Warm potato salad FTW.

My beautiful niece divides her time between her Mum’s place, and her Dad’s (my brother).  Yesterday she started her school holiday stint with us, so we had a belated Christmas barbeque to celebrate.

She’s still in that fussy stage…if it looks vaguely foreign, she won’t eat it.  I keep trying to tempt her with new twists on the old favourites, just to try and expand her palate.  I’m not sure how much luck i’m having! One thing I can say for sure however, is that everyone else at the table absolutely loved this take on a warm potato salad.

For my vego/vegan friends out there, just a warning – this one contains bacon!  But as I was eating the leftovers tonight, I also had some of my smoky marinated tofu cooking in the oven and I couldn’t get over how similar the bacon and the tofu smelled.  So i’m going to fry some of that up tomorrow and see if it would make a good substitute…I shall report back 🙂

Southpaw’s Warm Potato Salad

Ingredients

• 1kg Dutch Cream potatoes, washed & scrubbed, skins left intact
• I cup of finely sliced spring onion tops
• A handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
• 5-6 short cut rashers of smoky free range bacon
• 3 tbs sour cream
• 2 tbs white wine vinegar
• 1 heaped tsp seeded mustard
• 1 tbs olive oil
• Sea salt to taste

Method

1. Cut potatoes up into chunks.  Pop in a pot & cover with water, then bring to the boil on the stove.  Once they boil, leave them on for about 1 more minute, or until a skewer only just goes through – don’t over cook.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, cut the bacon into 1cm strips and fry on a high heat, stiring constantly until lightly browned. Allow to cool on some absorbent paper.
3. Drain the potatoes and spread them on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with a large pinch of salt flakes and the olive oil, and mix gently to distribute.  Cook in a 200C oven for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned (see pic above to give you an idea – you’re not trying to roast them, just give them a slight crispness on the outside)
4. Allow the potatoes to cool slightly, then put into a large bowl with the spring onions, dill and bacon.
5. In a small jug, mix the sour cream, mustard, and white wine vinegar until all incorporated.   You want a slightly runny consistency, so start of with 1 tbs of vinegar and adjust as needed.  Season to taste.
6. Pour dressing over the potatoes.  Stir gently until everything is thoroughly coated, and serve.

Notes

• When cooking the bacon, it’s important to use a high heat and keep them moving in the pan until done – cooking on a lower heat and letting them sit in the pan renders too much of the fat out, and ultimately results in a harder texture, which isn’t right for this dish – but of course go with whatever your tastebuds prefer in this regard!