Crispy Potato Salad with Anchovy ChimichurriPrint Recipe

When we lived in Chicago, we lived in an old greystone in Lincoln Park. We loved it because it was full of character, as was our landlord who lived upstairs – we became good friends and Friday nights were often spent having a glass of wine and a chat on our stoop.

Our conversations were largely about food & wine and more often than not, led to the opening of another ‘impromptu’ bottle of wine which was followed by more conversations on food and wine and so it went…

Whether it was chatting about the new hot dog place on the street corner, how long we had to wait in the queue at Hot Doug’s to get the famous duck fries or the best place to buy meat and seafood (seafood was a challenge – this  was Chicago remember!), it was all food related – stories, finds and advice.

One of the many things our landlord put us onto was chimichurri sauce – he ate it with everything. I became as equally addicted to this salty blend of fresh herbs and spices and started eating it almost every day. I ate it with steak and poultry,  and I found it perfect with vegetables – particularly potatoes.

This salad combines crisp potatoes with an anchovy chimichurri – my favourite! The delightful salty, garlicky sauce is the perfect match for your standard day-to-day potato and turns this humble vegetable salad into a taste sensation.

Chimichurri Sauce
3/4 cup fresh basil
3/4 cup celery leaves
3/4 cup coriander (cilantro)
3/4 cup parsley
6 finely chopped anchovy fillets
1 sliced celery stalk
1 teaspoon + 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon + 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 husked tomatillo
1 garlic clove
a tiny pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Crispy Potatoes
4 boiled medium potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 anchovy fillet, chopped

Chimichurri
Mix basil, celery leaves, coriander, parsley and anchovy fillets together in a large bowl, then transfer 1/3 of the mixture to a medium bowl. Add sliced celery stalk, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the medium bowl and loosely mix, then set aside for garnish.

Puree the remaining mixture in a food processor with the tomatillo, garlic, remaining lemon juice and olive oil and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and set aside.

Crispy Potato Salad
Cut 4 boiled potatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the potatoes, garlic and anchovy fillet – fry until crispy.

Divide potatoes amongst 4 plates, spoon some chimichurri over the top and top with garnish. Serve!

Yeild: makes 4 starters or 1 large salad.

Source: Bon Appetit

© 2011, Michelle. All rights reserved.