New Potato Salad Tartare

It's time for Blogger C.L.U.E. Society :-)  Our theme is Easter.  Of course the first thing that comes to mind is eggs.  But, then as I read Kathy's blog I started thinking that Easter conjures up so many great memories.  Brunch.  Family dinners.  Another thing I realized as I read Kathy's blog is that a good number of the recipes aren't posted because they're from cookbooks that she's part of a group cooking their way through.  I was reading the chocolate panna cotta blog and absolutely drooling when I realized she wouldn't be posting the recipe.  Ditto on the pear, pecan and blue cheese salad.  And the steak with mustard butter.  Oh, my.  I may just have to add to my cookbook collection.  I'm going to be dreaming about that chocolate panna cotta.  And, I'm not a dessert fanatic by any stretch of the imagination.  Then, I started getting into the posts with recipes.  Pumpkin beer bread.  I'd like that toasted, please.  And, zucchini ricotta tart with tomato jam.  You ought to see that.  Actually, click this link and you can:  Zucchini ricotta tart.  Doesn't that look scrumptious????  Then, there are three recipes from River Cottage Veg:  Potato, Green Bean and Olive Salad; Marinated Cucumbers with Mint; and Israeli Couscous Salad with Herbs and Walnuts.  The latter is the one I'm most anxious to try.  In the last couple of years we've grown addicted to Israeli couscous.  The only dish where I've not enjoyed it was in a mushroom bisque at one of my favorite restaurants.  As I told the waiter when he inquired, I thought it became slimy.  That's why the right dressing is so important.  Then, I found the post with the beet greens and ricotta tart.  I'll bet it'd be equally good with Swiss chard.  It's going on my list to make as soon as the farmer's markets have great greens.  Oh, and I found THE ONE.  MY recipe.  New Potato Salad Tartare.  In my world eggs must have the whites fully cooked.  But I do love the yolks soft.  And, I confess, I've never thought about using eggs with soft yolks in potato salad.  Talk about an AH HA moment!  It was pretty late at night and I still almost got up and headed to the kitchen to start cooking.  Here's a link so you can see Kathy's gorgeous photography:  New Potato Salad Tartare.  And, suddenly I was back to square one - EGGS!  Yup, I could pretty much cook my way through Kathy's blog - Bakeaway with Me.

So, what did we think?  In spite of the problem with the slightly undercooked whites (hopefully most of you aren't as much of a baby as I am about that!!!) we absolutely LOVED this dish.  It's a twist on a potato salad I've made since the mid 70's and improves it so much.  With the soft egg yolks, the potato salad almost becomes silky.  It's absolutely scrumptious.  Now, I can't wait to have a cookout and serve this for company.  Who's coming over?

Here's the recipe:
New Potato Salad Tartare

Ingredients:

Salad:
2 lbs small red potatoes, trimmed and quartered
3 large eggs
2 T plus 1 t fine sea salt, divided
2 T capers
1 T finely chopped cornichons or gherkins
1 rib celery, very finely chopped (I added this)
1/4 c finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c finely chopped fresh dill (our grocery was out so I didn't substitute...)
2 T finely chopped fresh chives
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:
1 T red wine or apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 t Dijon mustard
1/2 t fine sea salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
3 T extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.  In a medium saucepan with water and 2T of salt, cook the potatoes until they're tender.  While they're cooking, bring another medium saucepan of water to a rolling boil.  Carefully lower the eggs into the water using a slotted spoon.  Cook them for seven minutes then immediately put the eggs into an ice bath.  Full disclosure here...  I went over by two minutes and the whites were still a little too soft for me.  There was some scraping going on before I'd put them in the salad...  When the potatoes are tender, drain them and immediately toss them with the dressing.  Add the capers, cornichon, herbs and celery and carefully toss.  When the eggs are done, gently fold them into the mix.  Serve warm or at room temperature.





And, please take a few minutes to visit my friends who've posted some great recipes!

• Sue from A Palatable Pastime
• Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Rebekah from Making Miracles
• Kathy from Bakeaway with Me
• Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
• Debra from Eliot's Eats
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Anna from annaDishes
• Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
• Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Christiane from Taking on Magazines
• Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Amy from Amy's Cooking Adventures