One of my absolute favorite things to make in warmer weather is Potato Salad. The potato is my favorite vegetable and well, potato salad is one of my favorite salads.
My mother always made fantastic potato salad. She would boil the potatoes up the day before. Then on the day she would peel them carefully and cut them into little cubes. Then she would peel a cucumber, remove the seeds and cut that into little cubes as well. A bit of minced onion, some Kraft Salad Dressing, salt and pepper, and chopped egg and it was done and delicious! We used to get a ice cream scooped ball, sitting nicely on a few lettuce leaves on our plates. Very pretty. Very good.
Once I got older I discovered that there were many ways to make potato salad. One version I particularly like comes from the Fanny Farmer cookery book. You make a French vinaigrette to infuse the warm potatoes with an extra added dimension of flavor. Then there are potato salads that use only a vinaigrette dressing, like the Barefoot Contessa's,another favorite of mine.
This is not your mama's potato salad, nor is it even the Barefoot Contessa's. It's mine. And, dare I say it . . . . it's delicious.
I had a lovely bunch of radishes from our garden tubs that I wanted to use. Fresh radishes, just picked are a wonderfully tasty ingredient. I also had some French Haricot beans that I wanted to use up as well, a most delicious addition.
We ate this yesterday, Al Fresco, with some tasty burgers and ice cold lemonade. It was wonderful . . . quite simply wonderful.
*Not Your Mama's Potato Salad*
Serves 4 to 5
Printable Recipe
Easy to make, refreshing and probably quite different than anything your mother every made. This is incredibly moreish.
2 1/2 pounds waxy new potatoes, such as charlotte, halved if large
5 or 6 radishes, trimmed and finely sliced
3 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
1/2 a punnet of mustard cress, trimmed
a handful of french haricot green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch lengths
Dressing:
2 TBS creamed horseradish
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 TBS good olive oil
2 TBS french mayonnaise
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, adding the green beans during the last five minutes of cooking. Drain well and then tip into a large salad bowl.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour them over the potatoes and beans. Season with some sea salt and cracked black pepper and toss together. Leave to cool.
Add the radishes, spring onions and cress, gently tossing all together. Serve at room temperature.
