For the first time since I started writing at Dessert By Candy, I have a whole week of recipes lined up. I did not spend the whole weekend slaving away in the kitchen. Quite the contrary, in fact. With a water heater repair appointment on Saturday and racing the Chilly Half Marathon on Sunday, I did my best to avoid the kitchen all weekend. 
Hot water is now flowing from the tap and I notched another sub-1:50 running race in my belt. Can’t say I am dissatisfied with my weekend activities.
I changed my mind a million times about racing the Chilly Half. It is my traditional mid-winter fitness test and the result helps me gauge my current fitness level. Running is one of the toughest cardio activities and there is no faking. After losing two months of off-season training from ankle surgery recovery, I knew that my training is behind schedule. I honestly do not need to pay almost a hundred dollars in registration fee and drive over an hour to a miserable cold race in order to find out that I am not as fit as I normally am. However, I had been running well the last two weeks in training. Racing in Burlington also gave me a valid excuse to skip indoor skating practice on Sunday. I signed up at the eleventh hour as the last online registration entry. I did not realize the ridiculousness of my action until I tell my friends “I am running a half marathon on Sunday at –13C temperature so I will not see my ex at practice. Hurts too much.”. You gotta do what you gotta do, you know? (and that includes a post-race selfie, of course)
On Saturday, I quickly prepared a couple of substantial salads for weekend dinners. I wanted nourishing food for pre-race and post-race dinner. The salads must hold well in the fridge over the weekend. I cannot think of easier alternatives. Seriously, putting dinner on the table took less than one minute. Take salads out of fridge. Set bowls and cutleries on table. Eat.
Potato salad always seems a bit indulgent with its carbtastic star ingredient and creamy mayonnaise dressing. Over the years I develop a lighter version of dressing with plenty of kicky mustard and tangy white wine vinegar. But still, potato is potato (but oh how we love it). Coincidentally, it was exactly what I needed to fuel and replenish my racing effort.
I beefed up my potato salad with diced kielbasa sausage, sweet peas, and savoury chives to make a complete meal. The sweetness of the peas totally made it memorable! The addition of sausage was a fluke. I’ve been eying the farmer’s sausage at the supermarket deli for a few weeks but the counter is always closed when I shop. It was a lucky coincidence that the deli was open when I visited on Saturday afternoon so of course I bought some. Then I started craving potato salad and here it is. My favourite rendition of potato salad to date!
Sausage Fingerling Potato Salad with Peas
makes 6 cupsIngredients
- 680g fingerling potatoes, washed
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoon grainy mustard
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 185g kielbasa sausage, diced
- 175g frozen peas
- freshly ground black pepper
- 20g chives, finely chopped
Method
- Put fingerling potatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium sauce pan. Cover with enough water to entirely submerge the potatoes. Bring to boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until fork tender.
- While the potatoes are cooking, make dressing. In a small bowl, stir together grainy mustard, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Set aside.
- Drain potatoes and cut into bite size pieces. Toss with kielbasa sausage and frozen peas in a large mixing bowl. The residual heat from the potatoes will defrost the peas.
- Toss salad with dressing until evenly coated. Season with black pepper and fold in chives. Adjust seasoning if necessary (I did not need any additional salt. Remember that mustard is salty). Serve warm or cold. Keeps well in air tight container in fridge for up to 2 days.
