Potato, Celery & Egg Mayo Salad
Introduction
This goes well with ham steaks or chicken, schnitzel and sausages, and is ideal to take to a picnic.
Serves: 6
Ingredients
700g (1½ lb) small new potatoes
Salt
½ cup ready-made mayonnaise (I use Best brand)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
10 small gherkins (cornichons), patted dry with paper towels, then sliced
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp chopped dill
2 Tbsp snipped chives
3 sticks celery – choose white or pale green sticks rather than the outer dark green ones
6 medium (size 6) free-range eggs, at room temperature
Method
1 Scrub the potatoes; if they are large, cut into chunks. For best results, steam the potatoes until just tender (salt them!) or boil gently in salted water until tender. Cool, then peel and slice.
2 Mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice, half a teaspoon of salt, chopped gherkins, most of the parsley, dill and chives together in a large, wide bowl. Wash the celery well, pat dry and slice thinly. Add to the bowl and toss with a rubber scraper. Add the potatoes and toss very gently until just coated with the dressing.
3 Prick the rounded ends of the eggs with a dressmaking pin to prevent them bursting. Carefully lower the eggs into a roomy saucepan of gently boiling water and cook at a gentle boil for 8 minutes. Drain, then run cold tap water over the eggs for several minutes. Shell the eggs and cut them in half. Finely chop three eggs and scatter them over the salad with the rest of the parsley. Arrange the halved eggs on top. Season with a little sea salt and black pepper. Serve, or chill until serving time.
Recipe Notes
It is very difficult to peel freshly laid eggs, so choose eggs about a week old. Have them at room temperature to avoid them cracking when they go into the water.