Baby Yukon Potato Salad with Shallots, Chives, Bacon and Lemon Vinaigrette |
With temperatures dropping to the minus 40 Celcius in the prairie provinces I am happy I live in our tucked away valley. It is true that the sun rarely shines in the winter due to the inversion factor here in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia...but...I much prefer our milder temperatures...The sun of course can easily be found again at a higher elevation in the mountains and ski hills. I even prefer the snow to the rain all winter they experience on the coast. I know that they will be gloating in a few short weeks on the coast on Vancouver Island and counting their daffodils...but we had no gloomy rain over the winter...now did we? Hmmm....This is the diversity of a Canadian winter where one side of the country enjoys mild snowless winters, and the other freezing rain and blizzards. Not to say that the roles aren't sometimes reversed ..because they are. My daughter will be phoning from Vancouver and gloating soon about the sunshine and crocuses.
I felt yesterday like having a potato salad with visions of an early Spring..or maybe even summer.... in my head . Wiarton Willy the groundhog saw his shadow and predicted only 6 more weeks of winter....don't 'ya know. I discovered this recipe in the March issue of Fine Cooking magazine .This is more like a German potato salad and is best served soon after it is made at room temperature. If you must refrigerate it, let it return to room temperature before serving. It has a refreshing lemony flavour that went very well with the Chicken Cutlet and reminded me of Spring.....
**Baby Yukon Potato Salad with Shallots, Chives, Bacon and Lemon Vinaigrette**
1-3/4 lb. baby Yukon Gold potatoes
kosher salt
4 strips bacon
1/4 cup minced shallot (from 1 large shallot)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar or white-wine vinegar ( I used Champagne vinegar because it was what I had on hand)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
freshly ground black pepper
Put the potatoes in a 4 - 5 quart saucepan and cover by about 2 inches with cold water. Add 1 T salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil gently until the potatoes are tender enough to pierce easily with a fork, about 20 minutes. Don't overcook them or they will fall apart.
Meanwhile, put the bacon slices in a cold 10-inch skillet and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined plate, reserving the drippings. Coarsely chop or crumble the bacon and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the shallots, vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt.
Drain the potatoes in a large colander and let cool slightly. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half any that are larger than a walnut. Taste a bit of potato skin; if it is bitter or feels tough, peel all the potatoes with a paring knife.
Drop the potatoes into the bowl with the shallot mixture. Add the olive oil, 2 T of the chives, 1 T bacon drippings, and the chopped bacon. Toss to combine. (It may appear that there's too much dressing, but it will be absorbed). Let the salad sit for 20 minutes. Season to taste with black pepper and more salt, if necessary. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 T chives. Serve warm or at room temperature.
You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author/owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.
I wish winter would go away already. But this yummy potatp sald would calm me down for a bit. I like this as its on the lighter side rather than all that mayo .
ReplyDeleteI always love potato salad. I'm a comfort food to me. It reminds me of our big family gatherings in Quebec. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteVal, I actually saw a potato salad recipe with champagne vinegar so you've got something goin' on there.
ReplyDeleteNice, clean ingredients, worthy of the mighty spud!
Love reading about where you live. This way we get to know each other much better.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Yukon Potatoes. I'd love to be able to say - now these are Yukon potatoes I'm serving up now!
Yes I enjoyed this salad Glamah , it was nice and light even with the bacon.
ReplyDeletePotato salad is the quintessential food for all gatherings Helene; glad it could be your Madeleine.
Champagne vinegar is something I must get more of Peter.
Perhaps you have yellow fleshed potatoes in Britain Margaret. Maybe not Yukon Golds but another kind. The more intense yellow color of the flesh, the higher the vitamin A levels, which promotes good vision, healthy skin, and improved immune system. The peel stores goodly amounts of potassium, helping to reduce risk of stroke, as well as vitamin A. So scrub them gently and leave on the peels when cooking :)
Val, this salad sounds so delicious and I would eat any kind of potatoes. I liked your story about toboggans which is the first time I heard this word. I had a wild guess what it was and I was right after checking. I lived some years of my childhood in England and I remember every day I used to go home wet because there was this place we used to go after school and improvised making toboggans. What fund we had. Those were the days my friend!
ReplyDeletePotato salad is lovely and I always make it whenever we have a barbeque (at in laws). We don't have a garden!!! :(
ReplyDeleteLet the dolmades challenge begin! haha
I miss the Canadian winters so much (easy to say when you live in Florida and don't have to deal with it???!!!) But it was a great way to grow up! Your salad looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI really like potato salad served warm or room temp. The flavors in this sound wonderful...really complimentary!
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me so much of German potato salad, Valli! I can smell it already. All that plate needs is a grilled bratwurst and I'm in heaven.
ReplyDeleteI wish it snowed here. We just get the cold without all the fun. I like cooking summery recipes at the end of winter. It's a reminder that good times are just around the corner.
ReplyDeleteI just made potato salad yesterday. I will post recipe soon, but mine was very plain, yours look very nice.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend, Margot
Since the cold, wintry days are out of my life now, unless I choose them, it is nice to hear your experiences with them. I do remember the cold winter days when I was growing up. The lakes stayed frozen all winter and ice skating after school and on the weekends was a must. Then things started warming up and we did not have those frozen lakes anymore. We got cold, damp, gray 40 degree days for months. I moved south!
ReplyDeleteYour "tater" salad looks and sounds yummy. Spring in your mouth on a cold wintry day...priceless:)
Toboggan ...$24.95 Canadian
ReplyDeleteSnowboard...$425.00 Canadian
Snowshoeing at Lake Mccullough...$8.00 Canadian
......making a snow angel with friends...priceless :D
Yes, yes, yes! I want to have the potatoes with the bacon, the shallots, chives, everything! :)
ReplyDeleteThese potatoes sound tasty. I have some ham in the freezer that I think I might use in place of the bacon.
ReplyDeleteDear Valli I like these type salads you make, I will try, look so yummy! xx Gloria
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a real winter in ~2 years now and I miss it. But like Judy said, who am I to complain down in here sunny FL...
ReplyDeleteThe potato salad looks delicious and just gets me thinking about having a nice, lazy day of BBQ.
This makes me want to fire up my grill for a big BBQ!! Oh yeah, it's only 2 degrees out! Brrrr But seriously, I love this combo!
ReplyDeleteI love to read your stories, Val! It seems that you had a lot of fun while you were a kid!!! We had to go 200 Kms. away from home during the winter to be able to get down a slope! But I wouldn't change your climate for mine... I think I would die with so many days without seeing the sun!
ReplyDeleteToday, for the first time, I saw swallows flying high... is spring time round by the corner?
I just had a very springlooking salad too (with lots of potatoes
;-)!
What a great story and a wonderful childhood!
ReplyDeleteI have had a thing for potatoes lately, and these sound amazing!