Creamy potato salad with tarragon and caper berries
This potato salad is a variation on something I grew up with. Mum would make a simple potato salad with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, with the occasional guest appearance of parsley and sometimes mayonnaise. Mayonnaise for me is a must and so is vinegar but I love a touch more which is why I’ve added juicy, pickled caper berries. In lieu of caper berries you can add olives, capers or quick pickled onions (just slice about 15g of Spanish/red onions and sit them in some vinegar for about 15 minutes, then drain the vinegar and add the onions to the salad in place of the berries).
Potato salad in this preparation is something I tend to eat in the summer but honestly it can be eaten all year round. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Serve as a side dish with cold cuts, meat, sausages or as part of a rice bowl.
Creamy potato salad with tarragon and caper berries
Serves two to three people as a side dish
450g waxy potatoes, washed and peeled
1/2 tbsp white vinegar
2.5 tbsp mayonnaise
15g or 8 pickled caper berries with stems on
Tarragon, two stems worth of leaves, rinsed and dried
Quality olive oil, to drizzle
Sea salt
Pepper
Fill a medium sized soup pot just over half way with water, add a teaspoon of salt and boil
In the meantime, chop the potatoes into two to three cm length pieces, roughly 6–8g each and leave on the chopping board
Once the water is boiling slide the potatoes into the pot and cook them for around 15 – 20 minutes until they are cooked. To check, prick a few of the potatoes with a fork. They should pierce easily but not break/fall apart
Drain the potatoes well until they are dry to touch, then transfer them to your desired salad or serving bowl. Here is where we do the mixing!
Add the vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil to the potatoes in the bowl and mix through with a spoon, then add the mayonnaise and stir through well. Now sprinkle with a pinch of salt and 10 -12 grinds of pepper.
Hand tear the tarragon leaves roughly and set half aside. Add half into the salad and mix through along with the caper berries, mix through to distribute everything evenly and taste. Add more salt, pepper, vinegar and mayonnaise if you wish, to your taste. Once you’re happy with the flavour balance sprinkle the remaining tarragon on top to serve.
Ideally eat the same day and if refrigerated, can be enjoyed the next day too.
