Recipe: Lebanese Potato Salad

The comfort food of many cultures, this starchy tuber is excellent boiled, mashed, roasted, fried, and sauteed. Potatoes have the stereotype of being a carbohydrate with no real nutritious value, but eaten with the skin the potato has a lot to offer! The skin of a medium sized potato provides vitamin C, potassium, vitamin B6, and fiber equivalent to the amount in whole grain breads and cereals.

Most people peel the skin because potatoes are notorious for being one of the most chemical intensive crops. In fact, potatoes can contain traces of up to 35 different types of pesticides. Losing the skin, means losing all the nutrition, a great reason alone to buy organic potatoes.

An easy healthy recipe for potatoes:

Lebanese Sauteed Potatoes with Mint-Lemon Dressing

The original recipe called for boiled potatoes and raw onion, but in this recipe we sauteed the potatoes with the onion and a little garlic

Ingredients (serves 2):

6-8 small potatoes

1 small onion

handful mint finely chopped

juice of 2 small lemons

a few cloves garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil potatoes with skin till tender, remove from heat then cut into cubes with ,
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet then add sliced onions and cloves of garlic. Add the potato pieces and lightly saute till skin is crispy
3. Make a quick dressing by whisking together the remaining oil, lemon juice, chopped mint, salt and pepper
4. Pour the dressing over hot potatoes

The healthy option:

Boil the potatoes, allow to cool, then toss with dressing and sliced raw onions for a low-calorie summery potato salad

So How Do I Know It's Organic?

There is lot of concern about whether our food is really what it says it is. We read about scary things in the papers all the time about our food being diluted, added to, or just being fake! Let's talk a little about organic certification and how the process of maintaining the integrity of organic produce works.

Organic Certification is a stringent process and marks a commitment from the farmer to grow only organic produce. There are many factors that go into the certification process, such as quality of the soil, how long the farmer has been growing chemical-free, if the natural fertilizers and pesticides are safe to use, the quality of the water, and others.

The Standards:

• All the crop production and animal husbandry on a farm must be chemical-free for three years before it can be certified.
• Farms that are under the three year mark are labeled as in-conversion
• All seeds and plant material should be chemical-free, not genetically modified, and no hormones or additives
• Organic farm land must have a buffer zone/ area between it and conventional farms to prevent contamination by run-off from conventional fields.
• All farming practices must promote bio-diversity and be ecologically sound
• Raw animal manure must be composted first
• Farms cannot be contaminated by sewage water (very big plus point of organic)

Farms are checked regularly to ensure all standards are being met. Any foul play leads to immediate suspension or revocation of the certificate. False claims regarding the produce are monitored and fined. Our certification is done by Control Union. We would be happy to provide a copy of our certification at any point upon request. 

NPOP India Organic Logo

Happy Eating, 

I Say Organic

Resources: www.apeda.gov.in