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Magic dressings

Seven savory and healthy ideas to add zest to humble steamed or boiled potatoes. Any of these dressings is ready in less than ten minutes. A bonus for those who don't want to spend long in the kitchen.

Nearly magic dressings for steamed or boiled potatoes

Magically transform simple steamed or boiled potatoes into a delicacy with any of these dressings. You’ll find sweet, savory or hot sauces. Just choose. You will not go wrong: all the recipes are truly delicious. Marvelous with new potatoes steamed in their skins.

All the sauces are healthy options -nuts and olive oil, imagine- just as you remember not to overdo it. A bonus, most of these recipes work very well as dressing for a pasta salad or sauce for pasta. Try it!

Sesame seed and green chili dressing | top

Green chili and Tabasco in the list of ingredients. This one is hot.

Ingredients

1 3/4 (400 ml) ketchup
1 green chili, washed, deseeded and sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbs sesame seeds, toasted
a few drops Tabasco
salt
sugar

Procedure

  1. Mix ketchup with garlic and chili, season with salt and sugar to taste, and finally, add the toasted sesame seeds. Ready to serve.

Preparation: 10 minutes
Servings: 6

Sesame and green chili dressing cooking tips

Toast sesame seeds in a non-stick pan, no need to use any cooking fat.

Ketchup is a great source of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant.

Feta cheese and black olives  | top

Cheese and olives, the food for the ancient Greek gods.

Ingredients

3/4 lb (about 1¼  cup or 300 g) feta cheese, crumbled or finely diced
8 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (200 ml) light cream
1/3 cup (75 g) pitted black olives, chopped
4 Tbs finely chopped chives
salt
pepper

Preparation: 10 minutes.
Servings: 6

Procedure

Mix cheese, cream and olive oil. Stir well. Add olives, mix and add chives. Season with salt and pepper. Stir a little more and serve.

Cooking tip: If you are handy with them, use a food processor to crumble and chop cheese, olives and chives, then mix cream and olive oil. Only a few pulses, you want a chunky dressing, not a paste.

Nut sauce | top

This one is really a cold, creamy pasta sauce. It should come out as a pale green puree.

Ingredients

4-6 sprigs fresh marjoram, only the leaves, stems discarded
3/4 cup (100 g) shelled nuts
1/2 cup (100 ml) light cream
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparation: 10 minutes.
Servings: 6

Procedure

Use a food processor or blender to chop the nuts finely together with the marjoram and blend the cream in. You would have a paste, add enough olive oil to make it a puree, season and ready to serve.

Nut sauce c ooking tips

  • If you don’t have marjoram, use 6-8 sprigs parsley. Parsley’s flavor blends beautifully with the nuts and cream.
  • Add 1 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese for extra flavor.
  • This is my version of the Italian salsa di noci, usually served with tagliatelle or with simple vegetables like celery.
  • To use this sauce with spaghetti, cook the pasta, drain, and sautee in 2 Tbs butter. Pour the sauce on top. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese or serve it on the side. This recipe will yield enough for 4 servings.

Beetroot, yogurt, and smoked salmon | top

Sweet and smoky flavor on those steamed potatoes.

Ingredients

1 cup (250 g) natural yogurt
1 cup (250 g) cream cheese or cottage cheese
1/2 cup diced cooked beetroot
2 spring onions or scallions, finely chopped
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbs fresh dill leaves
1/2 cup (75 g) smoked salmon or trout, coarsely chopped
salt
pepper

Preparation: 10 minutes.
Servings: 6

Procedure

Mix yogurt, cheese, beetroot and scallion, season to taste with salt, pepper and a little sugar, finally, add dill and smoked fish.