The humble ‘tater salad is given a smoky texture boost by charring the potatoes on the grill and adding some bright, fresh ingredients.
Mise en place. It’s a fancy French term for “everything in it’s place”. In fact, it’s a culinary term referring to prepared ingredients. So for example – when a chef chops all his onions, peels all his carrots and strains all his stock in the morning, ready to fire the dish when ordered later that day, he has prepared his mise en place. I suppose you could say it’s a synonym for preparation.
Which brings us to this grilled potato salad. It’s all about being prepared. Preparing the ingredients in advance makes light work of this summery salad, meaning you only have to grill the potatoes then toss all the ingredients together. Simple work for one deliciously different side dish. In this case, preparing involves par boiling taters, chopping parsley and making the dressing. Easy!
Grilled Potato Salad with Lemony Mayo
Ingredients
3 lb red or yukon gold potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 c chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup fried onions
3/4 cup mayonnaise
Juice & zest of one large lemon
2–3 tablespoon cider or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt
Instructions
- Clean the potatoes well using cold water, but leave the skins on. Cut into large chunks that will be manageable for grilling (ie – don’t cut them too small and end up with too many pieces to turn!).
- Place potatoes in a large pot of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Boil until they are *just* tender, and a sharp knife can piece the flesh (they will finish cooking on the grill). The length of time will depend on the size and variety of potato, but about 10-15 minutes. If you overcook the potatoes they will crumble on the grill and be difficult to manage.
- Once the potatoes have softened slightly, drain the water, then toss is the olive oil and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt.
- Heat a grill to medium, about 305-400f. Place the potatoes onto the grates and cook, turning every 3-5 minutes so grill marks develop on all sides. Once cooked, remove the potatoes to a large bowl.
- In a bowl, combine mayo, lemon juice & zest, vinegar and mustard. Salt to taste. Scrape this mixture over the warm potatoes and toss to coat. Add the parsley and toss again.
- Garnish with fried onions and serve while warm.
Nice change to typical potato salad. Guests were pleased.