Cooking Class with Chef Ivan Flowers Lesson 37- Side Salads

In the last class, I taught you how to have some fun with hot dogs. I hope you have been experimenting and coming up some new delicious toppings. In this week’s class I will round out the summer cook out menu with side salads. To me, it isn’t a cook out unless there are at least two (or three) fabulous side salads. Today I will teach you two salads with one recipe! The recipe will use the same techniques and ingredients for both salads with just one swap.

So, let’s get cooking!

This recipe can be used to make either a crispy potato salad or an over-the-top, pasta salad. If you choose to make the pasta salad, simply substitute cooked pasta for the crispy potatoes and eliminate the canola oil.

These salads will serve six people.

For this recipe you will need:

• large spoon
• baking sheet
• large saucepan
• slotted spoon
• whisk
• oil thermometer
• two large bowls
• colander
• medium saucepan
• two pounds medium diced Yukon gold potatoes, OR 1 ½ pounds cooked penne or elbow macaroni
• two quarts canola oil (potato salad only)
• ¼ pound chopped haricot vert
• ½ cup diced scallion
• ½ cup chopped cilantro (or if you prefer, two tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary)
• 1 ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup Kosher salt
• ½ cup grated Parmesan
• two tablespoons sugar
• two tablespoons granulated garlic
• juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper

Before you start in, I want to talk about potatoes. I like to use Yukon Gold for this recipe because they have a thin skin (no peeling!) and they are super creamy when cooked.

The spin on this potato salad is that you will fry the potatoes BEFORE you add them to the dressing, this results in a potato that is crispy outside and creamy inside. Plus, when those warm potatoes hit the cool dressing, the warmth from the potato causes the dressing to not just coat the potato, but actually penetrate it.

Before you fry the potatoes, you will want to get the other ingredients ready. First you will cook the haricot vert. What is a haricot vert? It is a French green bean. Haricot vert are a little thinner than American green beans and have a little more snap. If you can’t find them, please feel free to use fresh green beans.

In a medium saucepan, bring three quarts of water and ¼ cup Kosher salt to a boil. Why do you salt the water? This is because you never want to miss an opportunity to add flavor.

While the water boils, put two cups of cold water and some ice cubes into a large bowl. Once the water is boiling, cook all the green beans for about one minute, then using the slotted spoon, plunge them into the bowl of ice water. This method is called blanching and shocking. The blanching is a very quick cook and the shocking (putting it into the ice water) stops the cooking process cold (pun intended). This method allows you to keep the green beans bright, flavorful and crisp. After you have shocked them, drain them in a colander. Next, cut off the ends and then chop them into ¼ inch pieces and set aside.

The next step is to make the dressing. In a large bowl combine the lemon juice, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, garlic, Parmesan, scallion and cilantro. Whisk together and then salt and pepper to taste. Set the dressing aside and let the flavors marry together.

Now, onto the potatoes. Put the two quarts of canola oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Put your thermometer into the oil. The oil needs to be at 375 degrees before you start frying.

While the oil is coming to temperature, line baking sheets with paper towels. You will use these to drain the potatoes after they have been fried. Once the oil is at temperature, put your diced potatoes into a towel and make sure they are thoroughly dry. You do this because any moisture on the potato will cause splattering and a dry potato will get crispier.

Fry the potatoes in ½ pound batches. You don’t want to put all the potatoes in the oil at once, because that will bring down the oil temperature and give you greasy potatoes instead of crispy potatoes. Cook each batch of potatoes until they are golden brown, about three to four minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on the lined baking sheets to drain.

Once all the potatoes have been cooked, salt and pepper them. Again, this is a chance to add another level of seasoning and flavor.

Now fold those potatoes gently into your dressing. I say gently, because you don’t want to break up the potatoes. Next, fold in your green beans.

That’s it!

If you want to make this a pasta salad, make the dressing and green beans as I have shown then cook your pasta in salted water and fold it in while it is still warm. Yes, that warm pasta, just like the warm potatoes, will soak up that fabulous cool dressing.

Now that you have these two salads, have some fun with them. Add bacon, grilled corn, hard boiled eggs or roasted red peppers. Turn the salad into a meal by adding grilled, chopped chicken.

Please remember that this is a mayonnaise based salad, so it can sit out unrefrigerated for four hours safely.

As with any technique or recipe, the most important component is the cook’s heart. The heart is what helps you create delicious meals you'll never forget.

Chef Ivan Flowers brings 25 years of fine cuisine experience to Top of The Market, San Diego. Prior to becoming Executive Chef at Top of The Market, Chef Flowers owned Fournos restaurant in Sedona, Arizona, named a top 25 restaurant in Arizona. He was also Executive Chef at L’Auberge de Sedona, the AAA Four-Diamond, Four Star award winning restaurant. Flowers has created extraordinary cuisine for some of the finest restaurants in Arizona, including T. Cooks at Scottsdale's Royal Palms Resort and the Phoenician's Mary Elaine's and Different Pointe of View.

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