Potato and Chorizo Salad

Though allowing delicious new potatoes to be swallowed whole by irresponsible amounts of mayonnaise is tantamount to spud-blasphemy, a heavier rendition is often desirable. We first had this Chorizo and Potato Salad during a recent trip to Spain. Full of protein, carbs and – most importantly – flavour this satisfying salad was just the ticket having just stepped off a delayed flight.

It may sound bold, but for me this is a very interesting potato salad; it’s about as engaging as food gets. Of course, its not always advisable to have so many opposing flavours and textures in one dish, but the waxy tatties, soft eggs, crunchy pepper and crispy chorizo do work. Fundamentally, this business is part of the charm of the salad and is very Spanish in its conception.

As with my take on the classic egg and cress sandwich, your eggs should be somewhere between ‘soft’ and ‘hard’. If this is achieved something truly magical will happen, with the yolk combining with the paprika infused olive oil for a fabulous salad dressing. Enjoy and make sure to boil your eggs correctly!

For something a little lighter check out my recipes for Samphire and New Potato Salad, Potato Rösti and Sweet Potato and Chicken Salad…

Potato and Chorizo Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 400g new potatoes, halved
• 4 eggs
• 50g chorizo, roughly chopped
• 1 red pepper, cubed
• a handful of parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• a pinch of salt
• a twist of black pepper

Method:

1. Bring your potatoes to a brisk boil in lightly salted water, cover with a lid. Meanwhile, immerse your eggs in cold water and bring to the boil.
2. Once boiling, cook your eggs for exactly 5 minutes. Once cooked transfer them to a bowl of cold water and leave to cool.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the chorizo until crispy, set aside. Mix together the diced pepper, chopped parsley, olive oil (from the frying pan), paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
4. Once the Potatoes are soft through quickly rinse in cold water and add to the bowl. Slice the cooled eggs each into 8 pieces and add to the potatoes, along with half the chorizo.
5. Mix everything together thoroughly and top with the remaining chorizo. Serve immediately for a warm salad. It keeps well in the fridge for 2 days.

Cost: I love recipes like this because they never cost very much. Potatoes, eggs and even chorizo are never going to break the bank and yet they combine to make a truly exceptional meal (or side). In fact, so frugal is this potato salad that you can make it all for a mere £2.50!