The perfect potato salad

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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