Potato Salad with Peas and Mint Recipe
By
Aida Mollenkamp
Difficulty: Easy |
Total Time:
|
Makes:
4 servings
Loosely inspired by pasta carbonara, this potato salad combines sour cream, bacon, peas, and mint for a sweet, salty, herby summertime side dish.
Game plan: This is best served at room temperature. However, you can make it ahead, refrigerate it, and then bring it to room temperature and mix in a little extra cream before serving.
This recipe was featured as part of both our Mother’s Day Picnic menu and our Picnic Recipes photo gallery.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 pounds red or white waxy potatoes, scrubbed
- Salt
- 4 ounces smoked bacon, small dice (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 medium shallot, thinly sliced
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds shelled English peas or 8 ounces frozen baby peas (about 1 3/4 cups)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the potatoes in a large pot filled with heavily salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until a knife can easily be inserted into the potatoes, about 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large frying pan or cast iron skillet until well browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- Return the pan, with the bacon fat, to the stove over medium heat and add the shallot. Season well with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the peas and cook until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl to cool. Once the potatoes are cool, cut into large dice and add to the pea mixture. Add the sour cream, mint, heavy cream, and reserved bacon and fold until the potatoes are well coated. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve at room temperature or, if making in advance, place in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature and fold in a few extra tablespoons of cream.
This was great. I didn't have bacon but I did have bacon grease saved in a cup in the fridge. I loved the mint and peas. We adored how light this tasted. We cooked it for our 4th of July picnic and it's already gotten a lot of compliments this morning!!
A delicius alternative to the heavy, mayo based potato salads. Perfect for a summer barbecue and incredibly easy to prepare.
This is an excellent potato salad.
Respecting traditional foods is one thing, but conservative food falls into obsolescence. Some of us want to keep trying new things, the rest simply have to cope.
As a chef, I have to agree that some posters here should climb down from their lofty perches and get a clue. Since when are we not allowed to be inspired to experiment w/ traditional dishes to create something new?
Thank you so much!! It was a hit at my last BBQ. A very nice alternative to the usual mayo base that is over-used. It was delicious and the mint was a perfect addition to add some fresh flavor
I've been looking for a potato salad recipe for the dish I had at the Tavern on the Green in Central Park. They served it with the lamb chops (overcooked btw) and it was absolutely the best I've had. Very oniony. I think it was a red bliss but I don't remember seeing any red in it. Anyone?
Thank you glowworm. Seems to be some pedantic foodies out there that don't seem to understand the concept of something being "loosely inspired" by a tradtional recipe.
it sounds good. and saying carbonara definitely gives an idea of the flavor profile well enough, that it's a useful benchmark.
It's got a starchy base like carbonara, it has salty pork like carbonara and and it has a lot of fat like carbonara. "Inspired by" doesn't mean "containing the same ingredients as". It's not named "potato salad carbonara". I can understand pointing out the difference but some of (well, one of) these posts is irrationally hostile.
Also, the potato salad sounds very good.
I poured frozen peas into the mix instead of the fuss they did with the peas. It turned out great.
This potato salad was excellent. I loved the bacon for its saltiness and there was just a titch of sweet. Very good - I will make this again. Made this for a backyard BBQ and it was a hit with all my guests.
Strike Two Aida. Absolutely nothing in this potato salad has anything to do with Carbonara.
NB: strike one was the "Vegetarian" soup you made using chicken stock.
Im glad that the audience here is educated enough to not give this 'carbonara' issue a free pass... try posting the carbonara references on yahoo answers or some other site... mbfant said it best, there is NOT ONE ingredient in this recipe common with carbonara!! NESSUN CONDIMENTO UGUALE!!
It's definitely not carbonara, but it does sound delicious and I think my mayo-phobic family would really enjoy it. Thanks.
Oh yeah. throw in some smoked salmon scraps, sweet apple bits , and large pieces of hard boiled egg. Leave out the peas. This is how I like my carbonara.
Try maslanka. This is essentially a buttermilk yoghurt and around 3%, depending on who makes it. I much prefer i tto anything else, including sour cream which now-a-days is bland high caloric crap. It is easily available in Torontno in any store that caters to Russians or Poles. Why don't you try making it and letting us know how it turned out. Of course the perfect herb in this perfect Slavic...+READ
Try maslanka. This is essentially a buttermilk yoghurt and around 3%, depending on who makes it. I much prefer i tto anything else, including sour cream which now-a-days is bland high caloric crap. It is easily available in Torontno in any store that caters to Russians or Poles. Why don't you try making it and letting us know how it turned out. Of course the perfect herb in this perfect Slavic marriage of potatoes and milk is ---------you guesssed it...................................................
dill!-COLLAPSE
Yeah, that was my thought, too. Of course, some people think peas are an ingredient in carbonara, but although that's a common variant, they're not part of a true carbonara.
That said, it sounds delicious -- I'm always looking for potato salad recipes that don't have mayo.
It actually sounds quite good, but I wouldn't emphasize that carbonara connection ... It hasn't got one single ingredient in common with carbonara, not even bacon (which is smoked).