Salada de Batata Alemã

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-liter pot for boiling potatoes
• •Wide 30 cm skillet
• •Slotted spoon
• •Large shallow serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the potatoes

   Put the whole, unpeeled potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water by 2 fingers. Add the tablespoon of salt and bring to a gentle boil, then lower to a steady simmer. Cook until a small knife slides into the center with just a little resistance, about 18 to 25 minutes. Starting in cold water helps the inside and outside cook evenly; boiling hard beats up the potatoes and gives you broken edges before the centers are tender.

2. 2

   Render the bacon

   While the potatoes cook, put the diced bacon in a wide skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring now and then, until the pieces are browned and the fat has melted into the pan, about 8 to 10 minutes. Don't rush it on high heat. You want the fat to come out slowly so it can carry the onion and vinegar dressing, not burnt bacon with raw fat hiding inside.

   If your bacon is very lean and gives you less than 2 tablespoons of fat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. That's an honest Tuesday adjustment, not a packet pretending to be flavor.
3. 3

   Refogar the onion

   Lift the crisp bacon to a plate and leave about 2 tablespoons of fat in the skillet. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until it murcha, soft and see-through, about 4 minutes. Stir it through the browned bits at the bottom. That's where the flavor is. If the onion browns too hard, lower the heat; you want sweetness here, not bitterness.

4. 4

   Make the dressing

   Add the vinegar, 2 tablespoons of warm potato cooking water, mustard if using, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to the onion. Let it bubble for 30 seconds, just until it smells sharp and savory. The water softens the vinegar's bite and helps the dressing coat the potatoes instead of tasting like it was thrown on top in a bad mood.

5. 5

   Slice while warm

   Drain the potatoes and let them sit until you can handle them without burning your fingers, about 5 minutes. Peel them if the skins are thick, or leave thin skins on if they taste good. Slice into rounds about 1 cm thick and put them in a wide bowl. Warm potatoes drink the dressing; cold potatoes shrug it off, and then everyone blames the recipe.

6. 6

   Dress and rest

   Pour the hot onion dressing over the warm potato slices and fold gently with a big spoon, lifting from the bottom so the slices stay mostly whole. Let the salad rest for 10 minutes, then add the crisp bacon and parsley or chives. Taste it. It should be savory, a little sharp, and glossy, with enough salt to make the potato taste like itself. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Chef Tips

• •Use firm yellow potatoes, not floury ones meant for mash. If the potato falls apart in the pot, it will fall apart in the bowl, and then you've made warm potato crumble. Tasty, but not the plan.
• •Dress the potatoes warm. This is the whole method. The slices absorb the vinegar and bacon fat while their starches are still open and soft, which gives you flavor inside the potato, not just a shiny surface.
• •Don't swap the onion, vinegar, and bacon fat for a seasoning powder. That packet is mostly salt and noise. Refogar one real onion takes four minutes and teaches you more than the packet ever will.
• •You can make it without bacon by using 3 tablespoons olive oil and adding 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika to the onion. It won't be the colony version, and it won't have the same porky depth, but it will still be comida de verdade.
• •Serve it with arroz soltinho, feijão, grilled sausage, roast chicken, fried egg, or a pile of couve. The salad is rich and sharp, so something green beside it keeps the plate awake.

Advance Preparation

• •The salad is best served the day it is made, slightly warm or at room temperature, after a 10 minute rest.
• •You can boil the potatoes up to 1 day ahead, but the cost is absorption. Rewarm the sliced potatoes gently before dressing so they can drink in the vinegar mixture.
• •Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge. Bring them back to room temperature and taste again before serving, because cold potatoes mute salt and vinegar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)