Michelle Palmer: Healthy chilled potato corn salad (recipe)

Picnic and barbecue season is now in full swing. Corn on the cob starting to show up at the Farmers Markets.

Back in the day (30 years ago) I would haul my 6 feet by 2 ½ feet barbecue to the two Farmers Markets. Wednesdays in Carson City on Curry Street and Victorian Square in Sparks on Thursdays. I would get there early to get the wood nice and hot with bricks under them to cook between 4-6 lugs (42-50 ears each) of Brentwood corn from Farmer Doug Lewis.

He has since retired and moved away; however he turned his business over to one of his dear friends Louie, who owns Dwelley Farms. Because the corn was so fresh I would just throw them right on the grates of the barbecue, husk and all.

The fresh silks inside the husks would steam the corn perfectly. I toasted them nice and dark brown. I would pull back the husk and rip off the silks; then roll that hot corn on a pound of butter. The husk pulled back makes a perfect handle.

I would just hand them to my customers with a napkin. Who needs those little forks at the end? Still today people ask me if I would come back and do corn! Super easy recipe! FYI corn is high in carbs, however, it’s also high in fiber, vitamins and minerals that can help balance blood sugar levels.

Potato salad, another food people like to make this time of the year. In my research I found some very interesting healthy information that I did not know. Everyone is concerned about carbs, rightfully so! Potatoes have a great amount of potassium which helps with high blood pressure and… did you know that cold potatoes are low glycemic?

By chilling potatoes and rice for that matter and NOT reheating them change them into a resistant starch. Chilled potatoes “resist” digestion, hence the name, and do not spike blood sugar or insulin.

Resistant starch is a type of starch that is not digested in the stomach or small intestine, reaching the colon intact.

Ingredients

1 pound baby potatoes assorted colors/types

2/3 cup fresh corn (small ear)

1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

¼ cup green onions, sliced

¼ cup dill, fresh, chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

Dressing:

1 ½ tablespoon mustard, stone ground

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Fresh black pepper to taste

1 ½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Mix all the dressing ingredients ahead so they can marry. Hold room temp until ready to toss in potato corn salad. Have ready saucepan filled halfway with cool water. Rinse potatoes in cold water, then slice into ¼ inch slices adding them to pot with cool water.

Bring pot to a boil with a bit of sea salt. When it starts to boil drop the temperature to medium/high, cooking for 10-13 minutes. Being careful not to overcook them. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop cooking.

Make sure they are fully drained. In a serving bowl combine potatoes, salt, pepper and vinegar. Toss in dressing and chill for at least one hour. Enjoy.

Michelle Palmer is co-executive chef at the Historical Preservation Society Thunderbird Tahoe.