Our first ever potato harvest yielded several handfuls of tiny baby potatoes, about the size of your thumb knuckle. Clearly too small to peel; I was unsure what they'd be good for.
Then it dawned on me - their delicate flavour and texture would make a perfect potato salad and surely give these bite-size babies a sense of purpose. Especially when swathed in a silky cloak home-made aioli.
New potato salad with herbed aoili
Several handfuls of new potatoes, washed (cut any larger ones to match the size of the smallest)
1 egg yolk100 mls olive oil
juice of 1 lemon (and rind of half)1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbs capers2 tbs dill
salt to tasteBoil the potatoes in salted water until tender, drain and set aside. While the potatoes are cooking, place the egg yolk and lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Have the oil in a small jug that allows controlled pouring.
Sit in a comfortable position where you can wedge the bowl between your thighs so you can free one hand for whisking while drizzling in the oil with the other hand. Pour the oil in very slowly, just a tiny bit at a time while whisking vigorously. This will emulsify the egg and give you a smooth, gloopy mayonnaise*. Continue until all the oil has been added, then stir through the garlic, salt, capers and dill.
Place your potatoes in a bowl and smother with the aioli. Serve.
* Tip: If the emulsion happens to split, add a little of the mixture to another egg yolk in another bowl and start again, slowly adding the split mixture to the new yolk. I've never had this happen though.
From the garden: potatoes, eggs, garlic, lemon.
