Mint potato salad

Find more mint-to-be recipes in the Winter 2010 issue of Flourish magazine, arriving in local mailboxes the first week of November.

~Ingredients

1/2 medium red onion (chopped

1 red bell pepper (cored, seeded, cut into matchsticks)

1 clove garlic (minced)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon and 2 teaspoons salt

2 pounds fingerling potatoes (cut into 1/2-inch slices)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives

Ground fresh black pepper

~Directions

1. In a bowl, combine onion, bell pepper, garlic, balsamic vinegar and 1/2

teaspoon salt. Set aside.

2. Place potatoes in pot and cover with cold water. Add 2 teaspoons salt and

bring to boil on high heat.

3. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool

until steam stops rising.

4. To onion mixture, add olive oil, mint and olives. Toss mixture, adding

freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add potatoes and gently toss. Serve

warm or cool.

~Susan McClanahan is the director of the Cape Girardeau Senior Center and a food columnist for the Southeast Missourian.