I am a BIG fan of potato salad. Pretty much any time we eat out I always order a side of potato salad because it is something I rarely make at home. I remember as a young girl having delicious potato salads at family gatherings. I always felt like my mom was in the kitchen for hours dicing up everything – and honestly she probably was! I love all the flavors especially dill pickles and celery- big bursts of flavor in every bite! Last Christmas I decided I would try out the Whole 30 diet and with lots of prepping decided to get myself a food processor. After using it for the first time, the thought that came into my mind was ” How have I been married 10 years and survived without this thing?” Food processors are seriously amazing and save SO much time, especially for such a big job like potato salad!
I was looking through a cook book my father in law brought back from a recent trip from Ecuador and this recipe caught my eye. I love the creamy, mild flavor of queso fresco, and this looked like a fun twist on the regular potato salads I always eat. Adding more color with lots of veggies and diced ham, this potato salad was a big hit at a recent barbecue. The flavor was amazing – I felt like I could taste all the different flavors as usually mustard is one of the main flavors you taste. I really liked it and it will definitely be repeated.
See the Happy!
-Kirsten
- 7 medium potatoes diced and cooked
- 8 oz cubed ham
- 1 1/2 cups queso fresco crumbled
- 1 cup corn
- 1 red pepper diced
- 5 celery sticks diced
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup mayonaise
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 2 boiled eggs sliced - if desired
- Wash, peel, and dice your potatoes. Add to a large pot of water and tsp salt, allow to boil about 20 minutes or until soft enough for fork to pierce through.
- While your potatoes are boiling dice the red pepper, onion, celery, and thaw or open can of corn, and crumble the queso fresco. Add all of it to a large bowl.
- When the potatoes are cooked through remove from heat and strain. Rinse with cold water a few times to remove all the starch. * I like to do this the night before so that I can leave the potatoes in the refrigerator over night to get them cold and half the work is done!
- Mix the potatoes, veggies, ham, and queso in large bowl. Add the 1/2 cup of mayo and mix well. Sprinkle with black pepper to your liking. If you want to, add the sliced boiled eggs over the top. Best served cold.
Recipe modified from Ensalada de Queso from Cocinemos con Kristy.