Hand holding serving plate of potato and charred corn salad outside with a grassy background.

Summer might technically be over, but until it is too cold to toddle outside in my slides to turn on the barbeque I WILL continue to be the grill daddy of Kincardine. When we moved a few years back I made a silly decision. We had just bought a pellet grill and I was all ‘Why do we need to move the barbeque when we can do everything with this?’. I was wrong. I do really love the pellet grill there’s nothing quite like a grilled chicken breast smothered in BBQ sauce that’s just a little bit burnt or corn on the cob with all charred bits. So after whining about it for nearly three years one day I hopped in the car and mosied over to the local Home Hardware and bought a BBQ.

Charred poblano peppers, scallions and corn on a quarter sheet pan.

This was the summer I grilled more than ever before, you name it, I grilled it! One of the standouts of summer was this salad. In August I brought it to my in-law’s house and of course, made way more than four people could reasonably eat. At the end of the evening, my FIL was very clear that the leftovers were staying with him and as a cook, nothing makes me happier than when people enjoy the food so much they don’t want to part with it.

New Potatoes

As someone who ardently loves potatoes, one of my favourite times of year is when there are locally available new potatoes. They hold their shape when you boil them, have tender skins and are perfect little bites. The only thing to watch for is that in my experience they don’t last quite as long as their year-round friends. This makes it especially important to keep them in a cool, dark place to prevent them from turning green or sprouting.

Close up photo of potato, corn and poblano salad with scallions scattered on top on a wooden table with a green background.

Ingredients

1.5 lb New Potatoes
4 Pc Corn on the Cob
1 Pc Poblano Pepper
2 Pc Scallions
1/2 cup Mayo
1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1.5 tsp Curry Powder
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 pc Lime
Salt
Fresh Basil

Prep?

The potatoes can absolutely be cooked ahead of time and chilled in the fridge.

There is a risk of the dressing oxidizing so it is best made the day you plan to serve it.

Serving plate of potato salad on a wooden backdrop.

Equipment

Barbeque
Cutting Board
Chefs Knife
Medium Pot
Microplane
Measuring Spoons
Measuring Cups
Blender
Medium Sized Bowl With a lid or plastic wrap to cover

Ingredients

1.5 lb New Potatoes
4 Pc Corn on the Cob
1 Pc Poblano Pepper
2 Pc Scallions
1/2 cup Mayo
1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1.5 tsp Curry Powder
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 pc Lime
Salt
Fresh Basil

Instructions

Preheat your grill to medium-high, this will ideally be between 400-450F.
Halve the potatoes. If you find some are a bit larger you will want to quarter them so that they are all even-sized.
Add the potatoes to a medium-sized pot, cover with cold water, season with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Once you have reached a boil continue to cook until the potatoes are fork tender, 12-15 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, shuck the corn then trim the greens from the scallions and reserve.
When the grill is hot add the corn, poblano and green onions. Cook turning occasionally until everything is cooked and the poblano is fully charred.
As the timing will vary a general guide is:
Scallion: 2-4 minutes
Corn: 10-12 minutes
Poblano: 15-20 minutes
Transfer the charred pepper to a bowl and cover.
While the pepper steams prep your remaining ingredients.
Cut the kernels from the cobs of corn and add to the bowl with the cooked potatoes. Note: you can reserve a half a cup of the clusters and exceptionally charred pieces for garnish.
Zest and juice half of the lime and cut the remaining half into wedges.
Thinly slice the reserved scallion greens.
When the pepper is cool enough to handle peel the skin away and remove the seeds. Finely chop half of the pepper and add to the bowl with the corn and potatoes.
Add the remaining half of the poblano, mayo, greek yogurt, curry powder, maple syrup, charred green onions, lime zest and juice to your blender along with a generous pinch of salt and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
Mix the dressing with the potato, corn and pepper mixture and taste for seasoning a final time.
Transfer the potato salad to your serving bowl before topping with the reserved scallions, corn and fresh basil.