Tired, hungry and a little hungover (thanks to World Cup-attributed barbecuing at which no World Cup was watched), I was at a bit of a loss as to what to make for dinner last night. I'd drooled in vain over a potato salad the evening before; covered in egg-filled mayo, there was no way I was going to eat it. Fortunately for my healthy-yet-carby cravings, there were enough potatoes to to make a potato salad of my own and on my own terms.
ingredients
9 largish new potatoes, boiled whole
1/2 small-medium sized red onion, roughly chopped into small pieces
3 heaped tbsp plain yoghurt (although plain soya yoghurt would work equally well for a vegan version)
handful fresh mint, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
25 ml virgin olive oil
method
In a medium sized saucepan to hold them, wash and drained your potatoes before filling it up with enough water to just about cover them. On high heat, boil with the lid on until the water is sudsy and starts to spill over, then reduce the heat by a fraction and leave the lid a-jar. That's the way my mother used to do it, and that's the way I do it now.
Mince your garlic, put it in a container and add the olive oil. Leave it. It's for later.
Dollop three heaped tablespoons of yoghurt into a small bowl. Slice your onion in half and peel the side you're going to use (does this really keep the other half in better nick, or is that just hearsay?), and chop it down into small pieces. Size isn't important here. In fact, I rather like the unevenness of roughly chopped onions as you get a new and exciting amount in every bite! Add the chopped onion to the yoghurt and give it a quick turn with a spoon. Remove the leaves from your handful of mint, place them one on top of another and roll into a small cylinder. Slice them all ways to Sunday and add to the yoghurt. Again, size/shape doesn't really matter, it's the burst of flavour that does. A few larger pieces will make the end result that much more succulent.
The potatoes will take about half an hour to cook until tender all the way through. Even when I could stab one gently through the centre and watch it slide heavily back into that pot, I let my potatoes bubble away for a good ten more minutes. You want to get to the point justbefore the skin starts to come away.
Once you're sure the potatoes are ready, drain them well and tip them into an awaiting dish/bowl. Add the yoghurt/onion/minty mix and fold over until even covered. It is only at this stage that I cut my potatoes into three wedges a-piece. There was no logic to it, it was an afterthought. But was a difference it made!
Drizzle with the garlic-infused oil and serve with a green salad. (My salad had slow-stir-fried sesame mustard mushroom and tofu thrown on top. It was delicious. I saved some and had it for dinner tonight. It was even better.)
Serves 4 (Well, more or less.. Matthew and I managed two meals each out of it.. you might get more, you might get less)
Thanks for this recipe, from someone allergic to eggs.
Oh, and, where's the Cyprus post? I'd love to hear about jumping off rocks into serene mediterranean waters...
Posted by: Jennifer | June 14, 2006 at 08:07 PM
Ooh nice. I'd love potato salad if it wasn't for that evil mayonnaise!
Posted by: Sharon | June 13, 2006 at 05:13 PM