Before I get to my cheats’ potato salad, let me say, for me, Jamie Oliver is the KING of salads.

His recipes are always innovative, healthy (and by that I mean nicely balanced and dressed, not drowning in sauce). You can’t lose.

Oliver has many great potato salad recipes, including the one with lemon and olive oil dressing and herbs which I found in his very first cookbook “Naked Chef”. I’ve been using it most Christmases for as long as I can remember (ahh yes, Christmas for me is summertime). It’s more French-style ie vinaigrette – the perfect delicate, mellow foil against the bigger flavours of the meats and seafoods I serve.

Then a while back, I discovered this American-style potato salad, a version of this recipe . It combines bacon drippings with mayonnaise and mustard for the base. As a “heftier” salad with more ingredients and bigger flavours, this, to me, is the perfect party potato salad for lots of hungry stomachs. The dressing makes it zing. Refrigerated, it remains tasty for days. Not to mention, bacon. You can vary the other ingredients. I cook the onion. It does, however, need to be prepared a few hours’ ahead.

But when there’s half an hour before dinner and I think, “Woops, potato salad!” I make either the Jamie version above (potatoes, olive oil, lemon, seasoning, herbs – dressed while potatoes are warm) …

… ORRRR … my cheats’ potato salad (potatoes, a quality mayonnaise, herbs, seasoning – dressed when potatoes cool).

Side notes:

-I have no problem using a good whole-egg store-bought mayo (with as few recognisable ingredients listed as possible) rather than make my own, because I don’t use it often. I always avoid the most additive-filled brands (because why ingest additives if you don’t need to), but that’s whole ‘nother story.

-If a sweet potato salad is more to your liking you can try my roasted sweet potato layer salad.

“There were a few people in the brasserie and when I sat down on the bench against the wall with the mirror in back and a table in front and the waiter asked if I wanted beer I asked for a distingué, the big glass mug that held a liter, and for potato salad. The beer was very cold and wonderful to drink. The pommes à l’huile were firm and marinated and the olive oil delicious. I grounded black pepper over the potatoes and moistened the bread in the olive oil. After the first heavy draft of beer I drank and ate very slowly.”
-Ernest Hemingway, “A Moveable feast”

Ingredients

800 g red potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2cm cubes – peeling and chopping first is not "traditional", but makes it quicker. Keeping them the same size helps them cook evenly
3 tbsp mayonnaise, or to taste (check for gluten free)
2 tbsp chopped herbs of your choosing – parsley, dill, chives
salt, pepper
optional extras if you can be bothered: rinsed capers, boiled eggs, chopped celery, corn kernels, crispy bacon

Instructions

Add chopped potatoes to well-salted cold water, then boil until tender, about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them, because there's a fine line between undercooked and overcooked. I hate them undercooked, and the only way I can tell is to taste a piece. It needs to be soft and tender, maybe with the teeny tiniest bite at the middle (it will continue to cook when drained), but not falling apart and mushy.
Drain potatoes and allow to cool to room temperature, before carefully spooning through mayonnaise one spoon at a time, herbs, and season well with salt and pepper. You will see when it's dressed to your liking. If you don't allow them to cool, the potatoes will soak up the mayo and become mushy.
Add one or more optional extras if using.

Hello!

Cheats’ Potato Salad

Side notes: