One Potato, Two Potato, Three...

WORDS MEGAN PRISCOTT | IMAGES BRYDIE THOMPSON

With the abundance of fresh produce from thegarden it’s the perfect time of year to eat well, butthe fact is, most of us tend to do the opposite.

At RedKitchen we have just released our Lemon and Turmeric Dressing for the summer to help you create easy and tasty meals using simple, fresh summer ingredients.

With this issue I have included a potato and bean salad made spectacular with the new addition to the RedKitchen range. This one salad can be served in a myriad of ways, as a great salad to take to a BBQ, served with my smoked beef fillet or turned into a niçoise salad.

Potato and Bean Salad with Lemon Turmeric Dressing

If you don’t have potatoes and beans growing in your garden, borrow without asking from your parents or in-laws (elderly parents are the best to do this as they go to bed at 9pm so you don’t have to wear a balaclava), or consider orchestrating a swap with the neighbours, family or using your local sharing shed.

300g new or Agria potatoes

200g green beans

fresh mint, roughly chopped

RedKitchen Lemon and Turmeric dressing

½ red onion, thinly sliced

salt and cracked pepper

Cut potatoes into approx. 2cm cubes and boil until cooked.

Trim the plant end off the green beans, cut in half and blanch by plunging into boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and cool immediately with ice or under cold water.

Once the potatoes are cooked, cool for five minutes and then place in a bowl and douse with our RedKitchen Lemon and Turmeric Dressing.

Fold through the green beans, fresh mint and sliced red onion.

Note: Some versions of this salad work better if you roast potatoes and others boiled. The following recipes will guide you through it.

PS: Remember don’t wear your floral gumboots when raiding your elderly parents garden … it may be a giveaway on the security cameras.

Niçoise Salad

Potato and Bean Salad with Lemon and Turmeric Dressing

Tuna, fresh seared or from a jar

2 boiled eggs, cut into wedges

12 olives

3 radishes, thinly sliced

12 cherry tomatoes

watercress

50g crispy prosciutto

Choose a large platter that you love. Place little bundles of watercress on the platter, and then large spoons of the potato salad next to each bundle.

Add all the other ingredients on the platter and serve with Lemon and Turmeric Dressing and a glass of rosé.

You can use all sorts from the garden: a triage of different tomatoes looks splendid, capsicum, and I love fresh and colourful viola petals. You can use beetroot-cured salmon for this instead of tuna.

Smoked Beef Fillet with Potato Salad and Crispy Prosciutto

When I make the potato salad for this, I deconstruct it and roast the potatoes with grainy mustard. With the addition of the beef and prosciutto, it is a complete meal and seems completely different from the potato salad you had for lunch.

Whole beef fillet trimmed (200g per person)

favourite dry rub

100g prosciutto

300g potatoes

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tbsp grainy mustard

1 tsp salt

200g green beans

fresh mint

RedKitchen Lemon & Tumeric dressing

½ red onion

salt and cracked pepper

Trim your beef fillet, removing the silverskin and sinew. Massage the dry rub onto it, wrap in cling film or vac pac and rest while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Cut the potatoes into wedges, pat dry and rub with salt, olive oil and grainy mustard and pop into the oven to roast.

Keeping all the ingredients separate, cut and blanch the beans, slice the mint, thinly slice the red onion.

Fry the prosciutto in a little olive oil until crispy.

Smoke your beef fillet. (I use a little hand-held smoking gun available from The Scullery in Hamilton.) I pop my beef fillet in a bowl and cover with naughty single-use cling film, till it is airtight. I then sneak the smoking hose in a little gap, seal with tape and turn it on. The bowl fills up with smoke (and the kitchen if your handy work is below par). Once it is all smoky, I leave to sit for half an hour.

The beef fillet is now ready to cook to your liking on the BBQ.

To serve, place all your prepared ingredients on a plate, drizzle with Lemon and Turmeric Dressing and add a slice of the cooked beef fillet.

There is a huge selection of dry rubs available. I love Wild Fennel Co, and Raptor Rubs. You can make your own with a little smoked paprika, lemon zest and salt.

Megan Priscott | www.redkitchen.co.nz

Megan is mum to Lily, Lennox and Lincoln. Along with husband Mathew she owns and manages RedKitchen in Te Awamutu. Megan loves good food and wine and holidays with the family. Whangamata is their favourite spot where Megan says a huge paella on the beach is the perfect way to finish a summer's day.