PORTLAND, Maine — Chef Ali Waks Adams visited the 207 kitchen at O'Maine studio with an eye towards Spring. She is also part of the Merry Meeting Kitchen in Brunswick. Here is her recipe for Irish Lady Potato Salad!
Irish Lady Potato Salad
I love this potato salad - I love it with fish, I love it with lobster, with grilled chicken, with any kind of smokey BBQ meats, it's simple and delicious. In the early spring I’ll use ramps in place of the scallions; in late spring I garnish it with chive blossoms and in the summer, I’ll throw some nasturtiums on top. It’s a great potluck dish!
You'll need:
1-pound waxy potatoes, peeled or unpeeled (I like to keep the skin on)
¾ cup best quality mayonnaise (recipe for homemade mayonnaise to follow)
½ cup sliced scallions
½ cup radish slices
Kosher Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Preparation:
Place potatoes in a pot, cover them with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil until a fork easy pierces the potato. Drain, and put potatoes in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork.
Add mayo, scallions, salt & pepper; mash a bit more and stir. Top with radish slices, more scallions, chives, chive blossoms, edible flowers.
Homemade Mayonnaise:
Homemade mayonnaise is so easy and so delicious, you’ll wonder why you’ve never tried it before. One thing to remember is that homemade mayonnaise lasts for about 5 days in the fridge so if you are making a batch plan a few ways to use it throughout the week (it makes a great marinade for homemade chicken fingers)!
1 large egg
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 medium shallot, diced
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly black pepper*
1 cup of neutral vegetable oil
Preparation:
Pour oil in to either a squeeze bottle or a measuring cup with a spout. Place egg, lemon juice, mustard, shallot, pepper and salt in the blender.
Blend on high until it thickens slightly.
Remove the little plastic top from the top of the blender. Turn the blender back on and very very very slowly pour the oil in with the blender running.
It will start to look like salad dressing then all the sudden will thicken up and look EXACTLY like mayo! (depending on your egg is may be a bit more golden). If it's too thick slowly pour in a bit cool water, if it’s too thin add more oil. Taste and adjust the salt/pepper to taste. (You can add all kind of things to this like hot sauce, chipotle peppers, garlic, roasted garlic, herbs, ginger, sundried tomato…blend them separately and stir to combine—you can also substitute lime juice for lemon and add a bit of wasabi for great spicy version.)