If you’re new here, WELCOME…This is first and foremost a place for recipes, but also where I can dish out expertise on the only thing I truly know about- feeding your friends. I hope that You Bring The Wine either remains, or becomes, your ultimate tool kit.
THAT’S RIGHT PEOPLE, it’s a double recipe kinda week… I know I know, too kind too kind. Anyway, my brother once said that best salad is a potato salad, maybe because it’s here KIND of being a salad but it’s also here being a pile of the most tasty and indulgent things (mayo/bacon/potatoes).
But whatever, I’ve been peddling that salads are more than leaves and these are PRIME examples.
So here’s the trick. 1 list of ingredients, BUT two potato salads. “HOW?” you ask. Well basically, the first, is a big fat platter of the crispiest little potatoes in town, topped with a mayo yogurt dressing (don’t @ me, the combination is better than either or) and then topped with the crispy bacon/capers/chives. The latter, is a more traditional number…boiled baby potatoes tossed in a mayo/yogurt dressing (again better together) along with the capers/bacon/chives.
They’re both GREAT in their own rights, but I have to say that I have literally never had a single potato left behind whenever I make the first guy.
SERVES 4
TIME: 1 hour
Vibe: Easy peasy
Nice on the side: Fish, chicken and pretty much anything non-carb based. Did I mention that I love potato salads?
Salad party? Serve with the lamb meatball salad and the chop chop feta salad.
If you’re a veggie… omit the pancetta. If you’re a vegan… omit the pancetta, use vegan yogurt and vegan mayonnaise and swap the honey in the dressing for maple syrup or sugar.
GET AHEAD: Boil the potatoes up to 2 days in advance, rinse until cooled and drain, then store in an airtight container in the fridge- crush, roast and grill from cold- they’ll take a little longer. Make the dressing in advance.
I’ll keep this short and sweet. There are so few occasions when this salad doesn’t feel like it’s gonna work for a gang. If you’re really in the mood for a big pasta or rice salad, MAYBE then, you can skip it, but really it works as the ultimate dish to pair up with whatever you’re serving. So that’s the ‘when?’ And the ‘why?’ Honestly, I could sell it to you here, but scroll and have a little look and tell me you’re not convinced.
INGREDIENTS
1kg baby potatoes
80g diced pancetta
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 small bunch spring onions
75g capers
1/2 small bunch chives
FOR THE DRESSING
100g yogurt
75g mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp cider/white wine vinegar
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Scrub the potatoes if dirty, then put them into a large saucepan, cover with water and add a big pinch of salt. Place over a high heat, bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on size, or until a knife slides through them without any resistance. Don't let them go too far, as you don't want to be serving mashed potatoes!
Meanwhile, line a plate with kitchen paper. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the pancetta along with a splash of the oil and fry for 5-7 minutes until crispy. Transfer to the lined plate to drain. Reserve the fat.
Line a baking tray with foil. Drain the potatoes well, then add to the tray and use a fork or spatula to gently press them down on them until the skin bursts and they flatten. Drizzle with the reserved pancetta fat plus 1-2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes. Turn on the grill to high, slide the potatoes under the grill and cook for another 10 minutes until crispy.
While the potatoes are crisping up, mix up the dressing and season well. Remove the outer layers from the spring onions.
Transfer the potatoes to a platter. Put the spring onions on the baking tray, drizzle with the remaining oil and season. Grill for 10 minutes until they're charred and softened, then snuggle on to the platter with the potatoes.
Drizzle with the dressing, sprinkle with the capers and crispy pancetta and use scissors to finely snip the chives over the top.
SERVES 4
TIME: 25 mins
Vibe: Easy peasy
Nice on the side: BBQ meats or fish
Salad party? Grilled greek salad or red pepper bavette (they’re in the book and you’ll have to buy it to get them…)
If you’re a veggie…Omit the pancetta. If you’re a vegan… Omit the pancetta, and use vegan yogurt and mayonnaise and maple syrup instead of honey in the dressing.
GET AHEAD: Boil and cool the potatoes up to 2 days in advance, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make the dressing in advance.
The title feels a little cruel here, because really, this is still a really great potato salad, the first has a special place in my heart, but really this one is dreamy too and in the right time and place- it’s simply a better fit. When? It’s super hot and you need that refreshing cold potato salad that veryyyy slightly reminds you of old school buffets at BBQs (those ones that are almost always bought it)… AND when the admin of the crispy salad is just a little too much. Why? This is super speedy and extremely low maintenance, no need for precious oven time if you’re cooking other bits and bobs. Make the salad, whack in the fridge until you wanna serve it and simply scatter with the crispy pancetta at the end for a bit of finesse.
INGREDIENTS
1kg baby potatoes
80g diced pancetta
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 small bunch spring onions
75g capers
1/2 small bunch chives
FOR THE DRESSING
100g yogurt
75g mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp cider/white wine vinegar
METHOD
Scrub the potatoes if dirty, then put them into a large saucepan, cover with water and add a big pinch of salt. Place over a high heat, bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on size, or until a knife slides through them without any resistance. Don't let them go too far, as you don't want to be serving mashed potatoes!
Meanwhile, line a plate with kitchen paper. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the pancetta along with a splash of the oil and fry for 5-7 minutes until crispy. Transfer to the lined plate to drain.
Mix up the dressing in a large serving bowl. Finely slice the spring onions and chives and add most to the bowl with the capers.
Drain and rinse the potatoes with cold water until cooled, then drain well and add to the bowl along with most of the crispy pancetta. Toss well, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and scatter with the rest of the reserved ingredients.
The cripsy potato method is something that you need in your life. I came across it at my friends house once, when I was watching my friends mum make her signature potatoes, which she boiled to the perfect point (crushes but doesn’t break) then she spread them on a tray, crushed with a glass until they were a perfect 1cm thickness, then brushed (with a pastry brush no less) with olive oil, scatter with salt and roasted until they were perfect pucks of crispy exterior and soft interior.
The method had been perfected over time and it was flawless, but this method- a bit more slap dash, I’ll admit, has seen me through ALOT of mass potato making. The trick:
Into COLD water, with a BIG pinch of salt. Place over a high heat, bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on size, or until a knife slides through them without any resistance. THIS is v important- over time you’ll know the perfect moment- but too little and they’ll be chewy, and too much and they’ll be mash.
Drain the potatoes well, REALLY WELL. They need to feel dry to touch.
Gently press them down on them until the skin bursts and they flatten. Use a fork, use a spatula, use a glass- if the potatoes are cool enough, I sometimes use my hand.
Drizzle with olive oil- I usually say the more the merrier when it comes to oil, but if theres too much, they don’t crisp as nicely- they need to be nicely drizzled, but not drenched- honestly, if you have the patience, use the pastry bush method.
SEASON REALLY WELL WITH SALT. Also, you can add herbs/spices here- the crispy potatoes are yours to customise.
V good value, AND very delicious with the potatoes. I’d go for this especially if I was serving the salads alongside some fish. Maybe a whole fish, in the middle of the table. Very fresh very light and kind of perfect for washing down a small mountain of potatoes.
Azevedo, Vinho Verde 2021
£11.00