In my recent blog post (What’s “Bugging” You?) I wrote about the benefits of eating foods that are high in Resistant Starch (RS). RS is a type of starch that resists digestion and travels down our digestive tract intact until it reaches the colon where it feeds certain types of beneficial bacteria. This happens through a process of fermentation which produces a type of short chain fatty acid (butyrate) that has some wonderful health benefits such as reducing intestinal permeability and inflammation, improving gut motility, improving insulin sensitivity and boosting metabolism.
White potatoes that have been prepared in a certain way are a great source of resistant starch. The trick is to boil potatoes and cool them overnight which converts the starch into Resistant Starch.
Enough of the technical stuff, here is a classic recipe for Creamy Potato Salad, rich in flavour and good for your gut!
Ingredients:
- 5 medium size potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
- 5 tbsp of homemade mayo
- 1 tbsp of mustard
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 6 tbsp chopped spring onion
- 1 tbsp chopped red onion
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Preparation
- Place the cut potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water
- Bring to a boil, add 1 tsp of salt and simmer until just tender (approximately 8 minutes)
- Drain the potatoes, place them in a bowl and sprinkle with the Apple Cider Vinegar
- Allow to cool
- In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients
- Toss in the cooled potatoes and gentle fold until combined
- Season to taste
- Place the potato salad in the refrigerator until cooled
- Stores in the fridge for 3-4 days
Tip: You can play around with this recipe and add different ingredients to “spice it up”: think chopped celery, olives, cayenne pepper, bacon, dill pickles… Yum!
