Making and serving a mayonnaise based potato salad in Florida can be tricky due to the extreme heat. This potato salad adds a little elegance and can easily be topped with grilled marinated shrimp to turn a picnic side dish into an entrée. Since it uses no mayonnaise and can be served warm or room temperature, you will be safe in any weather. If you are bringing this to a destination picnic, I recommend that you wait until you are ready to serve to add the watercress and blue cheese.
Ingredients
2 1/4 pounds medium-size red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices or fingerling potatoes
8 bacon slices, chopped 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 bunch chopped scallions 1/2 cup white wine vinegar 1/2 cup water 2 teaspoons coarse-grained mustard 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Fresh watercress
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil
Zest of lemon
Great Hill Bleu Cheese wedge (or other boutique blue cheese from C’est
Cheese or Whole foods
Directions
- Steam potatoes until tip of knife easily pierces center of slices, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Cover with foil.
- Sauté bacon in large skillet over medium heat until brown, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Discard all but 2 1/2 tablespoons drippings. Heat drippings in skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Whisk in next 6 ingredients. Simmer until mixture is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add potatoes to skillet and toss to coat with dressing. Let stand 3 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and fresh dill; toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer potato salad to serving platter. Serve warm. Sprinkle with chopped watercress and crumbled bleu cheese and lemon zest.
