Potato Salad with Herbs & Tomatoes – A “Fresh Moroccan” Taste
Last week I was at the bookstore, just browsing & I came across this Book called “Fresh Moroccan” by Nada Saleh. I immediately got drawn to the beautiful picture of a heap of Saffron on the cover of the book. I started looking through it, & my heart refused to come back home without the book. So I listened to my heart & bought it home…Having cooked Moroccan food before, I knew I was not going regret buying this. It is a wonderful book – full of colors of the food & culture, with equally colorful, healthy & easy to cook recipes.
Nada Saleh is a trained nutritionist & is a member of the British Academy of Gastronomes. This is what she says in her book, “… Sharing regular meals is an important factor in the life of the Moroccans, & home cooking is a neutral part of everyday life – it’s a joy for everyone & brings the amily together. Through out this book you will find wholesome recipes that promote health & longetivity. They are low in fat & in salt & are therefore a good choice for those who wish to lose excess weight.”
Talking of colors… I have never seen a Potato salad look so good. It tastes wonderful…with some hint of spice & exotic flavors of saffron its a truly elegant & luxurious salad. I have tried a few recipes from the book, & they have delighted our palates. Here I have made very slight changes to the original recipe. The author with her expertise as a nutritionist, claims that this dish is rich in phosphorus, potassium, Vit C, & Chromium which maintains the sugar levels in the bloodstream.
Ingredients:
- 3 large Potatoes Scrubbed Clean & Peeled.
- 2 Medium Tomatoes Chopped
- 1 Teaspoon Tomato Paste
- 1/2 Cup Water
- Salt
- 1 Small Onion Chopped fine
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Garlic Peeled & Mashed
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Paprika
- A few Saffron Threads
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cumin
- A Fistful of Parsely, Finely Chopped
- A Fistful of Cilantro/Coriander leaves Chopped
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- Cayenne Pepper
- 2 Tablespoon Chopped Lightly Toasted Almonds
Preparation:
Steam the potatoes till fork tender & cool & cut them into cubes.
Heat 1/2 Tablespoon oil in a pan until just warm. Add the Cumin Seeds, Onion & minced Garlic. Stir them for a couple of minutes.
Add the Tomato paste, ginger, salt, paprika, saffron, & water & simmer them for about 8-10 minutes.
Add the Cubed Potatoes, Chopped Tomatoes, Parsely, & Cilantro/Coriander leaves & shake the pan to mix.
Add the remaining oil, Black Pepper, & Simmer for another couple of minutes.
Add Lemon Juice. Give it another good shake, & Sprinkle the Cayenne Pepper.
Garnish with more Cilantro/Coriander Leaves & Almonds.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
The very first appeal of this salad even before you taste is its color. Then the taste will transport you to another flavorful exotic world. Sending this to No Croutons Required hosted by Holler at Tinned Tomatoes. This month’s challenge is Potatoes.
Related Posts:
White Potatoes with Nigella
Zest & Colors – Add some to your life
Tags: africa, african, almonds, Black Pepper, extra virgin Olive oil, fresh moroccan, healthy salad, mediterranean food, moroccan salad, nada saleh, onion, potato, potato salad, Saffron, Salad, side, vegan, Vegetarian recipe
Details 
February 14th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
this is sooper delicious
it looks so colourful and makes me want to gobble it all up!
Thanx Indhu.
February 14th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
What an exotic touch for the potato with saffron and so many spices. Looks gorgeous the plate.
Thanx Cham.
February 15th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Am for garlic,pepper,paprika,lemon juice. Aha!
A very doable salad Soma. 
Thanx Sharmila.
February 15th, 2009 at 4:04 am
wow soma…that looks like the exact replica of the recipe in the book..great job!!
Thanx Divz:-).
February 15th, 2009 at 5:07 am
Wow yummy, spicy and herby……Makes me drool….
Thank you Lubna
February 15th, 2009 at 7:46 am
That potato salad looks good!
Thanx Kevin.
February 15th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I am mesmerised just looking at it. No wonder your heart pestered you to buy it. Do the potatoes have to be cooked ahead of time?
The Potatoes needs to be boiled before … the seasoning takes only a few minutes.
February 15th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Wow, this looks so fresh & colourful. Plus, I love saffron – one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever eaten was roasted vegetables in creamy saffron sauce, I really want to recreate it one day!
Thanks for dropping by my blog, hope you’ll visit again soon
Thanks Rachel ! & I will;)
February 15th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Never made any dish adding saffron to potato !! wonderful idea….this one is a must try for me.
U should try it. It was awesome..
February 15th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
This looks truly impressive! I love your photo, too.
hey, why don’t you submit it for No Croutons Required event? This month’s theme is potato.
Thanks Maninas!
February 15th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
That has got to be the most alluring, vividly coloured potato salad I’ve ever seen Soma! Great work!
Thanks Lorraine:-)
February 15th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Oh my, that is one good looking potato salad, the best I’ve ever seen I am sure! Love Moroccan food!
Thanks Sig! We love moroccan too!
February 15th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
salad looks very delicious & yummy..love the photo
Thanks Trupti.
February 15th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Thats one colourful potato salad! Looks absolutely delicious!
Thank yoU!
February 16th, 2009 at 12:15 am
This looks and sounds so flavorful….and why only salad,i can hell eat it like subzi with roti(or more sinful…with poori) and i dont think anything could stop me at using this in sandwiches minus the almonds and olive oil…wht say dear?
Yes Alka this was pretty versatile. It would be great with pooris!! only all was gone even before we could think:-)
February 16th, 2009 at 3:45 am
Salad looks delicious, wat a amazing work Soma, eyecatching pics:)
Thank you Priya.
February 16th, 2009 at 4:34 am
Gorgeous pucs Soma..now who can resist that salad!
Thanks Rashmi:-)
February 16th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I like the looks of this potato salad. It’s color gives it some real pop, and I bet it’s super tasty as well!
Thank you Corey!
February 16th, 2009 at 8:35 am
The salad looks yummy Soma, and yours looks exactly like the one photographed in the book! Saffron with potatoes sounds really exotic, I make sweets very rarely and the box of saffron will be thrilled to find more uses
Thanks Priya! This is a book with irresistible pictures. makes u want to try out everything:-)
February 16th, 2009 at 8:41 am
I think this is the best potato salade i have ever seen in my whole life.
Looks so beautiful and so so delicious.
Thank you:-)
February 16th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Its the first time i have ever seen potato salad in this manner…..looks gorgeous.First time to ur blog…u have a wonderful blog out here.
Thank u ! & thanks for visiting me;-)
February 16th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I love this version of potato salad with almonds and saffron and all the spices – how delicious!
Thank you Natasha.
February 17th, 2009 at 4:38 am
lovely clour,..looks delicious too,..
Thank you!
February 17th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Looks exactly like the pic, so colorful. Is there a good soup there ?
Thanks! it has a few soup recipes… the Harira being one which i had posted before I bought this book. the others are pumpkin, pureed chickpea, fava beans etc etc
February 17th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Soma, this sounds delicious…love the exotic spices.
February 19th, 2009 at 8:28 am
I have never seen pototo salad look this awesome, love it….how colorful and pretty…