This potato salad is an ode to my Nanny’s classic potato salad which I’ve come to realise is quintessentially an Australian take on the sorts you find elsewhere. When I was a kid this was the thing that I craved when going over to her house, a constant side-dish to every barbecue alongside sausages and steak. It was the dish I'd request for special occasions, comfort cooking for me always comes in the form of potatoes.
Unlike me, my Nanny Judy doesn't have a big appetite but this is always a winner and was also a favourite of my late Poppy, her husband Barry who was always in charge of the barbecue as Nanny made the salads inside.
When I was growing up, my grandparent's garden was always full of herbs and had a big lemon tree that I spent hours underneath shading from the Sydney sunshine. This potato salad is full of herbs, mustard, and perfectly piquant cornichons. It may look like a lot of dressing when you first mix it together, but I promise the potatoes will absorb it all.
Ingredients
500g of small waxy potatoes
300ml of sour cream
2 teaspoons of wholegrain mustard
6-8 spring onions
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
10 small cornichons
A pinch of salt
Black pepper
½ teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
The zest of half a lemon
A bunch of tarragon
A bunch of chives
Method
Slice the potatoes in half but don’t peel them.
In a large pot boil the potatoes in salty water for roughly 20 minutes until tender.
In a mixing bowl whisk together the sour cream, mustard, and vinegar.
Grate in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Finely slice the spring onions, cornichons, tarragon, and chives before adding it to the sour cream mix.
You want about two tablespoons each of the chopped herbs.
Drain the potatoes of all water and add to the sour cream mix stirring to combine everything.
Leave to cool for a few hours before serving.
Nanny Judy
Born, Sydney Australia, 1944
Grandchildren, Breannan (Bre), Conor, Justin and Issac
They call her, Nanny
About Bre
Bre Graham is a foodie friend I met on a press trip many moons ago in Montenegro. Together we drank wine endemic to the = region and dined on hearty meals overlooking the bay of Kotor.
I was so happy to see her launch Dishes to Delight and even more pleased when she agreed to share one of her Nanny Judy’s recipes with me for Grand Dishes.
Find her gorgeous food photography and delicious recipes over @breaudreygraham on instagram.