Warm potato salad with blanched asparagus, crispy bacon and gruyere cheese

After about 2 weeks of blissful beach-holiday delight, I am back in my own kitchen and back in front of my keyboard. And it feels good! I suppose this holiday charged my batteries sufficiently to last me for a few months, or at least untill March when I’ll have to get my saltwater fix again.

We made and ate some spectacular food over the festive season – unfortunately nothing was documented or photographed because we just totally lived in the moment of fantastic family times. My favourites were: 1) tomato based Mediterranean seafood soup made with mussels, prawns, calamari and musselcracker fillets, 2) Italian sausage ravioli with blue cheese sauce and 3) my Dad’s classic “kerrievis” (curried fish) made from his record-breaking 13.6 kg musselcracker that he could a few weeks ago. I’ll have to revisit all of the above some time in 2012, because it’s just too good to keep to myself.

In the meantime, I’ll make do without free supplies of seafood here in Stellenbosch, using other fresh seasonal produce and trying all kinds of new things. At the moment, green asparagus spears are in season, and I am a huge fan. I also found some “pink fir” potatoes at Woolworths and decided to make my first warm potato salad with a whole grain mustard vinaigrette. It turned out fantastic, and with added bacon even the boys in my house were satisfied to have it as a main meal!

May you have a fantastic 2012! I look forward to sharing another year of recipes and stories with you on this blog. I also look forward to a year of amazing projects ahead, involving a tv series, a brand new food festival, a product range and lots more. The Food Fox is cooking with gas!

Ingredients:

• 400 g baby potatoes (I used Woolworths “pink fir” – they have a great nutty flavour and a beautiful elongated shape)
• 400 g green asparagus spears, cut into small pieces
• 250 g smoked streaky bacon, cut into small pieces
• 100 ml cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
• 30 ml whole grain mustard
• 30 ml red wine vinegar
• 10 ml honey
• half a cup of finely chopped fresh Italian flatleaf parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
• some shaved Gruyere cheese to top with

Method:

1. Fry the bacon on high heat untill very crispy but not burnt. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
2. Place potatoes in a pot, cover with cold salted water, and cook untill just tender. Strain and set aside, but be sure to assemble the salad while potatoes are still hot.
3. Place asparagus in a pot with boiling water for 2-3 minutes, untill just tender but still bright green. Remove at once and place immediately in a bowl of ice water to stop it from cooking any further. After 1 minute, drain water and set aside.
4. Make vinaigrette: combine olive oil, mustard, vinegar, honey with a whisk in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
5. In a large bowl, combine cooked potatoes with bacon and asparagus and chopped parsley. Drizzle generously with vinaigrette while still warm, top with shaved Gruyere cheese and serve immediately.

Tip: if you are using very small potatoes, keep them whole. But if you are using slightly larger baby potatoes, slice them in half after cooking them to ensure that the dressing coats the insides of the potatoes.

This dish can be served as a hearty main meal or as a very satisfying side dish. Enjoy!