When it’s a new potato season you can’t pass by it, and not to cook something, especially when it’s all over shops and markets. Accidentally, I ran into Jamie Oliver’s video where he cooks a potato salad. I got interested in an ingredient combination and decided to follow him without hesitation.
Anyway, simply put, potato salad is exactly just finely dressed boiled potato. So the main ingredient is potato and the rest is dressing + flavors. But what I’ve got in a result made me think: “How come I’ve never thought of something like that myself?”
Simple and affordable ingredients make unique taste and flavor combinations when mixing. Thanks to the yogurt-based sauce (I replaced it with sour cream in the recipe) salad turns out very rich and gentle.
Small pieces of golden fried bacon add a bit of crunch and salt. And greens, which you can easily replace with your favorite one, decorate a salad and add freshness.
The dressing, by the way, is pretty universal too. If you want it fatter and richer taste use mayonnaise, if you want low-fat – use yogurt or sour cream. You can make mixed dressing as a compromise after all.
This salad can be the main course for 2 or even 3 hungry persons. Also, it can be a perfect complement to a meat or fish dish as technically its a salad and side dish at the same time.
What You Need to Cook Jamie Oliver’s Potato Salad with a Bacon
INGREDIENTS:
- 800 g (1,8 lb) of new potatoes
- 1 lemon
- 100 g (3,5 oz) of bacon or smoked breast
- 1 small bunch of greens to taste (mint, basil, spring onion, dill, parsley)
- 120 g (4,2 oz) of sour cream (you can also use yogurt or mayonnaise)
- Salt, pepper
EQUIPMENT:
- nothing, that you wouldn’t have
How to Make Jamie Oliver’s Potato Salad with a Bacon: Step-by-Step Instructions🔪
STEP 1. WASH AND BOIL THE POTATO
Wash 800 g (1,8 lb) of the new potatoes under the running water and clean it from the soil and other dirt using the hard side of dishwashing sponge (of course without cleaning products).
Put the potatoes to the pan, add cold water in the order it covers the potato, add a pinch of salt, and put on the fire.
Cook for about 10 minutes from the boiling moment.
STEP 2. PREPARE THE REST OF INGREDIENTS
While the potatoes are boiling let’ do the rest of the ingredients. Cut the bacon 100 g (3,5 oz) into long thin 5 mm slices.
Finely chop 1 small bunch of onion and basil.
You can easily replace greens from this recipe with your favorite one: mint, parsley, dill, chives, and also make any taste combinations you want.
Make a zest from 1 lemon.
Put a small frying pan on the fire, add there 1 tbsp of oil and fry sliced bacon until golden for 3-4 minutes.
Then, carefully put it on the paper towel to absorb the extra fat.
STEP 3. MAKE A SALAD
Check if the potato is ready with a knife if it easily slides to the middle it is ready. Remove the water and let it cool down for a couple of minutes.
Cut the potato as you want, the bigger ones cut in 4 parts, smaller ones in 2-3, and so on. Chopped potato put to the serving plate.
Salt and pepper, add lemon zest and squeeze a juice from half a lemon on top, finely mix everything.
Add 120 g (4,2 oz) of sour cream (I used 20% one) and chopped greens, mix everything again.
Jamie in his video dresses salad with yogurt and also speaks about mayonnaise alternative. I decided to go a bit different way and used sour cream. You, on the other hand, can choose any one of them.
Place fried bacon on top. Taste a salad and add salt, pepper, lemon juice, dressing to taste if necessary.
And that’s all – the salad is ready, serve while warm.
FAQ
Potato salad is one of the most popular traditional dishes in the world, claimed by several national cuisines at once. The Czechs, Germans, Austrians, and Americans cannot “share” this recipe. What is the difference between the different versions – let’s understand in questions and answers.
Was potato salad invented by Jamie Oliver?
Not at all – it is a national dish of European cuisine, it is cooked in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. Jamie Oliver only offers his own variation of the recipe. And in German families, it is like Ukrainian borscht – each family cooks it in their own way, adding their own ingredients to taste.
When was potato salad first made?
It is not known exactly, but will consider the “date of birth” 1597 – then about the potato as the main ingredient of the salad was written by an Englishman John Gerrard. What is interesting, he was not a chef, but a botanist, and his book was about edible plants.
Is potato salad an appetizer or a side dish?
It can be served both as an appetizer and as a side dish. In Germany and the Czech Republic, it is usually served with Viennese schnitzel, sausages, chops or fried fish. Even more, it’s hearty enough to replace a main course if you’re not very hungry.
Why is potato salad called “German”?
It was in the German-speaking countries that this dish became popular, and from there it spread all over Western Europe.
Is it possible to make vegetarian potato salad?
Yes, and in Protestant families in Western Europe it is prepared as a traditional Lenten dish on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The vegetarian potato salad is made very simply by removing bacon or other protein from the recipe.
What is American potato salad?
In America, this dish has also become popular and has become part of the national cuisine. It was brought by immigrants from Western Europe in the 19th century. But the recipe is very different from the German one: in addition to potatoes and dressing, boiled eggs, pickles, bell peppers are added. Fried bacon is usually replaced with boiled chicken. The result is something similar to our “Olivier,” but without the green peas.
What dressing, other than yogurt and sour cream, can I use for potato salad?
In the classic version it can be mayonnaise, vinaigrette sauce and even meat broth. And in the author’s recipes there are very unusual options for dressing. The main thing is to make it tasty.
Can I make potato salad not from young potatoes?
You can use the same products, but it will not be a potato salad. The main “feature” of the dish is exactly the taste of young potatoes.
How long does it take to make German potato salad?
It only takes 10 minutes. Plus time to boil the potatoes.
Jamie Oliver’s Potato Salad with a Bacon
Equipment
- nothing, that yo couldn't have
Ingredients
- 800 g new potatoes
- 1 lemon
- 100 g bacon or smoked breast
- 1 bunch of greens (mint, basil, spring onion, dill, parsley)
- 120 g sour cream (you can also use yogurt or mayonnaise)
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Wash 800 g of the new potatoes and clean it from the soil and other dirt using the hard side of dishwashing sponge. Put the potatoes to the pan, add cold water in the order it covers the potato, add a pinch of salt, and put on the fire. Cook for about 10 minutes from the boiling moment.
- Cut the bacon (100 g) into long thin 5 mm slices.
- Finely chop 1 small bunch of onion and basil.
- Make a zest from 1 lemon.
- Put a small frying pan on the fire, add there 1 tbsp of oil and fry sliced bacon until golden for 3-4 minutes. Then, carefully put it on the paper towel to absorb the extra fat.
- Check if the potato is ready with a knife. Remove the water and let it cool down for a couple of minutes. Cut the potato as you want. Chopped potato put to the serving plate.
- Salt and pepper, add lemon zest and squeeze a juice from half a lemon on top, finely mix everything.
- Add 120 g of sour cream and chopped greens, mix everything again.
- Place fried bacon on top. Taste a salad and add salt, pepper, lemon juice, dressing to taste if necessary. Serve while warm.
This receip left me flat> It was quite bland and tasteless. I will use mayo next time as the yoghurt and sour cream with boiled potatoes is very boring!
Hi. Thanks for the comment.
You can try to add more salt next time. Usually, it is the main reason for tastelessness.
Mayonesse instead of sour cream is a good way too because it adds more saltness itself.