This year's weather so far has been... well... forgettable at the best of times. Last year, by the end of March, we had already spent several days outside, lunches in the garden, walks by the river, socks put firmly in the drawers until October. Not so this year. Today was the first time we had breakfast outside, although it was still slightly chilly, but I didn't care. So by the time lunch came around, it was a pretty decent early summer afternoon. It reminded me of the summers of my youth, back before our current parlous state, when we would all be able to mow the grass without ending up with sunstroke and a severe case of dehydration. So to celebrate this gorgeous day of fluffy white clouds, a gentle breeze and the chirrup of birds, I made two salads to go with a lovely piece of duroc pork. This is a real crowd-pleasing recipe and one that you can easily take with you to picnics or BYOF gatherings.
Ingredients:
1kg floury potatoes
A handful of chopped chives (optional)
Some olive oil
Some mayonnaise
3 medium-sized red onions
150ml+ apple cider vinegar
Sugar and salt to taste
Instructions:
Pre-boil the potatoes and leave them to cool. Floury potatoes are good for this recipe because they give off a creamy texture and go very well with the combination. Put in a small amount of olive oil as the potatoes will be sticky and this will let you separate them on the plate more easily. Once they are cool, add some mayonnaise and chopped chives. Not much mayonnaise, just enough to coat.
While the potatoes are cooling, you can make your red onion pickle. Heat some apple cider vinegar in a small saucepan on a low flame - you don't want to evaporate it, as it will be used later in the jar. Cut up the onions as small as possible and add them to the hot vinegar. Add sugar and salt to the pan until you get the right balance of sweet, salty and sour. The onions should be sweet more than the other two, as it will complement your potato salad very well.
Once you have the balance, pour the liquid and the onions into a jar and leave to cool. Add to the potato salad and serve cold.
I served ours with a piece of Spanish duroc pork and a crispy salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey and mustard.
I shall be making this once more very soon.
