A far-from-ordinary potato salad

December 7, 2019

I'm fond enough of your regular, mayonnaise-dressed potato salad (hold the bacon, please) but I definitely have room in my life for switching it up. In the Lab Farewell Cookbook, Alys shared an excellent method for doing just that. It tilts the ratio of potatoes to other fresh veges (sugar snap peas! a rainbow of cherry tomatoes!), showers them with dill, and livens up the dressing with horseradish, mustard, and apple cider vinegar.

Although this version doesn't have the thick gloopiness of mayonnaise, the mustard dressing still emulsifies and thickens with whisking and melds with the starch on the potatoes. The effect is much creamier than you might initially expect.

We ate big piles of this salad alongside a Just Add... steak smothered in fried onions: a beaut summer barbecue vibe scaled down for two. We'll be sure to scale up and road-test this salad at a potluck before the season is over.

A far-from-ordinary potato salad
(a recipe shared by Alys in the Lab Farewell Cookbook,
where she credits it to The Green Kitchen by David Frenkiel & Luise Vindahl)

700g small new potatoes, halved or whole depending on size
15 mini tomatoes, in a variety of colours if you can, halved
150g sugar snap peas, sliced lengthways
1 large handful dill, coarsely chopped
optional: roasted carrot, avocado pieces

dressing
2cm piece fresh horseradish or 2 teaspoons horseradish cream
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon or seeded mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
optional: lemon juice and grated rind

Boil the potatoes in salted water then simmer them until cooked, about 15 minutes.

Place the tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and dill (plus carrot and avocado, if using) in a large serving bowl.

Whisk the dressing ingredients together, or shake them until emulsified in a lidded jar.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and add them to the salad bowl. Stir through the salad dressing and you're ready to go!