Royal Potato Salad

I have heat in my flat! This is tremendously exciting because I haven't had heat (as in coming from my own radiators) since I moved in here in August. I've been okay most of the time given the ambient temperature of the building overall, but I have to say, it's really nice to actually be comfortable. Hanging out today in just a t-shirt instead of a multitude of layers has felt almost like being on vacation. ^_^

I've been applying for work lately, trying to find something part time that will ideally help me pay the bills, allow me to continue to work on my thesis part-time, and (hopefully) still leave my evenings free for yoga. I had an interview at a bakery on Friday and have passed out a few resumes to some other places. Hopefully I'll hear something fairly soon. I'm not up against the wall yet, but I'd rather not get there at all if I can avoid it.

I was going through my fridge tonight, not really sure I felt like cooking but knowing I should probably have supper as I forgot about lunch. I didn't see anything that inspiring during the survey, so I sat down with Plenty and was aimlessly flipping through it. I came across the Royal Potato Salad and realized that I had almost everything the recipe called for. Done and done. As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book and the process includes my own observations and adjustments.

Royal Potato Salad
(p. 20, Plenty)

Serves 4-6

15 quail's eggs
1 cup petite peas (frozen)
1 3/4 lbs new potatoes, such as Jersey Royals, washed but not scrubbed
1 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup parsley leaves, plus a little extra chopped to garnish
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 oz)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup olive oil
12 tsp white wine vinegar
bunch of sorrel (or mint) leaves, finely shredded
salt and black pepper

Assemble ingredients!

 Now, from the picture, it's pretty obvious that I've made a few substitutions. I did not have quail eggs and had no real desire to seek them out. I decided to use four large chicken eggs instead (my rationale was one per tentative serving, which seemed to work out fairly well in the end). I also did not have pine nuts and had no real desire to seek them out either, mostly for reasons of cost - they are a pricy item. I substituted an equal measure of pecans for them as I had pecans on hand. If I'd had almonds, macadamia nuts, or cashews, I might have tried one of those options. I had a little less than the full cup of basil, so I upped the parsley quantity a bit which worked well. The smell of chopped fresh parsley reminds me of fresh cut grass, which is kind of nice in the middle of winter. Don't substitute dried parsley for the fresh parsley in this recipe. Dried parsley is yucky and won't do what you need it to do here. I omitted the sorrel and the mint as I didn't have any.

Place the eggs in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. If you'd like to use quail's eggs, Yotam says to simmer them for between 30 seconds (soft-boiled) and 2 minutes (hard-boiled), depending on how you like them cooked. If you are using chicken eggs, adjust the times and cook them to your liking. I can't give you a time for soft boiled eggs because I cannot stand them and will do pretty much everything in my power to avoid them (I try them again every year to see if that has changed, so far no dice). I put my eggs in the water, turned them on to a boil and left them until I was done making everything else. They were definitely hard boiled. Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, refresh them in cold water, peel them, and set them aside.

Blanch the peas in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain and refresh under cold water. Set aside. I popped the peas into my hand held strainer and immersed them in with the eggs for 30 seconds. Worked well and I didn't have to use another pan.

In a separate pan of boiling water, cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they are soft but not falling apart. I salted the water I used for this, as I enjoy the way the skins end up a tiny bit saltier than the insides of the potatoes.

While the potatoes are cooking place the basil, parsley, nuts, Parmesan, and garlic in a food processor and blitz to a paste.

Blitzed. Pre-olive oil, rough paste.

Add the oil and pulse until you get a runny pesto. I ended up using 3/4 of a cup of oil rather than the full cup and that was just fine for me.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them. As soon as you can handle them, cut them into halves or quarters depending on how big they are, and place in a large bowl. You want them bite size-ish. They will absorb more flavour from the pesto the hotter they are, so working quickly is a good thing here. Add the pesto, vinegar, sorrel or mint if using, and peas.

Mix well, even crushing the potatoes slightly, so all of the flavours mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Be generous with the pepper.

Cut the eggs in half (I chopped mine roughly as they were larger than what a quail's egg would be) and gently fold them into the salad. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Enjoy.


I'd make this again. It's really tasty warm or cool and it could be a nice picnic salad for that reason. I think four chicken eggs was a good amount of egg for the ratio of potatoes, but the salad would still be delicious without them as well. I'd like to try the mint inclusion, as peas and mint are a lovely combination. Maybe next time.