus on the diagonal and discard the woody ends.
5. Peel and remove the stone from the avocadoes and add the flesh to a food processor along with the olive oil, lemon juice and a good grinding of sea salt and black pepper.
6. Add the herbs and the spring onions and pulse a few times to incorporate them into the dressing.
7. Blanch the chopped asparagus in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water to keep the vibrant colour. Or if using frozen peas or edamame beans just cook in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and cool.
8. Put the cooled potatoes into your best big salad bowl, pour over the dressing, add the asparagus or frozen peas and garnish with a few more chopped herbs or spring onion.

      ......your health in your hands.....