Warm Potato Salad with Smoked Haddock

Sometime ago whilst back in the UK we visited a beautiful Suffolk coastal town called Orford. Of course it was raining.

Orford is well known to foodies for having two traditional smokehouses and producing very fine, locally caught, smoked fish of all description. Actually they seem to smoke everything for in the little shop were big blocks of smoked cheddar, smoked cod roe, smoked hams, even smoked garlic bulbs, but it was for the fish that we had come. I bought some smoked haddock, smoked mackerel and my favourite, kippers (smoked herrings) and then had to figure out what to do with them!

With the haddock I decided to do a big platter of a warm potato salad as a sort of light lunch and it was yummy. I got the idea for the recipe out of a Woman&Home magazine which is rather embarrassing so I’ll keep that bit quiet.

This dish is a bit of a fiddle putting together but it is very, very easy, and I have to say, it is really divine.

You will need:

1 smoked haddock filet per person
500g of new potatoes, rinsed and scrubbed. Cut any largish ones in half.
4 baby gherkins, chopped roughly
Small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
4 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and chopped into quarters
1 tsp capers, chopped
Small amount of chopped fresh tarragon or fresh dill would also be good (optional)


Dressing:

1 egg yolk
2 cloves garlic (blanched for 2 mins and mashed with fork)
2 anchovy filets
Juice of half a lemon
1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
½tsp Worcester sauce
150ml EV olive oil
50g grated gruyere cheese

And then you need to:

Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked, drain and set aside.

Make the dressing by either whisking in a bowl or in a food processor. First add egg yolk, anchovy, mustard, mashed garlic and Worcester sauce. With blade running or your arm whirring slowly add EV olive oil until all incorporated. Then, whilst still whisking add the grated gruyere cheese.

Stir in chopped gherkins, parsley (and other herbs if using) and the capers.

Gently poach the haddock in a small amount of milk, and when warmed through drain and flake into largish pieces.

In a bowl toss the potatoes with the dressing. Get your platter and spoon potatoes on the plate. Arrange the quartered boiled eggs around the side and spoon the flaked haddock all over the top of the potatoes. If there is more dressing left spoon some more on top. Serve whilst all still warm and delicious.

If you want a bigger garlic hit rub a cut raw clove over the bottom of the plate before putting the potatoes on it.