Hot Cheddar Potato Salad

Potato salad has so many variations and most families have found a cold and hot favourite that they prefer for their summer meals. In my mother’s Three Meals a day cookbook she had four potato salad recipes. The closest recipe to a more common cold potato salad was her Bolivian potato salad. Her exotic potato salad recipe for the time was Potato, Peanut and Carrot salad. Interestingly, there were no hot potato salads.

This recipe is a great spring/early summer salad when dill, parsley, and chives are at their peak in flavor and availability. We served this with ribs as part of our Canada day weekend menu. The cheese made for a very rich and tasty potato salad and blended well with the sweet smoky flavor of the ribs. The interesting thing about this recipe is that it until you bake it it looks like a regular hot potato salad, but once you bake it more like a casserole. What do you think it should be called?

Recipe

2 lbs small red potatoes, quartered (russets or Yukon can also be used)
12 oz cream cheese, softened (1 1/2 packages)
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Topping
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon paprika

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

2. Boil potatoes in a large pot of salted water over high heat until fork tender (12-15 minutes) and then drain.

3. Combine cream cheese and buttermilk in a large bowl until well blended. Stir the cheddar cheese, parsley, dill and chives and cayenne.

4. Place the potatoes in the cream mixture and stir until coated evenly. Using a spatula put the potato mixture in the casserole dish.

5. Make the topping by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle topping over the potato mixture.

6. Bake until the potatoes are completely soft and the topping is golden brown (20-25minutes). Serve warm.

Servings: 6