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Potato Salads
Two types of potato salad are presented below, boiled and
braised.
BOILED POTATO SALADS
Boiled Potato Salad
MASTER RECIPE
For this salad the potatoes are cooked whole, then allowed to
come to room temperature for clean slicing.
Small potatoes (1-2 ounces) or larger (4-5 ounces) maybe
used.
Per person
Boiling potatoes, ¼ pound or more
Water
Sauté pan or kettle, with cover
Dressing:
Olive oil, 3/4 tablespoon
White wine vinegar, ¼ tablespoon, or lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Parsley for decoration
Serving bowl or plate
Place potatoes in the pan and cover well with cold water.
Bring rapidly to the simmer. Simmer gently, partially covered, until tender.
Test by inserting a sharp knife, then finally by taste. 4-5 ounce potatoes will
take about 40 minutes.
(Made ahead of time to this point.)
Place potatoes on a plate and let them cool 30 minutes or
longer, so that they will slice cleanly.
Ten minutes before serving, peel the potatoes if you wish.
Slice them in ¼ inch slices (or in half if small) and place them in the serving
bowl.
Mix the dressing in a small bowl. Pour it down the sides of
the bowl and toss the potatoes. Use more oil and vinegar if needed to coat the
potatoes well.
Piquante Provencal Dressing
For the dressing in the master recipe, substitute the
following. This should steep 30 minutes or longer before adding to the
potatoes.
This dressing is similar to that of the Jas De Bouffan Potato
Salad served to Cezanne by his housekeeper.
Serves four
Dressing:
Black olives, 8, ½ ounce total after pitted
Green olives, 8, ½ ounce total after pitted
Garlic, ½ clove
Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
White wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons, or lemon juice
Salt
Thyme, dried, 1/8 teaspoon (optional)
Cayenne pepper (optional)
Small bowl
Pit the olives. Cut them in half lengthwise to expose the
inner flesh. Place olives in a small bowl with the oil and vinegar.
Peel the garlic and cut in slices. Mash the slices and add
them to the bowl.
Add salt with optional thyme and cayenne pepper.
Marinate, stirring from time to time, for 30 minutes or
longer.
Potato and Cucumber Salad
FOR COLD HALIBUT
One of James Beard’s suggestions for accompaniment to cold
halibut is "a potato and cucumber salad." He did not provide a recipe,
so here is one.
Make a plain potato salad from the master recipe above.
Peel some cucumber. Halve it and take out seeds. Cut
into bite-sized pieces. Steep the pieces a minute in a little vinegar, salt, and
sugar (see cucumber enhancement). Toss the cucumber with the potato.
Also stir in some diced green pepper, and dill.
Potato Salad with Turnips, Sweet Peppers, and Dill
Turnips are sometimes used in mashed potatoes, so why not in
potato salad? Red and green peppers complement flavors and make a colorful
presentation.
This may be used as an alternative to plain parslied
potatoes.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Serves 4, 4 cups
Boiling potatoes, 1 pound, cooked
Turnips, 10 ounces, cooked
Salt
Large sauté pan, with cover
Olive oil, 4 tablespoons
White wine vinegar,1 ½ tablespoon
Ground black pepper
Dill, ¼ teaspoon
Green Anaheim chiles, 1/3 cup chopped, or green pepper
Red sweet pepper, ½ cup chopped, or more
Sweet red onion (optional) thin-sliced or minced, to taste
Bowl
Cook the potatoes and turnips by braising, or by
boiling or steaming.
Dice the potatoes and turnips. Place them in a bowl. Toss
with olive oil and white wine vinegar. Stir in pepper to taste and correct for
salt. Stir in dill.
Stir in green chiles, sweet red pepper, and optional sweet
onion.
Variation
Add mustard with the oil and vinegar.
BRAISED POTATO SALADS
Potato Salad A La Grecque
MASTER RECIPE
In this salad the potatoes are braised in an aromatic broth
that becomes the dressing. The principle is the same as for Escoffier's
glazed carrots.
This method is for a small quantity; for a larger salad,
see method below.
This may be served immediately, or prepared several hours
ahead.
Per person
Boiling potatoes, ¼ pound or more
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Seasonings:
Thyme, dried
Coriander seeds, crushed
Bay leaf
Salt
Sauté pan to hold potatoes, or skillet, with cover
To cook potatoes
Scrub potatoes in cold water. Peel them if you wish. Cut into
bite-sized pieces (or double bite-sized, to be cut in half later.)
Place potatoes in pan. Stir in olive oil, lemon juice, and
all seasonings: thyme, bay leaf, crushed coriander seeds, salt.
Add water to cover bottom of pan well
Cover and simmer steadily, turning potatoes over from time to
time. Add water if pan starts to run dry. The aim is to end with a small amount
of flavored oil and liquid, which will be the dressing.
Potatoes should be tender when pierced with a fork and taste
done. This will take perhaps 20 minutes.
Turn off fire. Let potatoes cool in their cooking liquid, 30
minutes or longer. Stir from time to time to coat potatoes. (Cut down to bite
sized pieces now if not done before.)
To serve, remove potatoes from pan to serving bowl and toss
one final time.
(As the potatoes sit, the broth will generally thicken. If
too thin at time of serving, drain off and boil down.)
Variation
Include diced celery, or mushrooms in the broth.
Instead of seasonings listed, substitute Vilma Chantiles's
Greek classic of fennel, thyme, and bay.
Another Method
ESPECIALLY FOR A LARGE QUANTITY
The recipe above is limited by the size of the pan.
For a larger quantity, boil the potatoes. While they are
boiling, boil a broth separately (oil, lemon juice, seasonings) 20 minutes.
Just before serving, reheat the broth, and toss with the
potatoes.
This method is good, even with a small quantity, necessary for a
large.
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