For Memorial Day I made this dish in honor of my father who is a veteran. He served his country for over 13 years, including three combat tours in Vietnam. No matter how many Purple Hearts or Silver Stars he has, my dad is my dad who loves cold potato salad! I jazzed up the classic potato salad with turnips, green beans and fresh dill with a homemade citrus and honey vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

Serves 6-8 people

Potato and Turnip Salad

• 15-20 red baby potatoes, washed
• 12 ounces of green beans, washed and trimmed
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of fresh dill
• 4 turnips, washed and trimmed

Prepare three different pots for the three different vegetables: potatoes, turnips, and green beans. Add enough water in each so there’s approximately one to two inches of water above the tops of the vegetables.

Bring each of the three to a boil. The green beans will only boil for a few minutes, then drain and set aside. Keep the green beans crispy!

Once the pot of potatoes comes to a boil, let it boil for about 20-25 minutes until tender, but not overly soft. It’s best to pierce a few with a knife to test. If the knife slides in easily, the potatoes are ready.

Next, bring the turnips to a boil, let them boil for 15 minutes and test with a knife. Once the potatoes and turnips are tender, drain and rinse with cold water and set aside to cool down for about 15 minutes while you are making the citrus honey vinaigrette.

Citrus Honey Vinaigrette

• 1 lemon, zest of whole and juice of half
• 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup of light extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of honey

In a nonreactive bowl, add the lemon zest, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and sea salt. Now whisk in the olive oil until the ingredients emulsify (thicken). Set aside.

Now, cut the turnips, potatoes, and green beans. Cut into large chunks, not small. Add to a large nonreacitve bowl. Slice the red onions very thin and toss them in. You can use a mandoline for this, which is typically faster than a knife.

Next, using your fingers, pull off bits of fresh dill and add them to the bowl. Add as much or little dill as you like. I love dill, so I typically added a ton.

Now add in the vinaigrette. Drizzle it in until you get the consistency you like. Toss the entire dish to blend the vinaigrette evenly. The vinaigrette recipe above makes about one cup. I did not use the entire amount, I used only 3/4 of it. You can add the remaining vinaigrette into a small pourer or even gravy boat so your guests can add more on to their plate if they like.

This is one of my favorite potato salads, especially because it has soft boiled turnips in addition. The turnips are not starchy like the potato, they are crispier and juicier and it adds a nice balance to the dish.

I also used local honey which is great for the immune system. I recommend only using local honey, especially wild flower honey. If you are going to have honey, eat one that has health benefits. Local honey should have the same kinds of pollen involved in its production as what some of us suffer from with seasonal allergies. You can avoid prescription or over the counter drugs if you build your immune system in this way. It’s worked for us, but your results will vary. Remember, your allergies and the pollen types and count change from year to year, so this is definitely a moving target.

This dish is dairy-free, fairly healthy, and can be made up to one day in advance. Make this dish for your own Memorial Day weekend shindig or take to a friend’s party, I promise it will be a hit! Enjoy!

And thanks again to my dad, father-in-law, all who have served and continue to serve, and to all who have fallen. We thank you for your sacrifice.