The Science of Good Cooking by Cook's Illustrated

Author:Cook's Illustrated
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cooking
Publisher: America's Test Kitchen
Published: 2013-02-22T05:00:00+00:00

FRENCH POTATO SALAD WITH RADISHES, CORNICHONS, AND CAPERS

Omit herbs and substitute 2 tablespoons minced red onion for shallot. Toss dressed potatoes with 2 thinly sliced red radishes, ¼ cup rinsed capers, and ¼ cup thinly sliced cornichons along with red onion in step 3.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

French potato salad should be pleasing not only to the eye but also to the palate. The potatoes (small red potatoes are traditional) should be tender but not mushy, and the flavor of the vinaigrette should penetrate the relatively bland potatoes. To eliminate torn skins and broken slices, a common pitfall in boiling skin-on red potatoes, we sliced the potatoes before boiling them. Then, to evenly infuse the potatoes with the garlicky mustard vinaigrette, we spread the warm potatoes out on a sheet pan and poured the vinaigrette over the top. Gently folding in fresh herbs just before serving helped keep the colors and flavors of the herbs bright and vibrant. It helped to keep the potatoes intact, too.

SLICE AND BOIL Slicing the potatoes before cooking them prevents the ugliness of torn skin and broken potato flesh in the finished salad. (Not to mention saving our hands from burning on the hot potatoes as we try to slice.) The already sliced potatoes emerge from the water after a quick cooking time unbroken and with their skins intact. They have a clean (not starchy) taste, are evenly cooked, and hold together perfectly. We still boil potatoes whole and in their skins for mashed potatoes because the starch retained produces a thick, creamy sauce. But here we prefer ¼-inch slices.

RAMP UP THE VINEGAR We pump up the flavor of this salad by using 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, rather than the tamer 4 parts oil in many classic vinaigrette recipes. Bland potatoes can handle the extra acid. We love the sharp flavor notes added by champagne vinegar but find that white wine vinegar works well, too.

SAVE SOME COOKING WATER Dressing potatoes with vinaigrette can yield a dry salad. Some recipes add chicken stock or wine. We take a cue from Julia Child and use some of the potato water. It’s nicely seasoned and readily available.

BLANCH THE GARLIC Raw garlic is too strong and pungent a flavor for this more delicate potato salad. Blanching the garlic clove before adding it to the dressing tones it down.

SPREAD AND DRESS After the potatoes have been thoroughly drained, spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle them evenly with the vinaigrette. Spreading out the potatoes this way allows them to cool off a bit, preventing residual cooking and potential mushiness. It also allows us to get the warm potatoes to soak up the vinaigrette without damaging the slices by tossing them.

PRACTICAL SCIENCE

KEEPING POTATO SALAD SAFE

Mayonnaise won’t spoil your potato salad. The potatoes will.

Mayonnaise has gotten a bad reputation, being blamed for spoiled potato salads and upset stomachs after many summer picnics and barbecues. You may think that switching from a mayonnaise-based dressing to a vinaigrette will protect your potato salad (and your family) from food poisoning.

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