Chef Thomas
A Ploughman's Salad
The old pub ploughman's, shaken loose from its board and laid across butter lettuce with a sharp mustard dressing, for the kind of lunch that feels like you've given yourself the afternoon off.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Jersey Royal Potato Salad with Chives
Created by Chef Thomas
Jersey Royals tossed warm in a bright lemon and chive dressing, the sort of potato salad that tastes like May feels, and asks for nothing more than good potatoes and a little attention.
Salads
British
Dinner Party
Outdoor Dining
10 min
Active Time
15 min cook•25 min total
Yield4 servings
The Jersey Royals arrive at the market in late April if you're lucky, early May if you're not. Small, waxy, caked in dark soil that smells faintly sweet. You know them by the price and by the way the stallholder handles them, a bit carefully, as though they've earned the reverence. They have. The season lasts until July. That's it. Three months, and then you wait another year.
This is not the potato salad of picnic tables and cling film. No mayonnaise, no heaviness, nothing to mask what the potatoes already are. You boil them in properly salted water, halve them while they're still hot, and toss them in a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and a good fistful of chives. The warmth of the potatoes opens everything up. The lemon cuts through. The chives do what chives always do, which is make you wonder why you don't use them more.
I make this when the evenings are long enough to eat outside. A few friends, a table in the garden, something cold to drink. The salad sits on the table in a big bowl and people help themselves. There are few better feelings than watching someone go back for a second spoonful of something this simple. I wrote it down in the notebook years ago: Jersey Royals, lemon, chives, warm evening. That's the whole recipe, really. The rest is just detail.
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Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Jersey Royal new potatoes
Quantity
750g
scrubbed but not peeled
fine sea salt
Quantity
generous amount
for the cooking water
good extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons
lemon
Quantity
1
juiced
Dijon mustard
Quantity
1 teaspoon
shallot
Quantity
1 small
very finely minced
fresh chives
Quantity
generous bunch
finely snipped
flaky sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
unsalted butter
Quantity
a knob
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Jersey Royal new potatoesscrubbed but not peeled | 750g |
| fine sea saltfor the cooking water | generous amount |
| good extra virgin olive oil | 3 tablespoons |
| lemonjuiced | 1 |
| Dijon mustard | 1 teaspoon |
| shallotvery finely minced | 1 small |
| fresh chivesfinely snipped | generous bunch |
| flaky sea salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
| unsalted butter | a knob |
Equipment Needed
- •Large saucepan
- •Mixing bowl large enough to toss the salad
- •Small whisk or fork for the dressing
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the potatoes
Give the potatoes a good scrub under cold water but leave the skins on. This is important. Jersey Royals have thin, papery skins that taste of the earth they grew in, and peeling them throws away half the point. Halve any that are bigger than a walnut. Leave the small ones whole.
Look for potatoes that are roughly the same size, or halve the larger ones, so they cook evenly. Nothing worse than some falling apart while others are still hard in the middle. - 2
Boil in well-salted water
Put the potatoes in a pan of cold water salted generously. It should taste like the sea. Bring to a steady boil, then lower the heat to a firm simmer. Cook for twelve to fifteen minutes, depending on their size. They're done when a knife slides through with no resistance, but they still hold their shape. Don't test them every two minutes. Trust the water. You'll know.
Starting in cold water lets the potatoes cook evenly from the outside in. Drop them into boiling water and the edges turn to mush before the centres catch up. - 3
Make the dressing
While the potatoes simmer, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard in a bowl large enough to hold everything. Add the minced shallot and let it sit in the dressing. The acid softens the raw edge of the shallot and turns it into something gentle and sweet. Snip most of the chives and stir them through, keeping a small handful back for the top.
- 4
Dress while warm
Drain the potatoes well and let the steam escape for a minute. Toss in the knob of butter so it melts into their hot surfaces. Then tip them straight into the dressing while they're still warm. This matters. Warm potatoes are porous. They drink in the dressing and carry the lemon and chives right to the centre. Cold potatoes just wear it on the outside. Toss gently. You want them coated, not crushed.
The butter isn't strictly necessary, but it rounds everything out. A thin coat of melted butter on a warm potato before the dressing goes on is the difference between good and something you'll write down. - 5
Season and serve
Scatter the remaining chives over the top. Finish with a good pinch of flaky salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Taste a potato. If it needs more lemon, add more lemon. If it needs more salt, add more salt. Season and taste. Then taste again. Serve warm or at room temperature. Both are right. Cold from the fridge is not.
Chef Tips
- •Buy Jersey Royals in season and from somewhere you trust. Out of season, no amount of dressing will compensate for a potato that doesn't taste like anything. If it isn't April to July, use the best new potatoes you can find and enjoy them honestly, but know it isn't the same.
- •The dressing should be bright and a little sharp before the potatoes go in. The warm starch absorbs acidity and softens everything, so what tastes well-balanced in the bowl will taste flat on the plate. Err on the side of more lemon, not less. You can always correct it, but you can't put sharpness back once it's gone.
- •Don't refrigerate this if you can help it. Potato salad served cold from the fridge tastes muted and the texture goes dense and waxy. Room temperature is where the flavour lives. Make it an hour before you need it and leave it on the side with a cloth over the bowl.
- •If you want to make this into more of a meal, a few halved soft-boiled eggs and some good tinned anchovies draped across the top turn it into something you could serve for a light supper and nobody would feel short-changed.
Advance Preparation
- •The dressing can be made several hours ahead and left at room temperature. The shallot mellows as it sits, which is no bad thing.
- •The finished salad is best within two hours of making. It sits happily on the table for the length of a meal but doesn't improve overnight. This is a dish for now, not for later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 230g)
Calories
285 calories
Total Fat
13 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
8 mg
Sodium
300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
40 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
4 g
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