Market Baby Potato Salad
Potato salad is sooo not photogenic, so here are the baby potatoes, in their uncooked glory.
There's usually a premium on baby potatoes, but sometimes, if I'm lucky, one of the vendors at my local farmers' market will simply charge a dollar or two a pound for all of their potatoes, big and small. If I'm willing to dig, I can get all the baby potatoes I want for super cheap, giving me the sense that I'm totally getting away with something.
So I figured I'd make some potato salad. The soft-boiled eggs combined with just a touch of mayonnaise and Dijon mustard serve as the creamy base of this potato salad; the cornichons adds tartness; the celery hearts, red onion, and lemon juice bring a variety of tart, bright flavors; and the smoked paprika contributes a rich, smokey component. And everything is better with bacon. Add some fresh herbs to round it out, and you've got a killer market baby potato salad.
If you time it right, you can hustle and get everything chopped up before the potatoes finish cooking. But do yourself a favor and get some slab bacon—pre-sliced bacon is usually too thin to cut into proper lardons.
Market Baby Potato Salad
- makes 4 servings -
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes, washed*
6 eggs
5 slices thick-cut bacon
Celery hearts from one bunch celery, washed, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
10 cornichons, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Fresh chive, minced
Fresh thyme, picked
Vinegar (for soft-boiling eggs)
Salt and pepper, to taste
* Ideally, all of your potatoes will be nice and small. If you have some bigger ones, just cut them up get everything at an even size.
Procedure
1. Start your potatoes in a pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil, then simmer till cooked through. Meanwhile:
2. Soft-boil your eggs. Start the eggs in a pot with cold water, a splash of vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil, then low simmer for four to five minutes. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Peel. Dice the eggs.
2a. Eat one of your delicious soft-boiled eggs with a little salt and pepper.
3. Cut your bacon into lardons. Cook on medium heat until nice and crispy. Drain out the fat.
4. Combine everything in a big bowl. Season.
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4 Comments:
Such beautiful baby potatoes! Or potato-ettes? Or potato-lings?
I want this salad!
roboppy at 2:07PM on 07/01/08
That sounds like an awesome potato salad. The lardons and the cornichon slices sound perfect for it. Need to try this!
Isn't ten minutes a bit long for soft-boiled eggs, though? I turn off the heat and throw on a lid as soon as the water boils -- less than five minutes for soft-boiled, for me usually. Also, does the vinegar make it easier to peel the eggs?
Laetus at 2:57PM on 07/01/08
The recipe sounds yummy, but I agree about the eggs. Isn't the yolk pretty hard at 10 minutes of simmering? I usually take mine out at the 4 minute mark so they are still oozie but the whites are cooked. I'm thinking 6 minutes max for this recipe?
missus_p at 4:20PM on 07/01/08
@Laetus and @missus_p: You're right! Soft-boiled eggs take 4-5 minutes; the recipe has been adjusted. And yes, the vinegar is supposed to help peel the eggs.
Raphael at 4:40PM on 07/01/08