For the last 2 days I've been lounging on the beach up at Wasaga with a few of my friends and plenty food. We all love to cook so it was quite the feast. Part of my contribution was a potato salad for the baked potato lover.
Loaded Potato Salad
8 large Chef's Potatoes*, peeled and cut into cubes
5 strips of bacon
3 green onions, washed and thinly sliced on the bias
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
- boil potatoes in salted water until al dente** (about 8-10 minutes)
- drain but do not rinse (rinsing washes away the starch that helps bind the salad and may also break the potatoes)
- transfer to a stainless steal bowl, sprinkle with vinegar, salt and pepper and place in the freezer to cool. Stir gently every few minutes to help them cool faster, to prevent carry over cooking***.
- while the potatoes are cooling, cook the bacon. I like to cook my bacon in the oven because it's quicker. Place the strips on a parchment lined pan and bake in at 475F for at least 8 minutes or until very crispy. Remove the excess fat and cut the bacon into very thin strips or bits.
- Add bacon, onions mayo and sour cream to the cooled potatoes all at once and stir. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
**Al dente- when referring to vegetables means tender on the outside and firm on the inside. Cooking potatoes, for salad, beyond this point will mean the potatoes will not hold their desired shape.
***Carry-over cooking- refers to the amount of cooking that occurs in foods after it's been removed from the cooking source. Over cooking can occur in this time because the carry over cooking was not factored into the preparation of the food.
6 comments:
I would suggest topping with shredded cheddar cheese, another loaded potato staple.
Yes! Top it with whatever you like. Roasted garlic would be another good addition.
When you say cook the potatoes for 8-10 minutes, are you adding potatoes to already boiling water or do you bring to a boil with potatoes in the water and then wait 8-10 minutes?
I'm asking because, when I cook potatoes for mashing, I do the latter as it's hard to tell how much water you need until all the potatoes are added.
I start my diced potatoes for salad in boiling water and time them from there. I find it's easier because otherwise you have to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't over cook. If you are boiling a whole potato you should start with cold salted water so that the potato cooks more evenly. You can also try steaming your potatoes for either purpose. But remember, even for mashed potatoes you should carefully watch their cooking time because over cooked potatoes will produce gluey mashed.
Kat - Oh, I know. I'm a mashed potato perfectionist. I should post my recipes for garlic/wasabi mashers or my goat cheese mashers one of these days.
mmmm. yes you should!
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