I developed this recipe a few years ago when trying to think of a mayo alternative for potato salad. I have a few friends who do not like mayo based foods, and my paranoid #foodsafety makes me weary of white sauces in the summer. I wanted something that would taste delicious warm or room temperature without fear of illness. I had been playing around with mustard, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup for other salads and roasted vegetables, and thought the combination with bacon and leeks would make for a flavourful side. The result is zingy, savoury and hearty - the perfect sidekick to any BBQ this summer.

Warm Potato Salad with Leek and Bacon

30 mins total

Ingredients:

Dressing:

2 tbsp grainy mustard

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup

¼ tsp of kosher salt

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad:

2 bags of baby potatoes (3 lbs total)

2 leeks, white parts sliced (yields roughly 2 ½ cups sliced)

8-12 strips of bacon, preferably from a market or local butcher

¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

The prep (you can do these three steps at the same time - mostly inactive cooking):

Rinse the potatoes and place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and boil until potatoes are fork tender (about 15 minutes). Once cooked through, drain and set aside.
Bake the bacon: this is my favourite way to cook bacon. Less mess and a more even cook. Preheat oven to 350F and place bacon onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake until the bacon is cooked and crisp - about 20 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and place on paper towels. The bacon will crisp up more as it cools. Once cooled, chop into bite sized pieces and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the grainy mustard, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and kosher salt. Slowly pour in the oil while whisking until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Take ¼ cup of the vinaigrette out and set aside in a small bowl or mason jar.

The assembly:

In a medium sized frying pan, add any bacon fat that pooled onto your cookie sheet while it baked. If there isn’t much, add about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Heat to medium. Add in your sliced leeks and cook gently until translucent and tender, about 10 minutes.
Add your leeks into the large bowl with 3/4 of your vinaigrette and allow them to soak while you cut your potatoes small bite sized pieces (½ inch). Add to the leek/vinaigrette mixture, along with your chopped bacon. Toss.
Taste - does it need salt? If it doesn’t taste yummy and addictive yet, you likely need to season it more. Remember that potatoes are inherently bland and need a lot of help. I usually end up adding about ½ tsp more kosher salt during the final taste and season.
Serve warm or chill until ready to serve.
If chilling before serving, use your reserved vinaigrette right before serving - the potatoes will likely have soaked up most of the sauce. Top with chopped fresh parsley.

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I have a major sweet tooth, and because of that I am a sucker for a savoury dish with a bit of sweetness. My mom first started making a dish similar to this after taking a cooking class in Charleston, South Carolina. We’ve played around with it over the years and it's now a staple of our family’s dinner repertoire. Grape jelly seems a little weird to put into a dinner dish, but the key to this sauce is adding in any pork juices and mustard that are left on the pan after the meat rests. The savouriness of the pan juices balance the cloying sweetness of the preserved jelly.

Spring is the perfect time to serve this dish, with seasonal asparagus roasted on the side.

Pork Tenderloin with Grape Sauce

45 mins

Ingredients:

Roast pork:

2 pork tenderloins
4 tbsp of grainy mustard (my favourite is Maile Old Style Dijon Mustard)
Kosher salt and pepper

Grape sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of concord grape jelly (I use Welch’s)
¼ cup of water
2 tbsp of low-sodium soy sauce

Perfect roasted asparagus:

1 bunch of asparagus
1 tsp of olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
½ lemon

Pork method:

Preheat oven to 400F
Prepare your pork tenderloins: clean off any excess fat and remove the silver skin if not already cleaned (I run a paring knife against it to pull it off). Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Generously season each tenderloin with kosher salt and pepper (I use about a ½ tsp per tenderloin).
Rub 2 tbsp of grainy mustard onto each pork tenderloin.
Roast in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until a meat thermometer reads 145F.
Remove from oven and cover with tinfoil while it rests. This is a great time to pop in some asparagus in the oven (method below).
When you remove the pork to slice, pour the juices and mustard that remain on the baking tray into the sauce you’ve prepared (method below).

Sauce method:

Heat a medium sauce pan to medium heat with olive oil. Saute the onions until they become transparent (5-7 mins).
Add in the minced garlic and continue to saute until fragrant. Add in the grape jelly, soy sauce and water, scraping the bottom of the saucepan to ensure everything is lifted.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer while your pork is cooking.
Before serving, add in the pork juices and mustard from the baking sheet to finish the sauce.

Asparagus method:

Trim the ends of your asparagus to remove the tough parts. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.
Turn the oven up to 425F once the pork is removed and bake the asparagus while the pork is resting (15 mins).
Remove the asparagus from the oven and squeeze the juice of ½ a lemon over top.

Serve the pork, asparagus and sauce with mashed potatoes.