BBQ and picnic season has arrived at last, and with my husband (who is a teacher) having broken up for the summer this week, we’ve certainly got the holiday happies around here at the moment.

For me, one of the must-have dishes in any BBQ spread is a really good, creamy potato salad, (usually alongside a crisp green salad with sharp vinaigrette, then lots of marinated, grilled veggies on the BBQ and maybe some good quality vegan sausages in soft, white rolls).

This ultimate vegan potato salad is a winner – creamy but with salty capers and sharp gherkins, wholegrain mustard and lots of fresh herbs all coating some waxy new potatoes.  The idea for tossing the potatoes in a simple vinaigrette whilst still hot, and then adding the remaining ingredients once cold comes from Felicity Cloake’s article for the Guardian, on the ‘Perfect Potato Salad‘, and it does indeed create the most flavoursome vegan potato salad I’ve tried.

The vegan mayonnaises I’ve tried have been quite varied in their flavour and texture – I had to try a few before I found one I really liked, and everyone has their own particular favourites.

A recipe like this is great for showing non-vegans how delicious a creamy vegan mayonnaise can be – it is simply a creamy vehicle for the strong flavours it is paired with in mustard, capers, gherkins, vinaigrette and fresh herbs, and so different to offering someone a jar of it to dip their chips into, when a direct comparison with ‘real’ mayonnaise will be made.

What’s in your ‘ultimate’ potato salad?  If you’re not a fan of capers or gherkins, what would you use instead?

5 from 3 votes

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The Ultimate Vegan Potato Salad

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

Servings: 6 as a side dish

Author: Kate Ford | The Veg Space

Ingredients

• 1 kg waxy potatoes (Charlotte or Jersey Royals are ideal)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 120 g vegan mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 3 spring onions
• 1 tbsp capers
• 2 gherkins
• handful fresh parsley
• handful fresh mint
• handful cress to finish

Instructions

1. Boil the potatoes (whole, leaving skin on) for 15 minutes until a sharp knife slides into the centre easily. Drain.
2. Make a vinaigrette by whisking together the olive oil and vinegar, and seasoning well with salt and black pepper. Cut the potatoes (whilst still warm) lengthways into halves or quarters depending on their size, then toss them through the vinaigrette in a large bowl and set aside to cool.
3. When the potatoes are completely cool, stir through the mayonnaise and mustard, finely chop the spring onions, capers and gherkins and add all to the bowl and mix.
4. Finally, chop the parsley and mint and stir through the salad, then top with the cress.

If you’re firing up the BBQ this weekend here are a few more recipes you might like to take a look at:

• BBQ Black Bean & Jalapeño Burger
• Olive BBQ Flatbreads with Marinated Artichokes
• Marmite & Chilli Quarterpounder
• Minted Bulgur Wheat with Fennel & Apple
• Beetroot & Chilli Ketchup

I’m linking this recipe with two blogging challenges:

• Meat Free Mondays with vegetarian and vegan recipe inspiration for every day of the week over at Tinned Tomatoes, and
• CookBlogShare hosted this week by EasyPeasyFoodie