Potato Salad with Peas and Mint – a zesty and refreshing spin on a classic salad.
To me, potatoes are a store cupboard essential; they are the most versatile of vegetables. If you have potatoes in the house, you have the beginning of numerous dishes. I use them to make gnocchi, bake them, roast them, use in soup, make chips or mash. That’s just the beginning for hot dishes.
There’s also a raft of recipes for the workhorse of salads, the potato salad, the salad which is almost guaranteed to make an appearance in one form or another at any barbecue.
I truly believe that potato salad is very much under-rated. Maybe it’s because grocery store varieties frequently look tired and gloopy. (And “gloopy” is a real word, defined by Collins Dictionary as “any messy sticky fluid or substance”. 🙂 ) It may also be that potato salads are frequently heavy on mayonnaise and light on inspiration.
However, in defence of potato salad, it is quick and it is easy to produce an attractive, flavourful dish.
I boil the potatoes, which only takes minutes, and then add the dressing and accompaniments. You can create diverse flavours with what you have on hand. The mellow flavour of potatoes marries well with a huge variety of ingredients. Potato salads generally have a mayonnaise or vinaigrette dressing, with accompanying ingredients added from there. Think hard boiled eggs, olives, crispy bacon, dill gherkins, celery, onion, sweetcorn. The combinations are endless and the potatoes so accommodating that most versions make an ideal accompaniment to fish, meat or poultry.
They’re great with the evening meal, very popular at a barbecue or ideal to transport to a “pot luck”.
The dressing here has a mayonnaise base, lightened by the addition of yoghurt. The baby peas add vibrant colour and are joined by one of their best friends, mint. My two favourite flavour boosters are lemon zest and mint, both used here. There are few dishes that do not benefit from the addition of one or both of these ingredients. You will notice I use them often.
Please let us know in the comments if you enjoy this recipe.
xx Alex and Faye
P.S. You might like to serve this salad alongside our delicious Greek Style Chicken and Salsa.
Potato Salad with Peas and Mint
Ingredients
- 500 gm baby new potatoes or larger potatoes cut to bite size
- ¾ cup frozen baby peas
- 1/3 cup good quality egg mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup mint leaves chopped
- zest of ½ large lemon
- ½ tsp honey
- 1 spring onion finely sliced
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook potatoes in lightly salted boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes until tender, then drain in a colander. Set aside to cool.
- Add some fresh water to the same saucepan, add some salt, bring to the boil and add the peas. Bring water back to the boil, drain, then add the peas to a bowl of iced water to maintain the green colour. Drain when cool.
- Mix together the mayonnaise, yogurt, mint, lemon zest, honey and spring onions to make the dressing.
- Keep aside a few peas and small mint leaves for the garnish.
- When the potatoes are cool, add them to a bowl, add the peas and fold through the dressing. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add more lemon zest and mint if desired.
- Garnish with fresh mint leaves, peas and a wisp or two of lemon zest.
My family loved this potato salad! I made this for a picnic to go along with some sandwiches and my kids and husband finished the whole thing first! I didn’t have mint so used basil instead and it was still delicious! Next time I’ll have to try this with mint.
This Potato Salad is ideal to take on a picnic Jessica. I am so pleased that you enjoyed it and love the idea of using basil instead of mint. 🙂
Wow, what a nice and refreshing potato salad. I just loved the mint in it!
Hi Danielle, I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed the potato salad. I love mint too – it is a great flavour booster. 🙂
Great side dish – easy to prepare.
Fresh flavour and nice dressing.
Thank you, Ellie, for the lovely comments. 🙂
Yum! Love the addition of mint. Really refreshing!
Thank you Nart, mint is one of my favourite flavour boosters. It can be used for sweet or savoury dishes. So good! 🙂
What a great twist on potato salad. So light and fresh.
Thank you, Danni, I am so pleased that you like the Potato Salad. 🙂
Peas and potatoes go great together but the addition of mint in this makes the whole dish pop.
Hi Andrea, I agree, I think mint gives many dishes a flavour boost. One of my favourite herbs. 🙂
Such a fresh and delicious way to make potato salad!
Hi Krissy, so glad you like it, thank you. 🙂
I tried this yesterday after reading your blog since I have all the ingredients and it turned out well. My family loved it sooo much!
That makes me so happy to hear, Jean! Thank you 🙂
A mouth watering recepie I love your way of explaining Nutrition Facts.
Thanks
Faizan Ali
Thank you, appreciate it!
Awesome! this is a new twist on potato salad and it is definitely NOT gloppy!
Thank you so much, April!!! We love that it is not gloopy 😉 😀
Omg this is so yummy, I freaking love potato salad!
Hi Claire! Thank you so much for your lovely comment – I appreciate it so much 🙂
No recipe is tough if u wanna make it. I was trying this today afternoon but I forgot I need to comment too.
Hello Monidipa! Hope you loved it 🙂
Peas and mashed potatoes one of favourites since childhood days. You have just broken back the old memories.
Oh that is really nice, thank you! I agree, it is a nice combination 🙂
This recipe is just delicious. So happy to have come across it.
Thanks Alice, we hope you’ll make it for many years to come!