ABC Potluck Salad

With just a few ingredients, ABC Potluck Salad is one of those great tasting recipes that gives you lots of bang for your buck!  Serve this salad cold or at room temperature at a potluck dinner or a backyard family summer barbecue!

What can I say to entice you to make this ABC Potluck Salad?  Let’s see – it’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s delicious, it’s fast, and it’s going to be your favourite salad as soon as you taste it! To be perfectly honest, it’s hard to describe the flavour combination of apples, beets, and corn. It’s certainly not a common pairing, but it just works so well!

I cannot tell you where this salad came from, but I can tell you that it’s a very popular side dish in Newfoundland.  My mom used to make a verson of this salad often, but her version did not have beets in it. She would often whip up an apple and corn salad. Many times this would accompany her well-loved and extremely missed Sunday Cold Plate Dinner.

THE COLD PLATE

In some very traditional Newfoundland homes, a version of this ABC Potluck Salad is prepared almost every Saturday and eaten on Sunday.  It usually accompanies the traditional Newfoundland Cold Plate dinner. I’ve talked a bit before about the Cold Plate. As you can see, the Cold Plate is a meal that consists of a good six to eight separate recipes.

There’s always a main, such as turkey – mostly for special occasions – or a chicken.  Some families prefer to have a beef roast with it.  Then, there’s usually a macaroni or pasta salad with it, and a coleslaw as well.

It’s really not a Cold Plate, in my opinion, unless it’s served with three different types of potato salad.  I have previously posted all three of those traditional potato salads here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen.  There’s the Mustard Potato Salad, the Beet Potato Salad, and my personal favourite, the White (or Vegetable) Potato Salad.

EVERY SPECIAL OCCASION TOO!

For special occasions, there will most likely be a stuffing as well – one that was prepared inside the turkey.  But on a regular Sunday, which is when my mom would serve Cold Plates for dinner – like every single Sunday! – there wouldn’t be a stuffing.

Most of the time, there was a jello salad too, but I wouldn’t be caught dead eating that, so my plate was always void of anything made with jello.  But, sometimes there was a few leaves of iceberg lettuce and a slice of tomato.   Right on top of that there was a slice of black forest ham that had been rolled up and skewered with a toothpick.

Doesn’t that all sound delicious and colourful?  Again, some version of an apple, beet, and corn salad would always be a part of our Cold Plate dinner on special occasions, which always and without fail, included Christmas day, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Easter.  Those were the big food days in 1980s and 1990s Newfoundland.

Now, though, you don’t need a special dinner to enjoy this salad.  It’s great served cold right out of the fridge with fried chicken.  Think of this salad as a dish you would serve in any instance you would coleslaw or potato salad.  Like a big summer picnic or barbecue! Or, if you’re like me, in the middle of winter or whenever the craving hits you.  After all, life is too short to just wait for special occasions!  Can I get an amen??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Apples – You will need two large apples. Try to use Granny Smith apples.
• Lemon Juice – I always say that fresh lemon juice is best and in this case, it couldn’t be more true! Bottled lemon juice has its uses, but in a fresh salad is not one of them!
• Corn – You can use fresh corn that is cooked and cooled, or frozen corn that has been blanched in salted water, or can corn that has been well drained. I have to say that canned corn works best here.
• Beets – Roasted beets are easy to make at home, but you can buy peeled roasted beets in most larger grocery stores these days.
• Mayonnaise – You can save some calories by using a low fat mayonnaise here. Do not be tempted to use miracle whip or salad dressing – it is NOT the same thing!
• Salt & Ground Black Pepper
• Parsley

HOW TO MAKE ABC POTLUCK SALAD

In a large bowl, toss the diced apples with the lemon juice immediately to prevent the apples from browning. Add the corn, beets, mayonnaise, salt, ground black pepper, and parsley. Toss well to coat. Transfer to food-safe container and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.

ROASTING FRESH BEETS

This is really easy to do! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Wash the beets well, removing any soil residue. (Do not cut the beets, leave the tails and stems intact.) Wrap each beet loosely in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast the beets for 40 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the beet with a paring knife. Remove from oven and allow beets to cool for 20 minutes.

Working with one beet at a time, remove the aluminum foil, and while holding the beet under running water, gently rub the skin with your hands/fingers to remove the peel. Once all of the peel has been removed, trim the tails and stems and discard them. Cut the beets into bite-sized pieces or slices. You can season the beets now if you wish, however they are good just the way they are. To season, transfer the beets to a bowl and toss them with a little olive oil, salt, and ground black pepper.

USE CANNED CORN FOR THIS RECIPE

As much as I love the taste of fresh corn, I’m sticking to my roots and using canned corn for this recipe. Don’t be ashamed of using canned corn. I know so many foodie snobs who put down food that comes in a can. Well, I’m not one of them.

I was raised on canned foods. In many instances, if my parents refused to buy canned foods, our meals would have been rather bleak. In the cold and vicious winters of rural Newfoundland towns, canned food is a staple that helps residents get through those long winter months.

Besides, argue as much as you will, canned corn has a very distinct flavour. I love the flavour, to be honest! But, I’ve never been able to recreate it. If you are a purist, and you simply cannot use canned corn, you go ahead and use fresh. But, be fair warned; the result will not taste as good!

THE BEST APPLES FOR THIS SALAD

Because of the fact that corn and apples are sweet, I do not add sugar to my ABC Potluck Salad. I remember my mom making hers with an added tablespoon of sugar. It was never overly sweet and always delicious. Now, however, I find it to be too sweet for my liking, so I omit the sugar completely.

Corn is sweet, roasted beets are earthy, which is why I also like to use an apple that is not sweet, but tart. They all balance quite well, especially with the creaminess and saltiness of the mayonnaise. An overly tart apple, like a Granny Smith, is just the perfect apple for this salad.

Apples varieties like Pink Lady, Braeburn, McIntosh, Empire, and Cortland apples, could be used as well, because they are slightly tart. Granny Smith apples, though, are easily found everywhere and are not as expensive as any of the aforementioned apples. Save your Pink Lady and the Fuji apples for snacking!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!