Sunday 23 July 2017

THE RETURN OF THE CHILI, POTATO AND MUSTARD MEDLEY



With the arrival of my 500th blog post last week I thought it would be a great time to go right back to the start and revamp another old classic. With the evenings being warm recently, I decided to pull out an old summer favorite I posted back in May 2014, my chili and mustard potato medley. Essentially it's a potato salad but not a cheap and nasty one you'd get in a supermarket that's smothered in mayonnaise but a proper fresh one full of spicy, tangy flavors and textures that really turn it into something really special.

One thing you must get right in order to make this a delicious potato salad is to obviously get your potatoes right. You should try and buy the best quality new (salad) potato that you can find. Ones that will hold their shape once cooked. There is no point cutting up a big old Maris Piper jacket potato into small bits as they will just become mushy and fall apart when you mix them with the dressing.

I love the sharp tang of a gherkin. Yup, I'm one of those people who love gherkins on Maccies burgers, yum yum yum! I understand they might not be up everyone's street so you can leave them out of the recipe below if you wish. You should still get a bit of that tang from the cider vinegar but you may want to add just a little splash more to replace the loss of tang from the gherkins.

I use Dijon mustard in this potato salad as it's a more subtle mustard than an English or French mustard which could potentially burn your mouth off and overpower everything. I'd really advise against using anything other than Dijon so don't be tempted to do so if you don't have any in your cupboards. Just leave it out and let the mayo do the work instead although you may want to add a smidge more to make up for the lack of mustard.

The recipe uses a red chili. I've only chosen a red one for a bit of color so feel free to use a green one or leave it out all together if you're  not a fan of spice. Also, if you're not a fan of raw onion you can swap the white onion out for diced spring onion which is not as strong and still gives the salad that added crunch. Alternatively you can leave them out all together, this is a very adaptable recipe.

Recipe below will make enough for a nice side dish for four people. Trust me on the quantities of mayo and mustard below. You don't want your potatoes swimming in dressing, you just want them to be lightly coated so that all the flavors in the dressing are able to come through and sparkle;

Chili And Mustard Potato Salad


500g New Potatoes
1 Chopped Red Chili
1/2 Diced Small Onion  
1 Large Diced Gherkin 
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Mayonnaise
1 Tsp Cider Vinegar
Salt And Pepper To Season



  1. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add your potato and then reduce to a simmer until the potatoes are tender, you should be able to stick a fork through the largest potato but it shouldn't be mushy. Around 15 minutes or so I'd say but use your judgement based on the size of the potatoes and the packet instructions.
  2. Once the potatoes have simmered, drain and run under cold water to cool them down and stop them getting softer. Leave to one side.
  3. Mix all the other ingredients together in a large bowl until everything is well combined. Taste and season some more if needed or if you find the mixture too spicy add in a dash more mayonnaise to cool it down a bit.
  4. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut larger ones in half and then add them all to the bowl. Mix everything together until all the potatoes are coated in the dressing.
Now you can serve your potato salad straight away but I find it to be one of those food items that gets better if you let it sit for a while and really let all those flavors meld together so if you can, cover the bowl with film and leave to rest for at least one hour but preferable overnight. After that time you will be able to tuck into your beautiful potato salad with its tender spuds coated in that sharp and zingy mustard mayonnaise dressing that allows the heat from the chilies to come through at the end to spice things up a bit. This really is a marvelous potato medley!

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