First, pick your potato. You want new potatoes, such as Jersey Royal, or salad potatoes: Charlotte, Pink Fir Apple, La Ratte are all good.
With vinaigrette sauce
Salad potatoes
Vinaigrette: olive oil, white-wine vinegar, Dijon or tarragon mustard, salt and pepper. Oil three parts to one of vinegar, mixed and whisked
Small red onion
Parsley or chives
Boil the potatoes in their skins, then peel with asbestos gloves or wincing. Slice them, then immediately pour on the vinaigrette and toss. Slice some red onion very finely and soak it in several changes of water to reduce the flavour. When it is ready to eat, add some onion rings and toss. Strew with herbs.
With mayonnaise
300ml olive or groundnut oil (I prefer half and half)
1 tbsp lemon juice or white- wine vinegar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
Parsley or chives
All at room temperature
Fork the egg yolk with a pinch of salt and mustard. Drop by drop, add the oils until a good emulsion forms and begins to thicken. Then, pour it in a steady, light stream, adding lemon juice halfway through. Mix this with the potatoes (tepid only in case the egg cooks), add herbs or capers.
* See other Country Life Recipes
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