In which we have dinner but not a dinner party

And then, we had friends over for hot dogs. I am too embarrassed to call it a dinner party, and I don’t even know why we had hot dogs other than that Andrew said we should. In my defence: I bought sausages from the German deli, and bread from a nice bakery, and then made a potato salad with lots of colour so we didn’t just have plain hot dogs. I liked the potato salad; it’s not the mayonnaise-y, eggy one I grew up with, which I also like but which leaves me wracked with guilt in the middle of the night. This one has green bits and no mayonnaise, so it feels like it’s a bit French and much better for you.

This looks like mostly green beans, but there were
actually quite a few potatoes underneath

Potato salad

I haven’t included any amounts, because I just add as much as I have or feel like; this one turned out with a lot of greens in comparison to potatoes, for example, because I had a lot of lovely fresh baby green beans I wanted to use.

Baby potatoes, halved and roasted with a little oil, thyme, salt and pepper; roast a couple gloves of garlic, skin on, along with the potatoes

Fine green beans, topped and tailed and lightly steamed (they should still be crunchy)

red onion, very thinly sliced

wild rocket

olive oil

lemon juice

salt

pepper

Dijon mustard

flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Place the potatoes and red onion in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the peeled roasted garlic and mash it up with a fork. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a pinch of sugar if you like. Add to the potato bowl and toss well, set aside and leave to soak up flavours until you’re ready to eat. At this point, add the green beans, parsley and rocket, toss again, and serve.

Bacon or cheese?

Salad with bacon

And salad with cheese

Which would you choose - bacon or cheese?

Potato salad with green beans, rocket, and bacon or Parmesan
Serves 4

16 baby potatoes, quartered and steamed till firm but cooked through
handful fresh green beans, steamed for just a couple of minute
200g rocket
1/4 cup plain yoghurt
3 tbsp fruity olive oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp honey
salt
pepper
6 strips streaky bacon, crispy and crumbled, OR:
as many shavings of good Parmesan as you like

As you can see, most of this recipe is already written out in the ingredients list. You'll have to quarter and steam the potatoes, stem and steam the green beans, cook and crumble the bacon or shave the Parmesan, using a vegetable peeler.

Then you put the yoghurt, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the potatoes and green beans and toss to coat well.

Now divide the rocket between four plates, in nice little piles on each plate. Top the rocket with the potato mixture. Finally sprinkle the crumbled bacon or Parmesan shavings on top, and you have what I consider to be a very nice lunch.

I'd have the bacon :)