You say potatoe I say potato

Potato salad. Say that, and most people, at least here in Sweden, will think of stuff out of a plastic jar bought at the local supermarket. Potato salad served with thinly sliced cold roast beef is the staple food of many parties here in Sweden - the kind where you have to serve many people and do it quite cheap. I detest it. Not those kind of parties, and not roast beef and potato salad per se - and great, now I am thinking of Per Se which definitely does not serve potato salad and roast beef, but if they did it would of course be heavenly, and which I would give my left thumb to eat at. Ahem, getting back on track here... No, what I detest is that kind of potato salad where sad, mealy potato pieces are drowned in gluey, artificial-tasting "mayonnaise", shock full of additives for that unnaturally long shelf-life. Yuck. Usually, I prefer potato salad with just potatoes, some capers, red onions, olives, and a vinaigrette. But recently, I tried to make one of those mayonnaise-based potato salads at home and guess what: once again it is proved that home-made is better.

This time we ate it with smoked mackerel, last time it was with grilled chicken. That time we also added some finely chopped leek because we had that at home, but forgot about the mustard. Take away or add what appeals to you, and remember that the measurements aren't that crucial - taste yourself forward. We weighed everything tonight (very chef-y, huh?), but consider this recipe a sketch for your own experiments. The salad can be eaten both warm and cold.


Tasty, but not very photogenic...

Potato salad

4 servings

700 g new potatoes
40 g gherkins (cornichons)
25 g small capers
115 g crème fraîche
40 g mayonnaise
20 g mustard (we used a type of coarse, sweet Swedish mustard, decrease the amount if you use Dijon)
Fresh or frozen dill, to taste
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Cut the potatoes so they are in equal bite sized pieces. No need to peel them if they're new and pretty (I never peel new potatoes). Boil them in salted water until soft. Let them cool slightly while you cut the gherkins in smaller pieces. Mix the potatoes (I leave the peel on) with the gherkins and capers. Carefully mix in he crème fraîche and mayonnaise - you can do this while the potatoes are still warm. Season with mustard, dill, salt and pepper to taste.


Summer dinner: Potato salad, smoked mackerel with various peppers, lovely Swedish organic tomatoes.