New Year's Hoppin' John Idaho® Potato Salad

Recipe by Dorothy Reinhold, Food Blogger, www.ShockinglyDelicious.com.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 pound Idaho® russet potatoes, (about 2 large potatoes), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
Seasoned salt
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced (about heaping 1/2 cup)
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 tablespoons drained capers
4 green onions, thinly sliced (use both green and white parts)
4 medjool dates, pitted and finely minced
2 leaves lacinato kale (aka Tuscan, or Cavolo Nero, or Black or Dinosaur kale), center rib removed and cut into a chiffonade (sliced into thin ribbons)
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh dill (remove thick stem first)
1 Meyer lemon (both zest and some juice will be used)
1 cup cooked black-eyed peas

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice (from lemon above)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
Grinding of fresh pepper

Cooking Directions:

1. Place potatoes in a covered, microwave-safe container, sprinkle very lightly with seasoned salt, and micro-cook on high for 4 1/2 minutes (at 1100 watts). Test them with a fork (they should be tender but not mushy), remove from microwave and set aside, uncovered, to cool.
2. While potatoes are cooking, to a large bowl add celery, bell pepper, capers, green onions, dates, kale, dill and the zest of the lemon. Use a micro-plane zester for best results in removing zest without the white pith.) Toss ingredients well to combine. Add black-eyed peas and potatoes to the bowl.
3. In a tall-sided bowl or large glass measuring cup, add olive oil, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, crushed garlic and pepper. Whirl with an immersion blender for a few seconds until well combined. (If you don't have an immersion blender, put dressing ingredients in a regular blender and whirl.)
4. Pour two-thirds of the dressing over the salad in the bowl, and stir gently to combine (gently because you don't want to break up the peas or the potatoes). Taste and add more dressing, if needed, and adjust seasoning to your liking (adding a pinch of salt, a splash more vinegar, lemon juice or oil, to your taste). Give it one more gentle stir. Transfer salad to a serving bowl.

Makes 5 servings.

Recipe and photograph courtesy of the Idaho Potato Commission.