Italian Potato Salad

From EatingWell: Charter Issue, 1990 — Subscribe Now!

In Italy, this potato salad is known as Russian Salad. It has a thousand versions, most of them bound with plain or garlic mayonnaise. In this one, lightly steamed vegetables are splashed with vinegar while still hot, so they absorb the pungent aroma and flavor. A lemony vinaigrette binds the vegetables together. This salad looks especially pretty when made with red-skinned new potatoes and served in a cupped leaf of red radicchio. Butter lettuce or ruffled kale makes a nice presentation too.

6 servings

Active Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Nutrition Profile

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 pounds new potatoes, preferably red-skinned, well-scrubbed and cut into quarters or eighths
8 ounces young carrots, sliced (about 12 carrots)
8 ounces snap beans, ends removed, and cut into 1-inch lengths
2 small zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 crookneck or summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar, diluted with 1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 leaves radicchio, butterhead lettuce or ruffled kale

Preparation

Combine oil, garlic and lemon zest in a measuring cup; set aside. Arrange potatoes in a steamer basket. Add carrots and steam for 8 minutes. Add beans, zucchini and summer squash, and steam just until tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Do not overcook. Lift out steamer and transfer vegetables to a large bowl.
Add scallions and splash vegetables with 2 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture. Toss gently, and let sit until cooled, about 15 minutes. Combine remaining vinegar mixture with oil mixture and drizzle over salad. Season with salt and pepper and serve on lettuce leaves.

Nutrition

Per serving: 167 calories; 3 g fat (0 g sat, 2 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrates; 5 g protein; 6 g fiber; 235 mg sodium; 1084 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (128% daily value), Vitamin C (57% dv), Potassium (31% dv), Folate (20% dv), Magnesium (15% dv).

2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 2 vegetable, 1/2 fat