Warm Potato Salad with Bacon-Maple Vinaigrette

By ebdonahue

Take this warm maple-bacon vinaigrette, which Jordan recommends serving on grilled sweet corn or a spinach salad, or as an accompaniment to fried or poached eggs. If you’re not the kind of person who dips bacon in syrup when you’re eating pancakes, you can omit the maple syrup altogether to make the dressing simply savory, which is how she recommends making it for this mayonnaise-free potato salad that is perfect for spring picnics.

Ingredients

• 2 lb. small new potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/8-inch-thick slices
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
• 7 slices bacon
• 4 to 6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (optional)
• 3/4 cups loosely packed fresh Italian parsley, chopped and divided
• 2 Tbsp. white wine
• 2 Tbsp. snipped fresh chives
• 2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation

Step 1

Put the sliced potatoes in the basket of a steamer set over boiling water and cook until tender but not mushy or falling apart, about 18 minutes.

While the potatoes steam, put the shallot and garlic in a small bowl, season with salt, and add the sherry vinegar. Set aside.

In a medium saute pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until it is completely crisp. Transfer to paper towels or a brown paper bag to drain.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan, return the pan to low heat, and add the vinegar, garlic and shallot mixture. Simmer for about 1 minute. Add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil and the maple syrup, if using, and heat through. Stir, season generously with black pepper, then taste and correct for salt, oil and acid. Heat through again, remove from the heat, and add 1 Tbsp. Italian parsley and white wine. Crumble half the bacon and add it to the vinaigrette.

When the potatoes are tender, put them in a medium bowl, drizzle with about half the vinaigrette-wine mixture, and toss very gently. Set aside for about 20 minutes to allow the potatoes to absorb the dressing and cool slightly. To finish the salad, toss the potatoes with the other half of the dressing, as well as half of the chives, half the cherry tomatoes and remaining parsley. Season with salt and several turns of black pepper.

Source: Michele Anna Jordan’s new book, “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings: 60 Sensational recipes to Liven Up Greens, Grains, Slaws, and Every Kind of Salad,” (Harvard Common Press, $16.95)