Recipe: Asparagus, red pepper and potato salad

This easy potato salad takes advantage of spring veggies and is an alternative to your usual mayonnaise based side.

Posted 12:00 a.m. Apr 25, 2014 — Updated 12:45 a.m. Apr 25, 2014

Not far from my hometown is Syracuse, N.Y. And one of my very favorite restaurants there is Dinosaur Bar-B-Cue for its ribs and sandwiches and chicken and sides. The sides are always my downfall.

Ages ago, my dad gave us Dinosaur's cookbook, which now is marked up with notes and various food stains. It's been well used. And one of my favorite recipes in there is a simple one for potato salad.

This one is different from your usual mayonnaise-based salad. Instead, it relies on a dressing that's great on regular salads too. I have a bottle of it right now.

This is a great recipe to take advantage of spring vegetables (we've substituted the asparagus for green beans sometimes).

Dinosaur Bar-B-Cue Asparagus, Red Pepper & Potato Salad

From "Dinosaur Bar-B-Cue: An American Roadhouse"

1 pound new red potatoes

1 pound asparagus (or green beans)

1/2 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into bite size pieces

1/2 cup slivered red onion (I've used regular yellow onion if I didn't have a red one on hand)

The Dressing

5 tablespoons Creole mustard or spicy brown mustard

6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced

6 tablespoons olive oil

Tabasco sauce to taste

Boil the potatoes in salted water. Once tender, cut them into bite sized cubes with the peel on. Steam the asparagus until tender crisp and then dunk them in cold water to stop the cooking. Cut the asparagus up into 1/2 inch pieces. Add the potatoes, asparagus, red pepper and onion to a bowl. Whisk the dressing together until creamy. Pour the dressing on and stir to cover. It's best to serve right away or wait to pour the dressing on until right before you serve it as the asparagus will lose color over time.

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