I recently started to watch ‘Better Call Saul,’ a beautifully written and filmed spin-off from the Breaking Bad series. Listening to the audio on headphones, I found myself distracted by the sharp quality of the soundtrack. Behind the dialogue and chat of the characters, I could hear background office phone conversations clearly, perfectly-enunciated chit chat from passers-by on the street, and the fierce breath of the Albuquerque winds. I felt like a medium trying to pick out messages from a horde of the departed, all hissing instructions at once, and found myself a little vulnerable and lost amongst the finely-tuned discord. This may well be deliberate, a way of forging a true empathy between viewer and protagonist, to help the viewer experience everything the main character does, to feel his very confusion and to provide a real sense of presence. Perhaps, just as the colourist’s pen often makes film more vibrant and beautiful than nature, so does the sound technician hone every creak, chirp, or rumble of a motor to a pure and perfect clarity, in order to sharpen the viewer’s senses and immerse them in the show. But for me, it’s just too much.
I like a little discord, the cast of a shadow, some blurriness and dissembling. I suppose that is a long-winded way of saying ‘just leave a bit of mystery, please, in your art.’ I think we all like to use our imaginations a little and not be overwhelmed by perfection. I apply this rule to potato salads in particular.
As the weather improves and the chill gales of winter slow and turn to warm, pollen-laden breezes, my hands reach for potatoes. Actually my hands reach for potatoes fairly often, but at this time of year I crave a satistfying, but fresh potato salad; waxy cubes of potato in a sharpish dressing, with plenty of crunch, crisp and squeak in the texture. Potato salads, like television programmes, are tempting to overcomplicate. The bland flavour and plain texture of the potato does invite a little excitement; but too many cooks become overambitious when faced with the potato’s blank canvas, and throw pretty much every ingredient in the cupboard at them. Dill, tarragon, mustard, horseradish, chilli, smoked paprika, citrus, mint –you name it, people will add it to mayonnaise and pour it liberally over the potatoes’ tender little forms. My grandmother used to make potato salad by bathing warm potatoes in Heinz Salad Cream (be rude about it at your peril, I love the stuff) and then snipping some chives over the top. It was delicious and simple–the perfect acidity of the salad cream, that slight mustardy tang and the soothing presence of an oily sauce to distribute the clear alium flavour of the chives neatly across the freshly cooked potato. I loved it.
However–my spring salad craving does reach beyond the potato, to involve other spring produce: peppery radishes, sweet and earthy beetroot and some delicious and strong spring onions. Toasted seeds and nuts combine with salad dressing to give a nice nubbly coating to the potato pieces, the tarragon makes a pleasant change from mint and dill and together with the cider vinegar helps to bring a freshness to the dish. A little horseradish brightens the dressing and is supported by a milder pepperiness provided by some radish slivers, which also deliver a pleasing crispiness. And the beetroot bleeds into the mayonnaise to make it a pretty blossom-pink. It sounds elegant, but as you can see from my reassuringly consistent bad photography, this dish is not a distinct palette of colour. The flavours, however, merge into one another to make an easy-to-understand yet mildly interesting mouthful.
You can use any old potatoes for this (I have actually used slightly overcooked ones before, as the dressing is sturdy and the other ingredients crunchy enough to cover for any potato slackness). But the finer the quality of the potatoes, the better the salad. Play around with extra vegetables if you like; bell peppers, peas, green beans, grated carrot –all those things could work too.
Perfectly Imperfect Potato Salad
6-8 medium sized potatoes peeled, boiled and cut into 1 inch cubes
½ cucumber chopped
3 spring onions, green and white chopped
2 cooked beetroots, peeled and cubed
6 radishes cut into fine slices
1 tablespoon chopped and toasted hazelnuts
1 tbsp each of sunflower and sesame seeds
2 tbsps mayonnaise
1 heaped teaspoon horseradish
2 tbsps cider vinegar
1 tsp dried tarragon
Salt and pepper
In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, vinegar, horseradish and tarragon. Mix well, taste and season. Put a frying pan on the stove over a low heat and then gently heat the seeds until they begin to pop (be careful as they can burn very quickly).
Add the vegetables to the dressing, stirring well, then finish with the nuts and seeds. Stir the salad carefully until all the ingredients are nicely mixed. This salad can be made in advance, but be sure to remove it from the fridge and hour or so before serving, so the flavours can come out of hibernation. Season carefully with salt and pepper
This salad can be made into a main dish by adding some sliced hard boiled eggs, some toasted cashews and a little grated carrot. It is a fairly flexible recipe which really can incorporate any good vegetables which you have to hand. As a side dish, it makes a great accompaniment to a barbecue and a reliable buffet staple.
hongkonggourmet 