One day as I sat enjoying a small bowl of Lucian-style (St Lucia) fig (green banana) salad, I began to wonder how salt fish (a key ingredient in Lucian fig salad) would taste in a regular potato salad.
There seemed to be no reason why the combination – English potatoes and salt fish – would not work, after all, we often fry potatoes and salt fish together, sometimes we make the Portuguese-style fish cakes where we use salt fish instead of fresh fish and there are other combinations in which English potatoes and salt fish co-exist harmoniously. With this in mind, I give you – Potato Salad with Salt Fish, a little twist to a regular favourite. Be warned, you may never want to make potato salad without salt fish after trying this version.
About the salt fish, de-salt it the way you prefer or normally do, but I urge you to try it the way I suggested in yesterday’s Tastes Like Home column. The room temperature-water rehydration makes the salt fish tender and the tenderness of the fish goes really well with the creamy potato salad.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound rehydrated skin and boneless salt fish, flaked into large pieces
Boiling water
3 pounds potatoes, boiled in salted water, cut into large chunks and cooled
1 cup diced carrots, steamed and cooled
Finely minced parsley
Thinly sliced scallions (purple or white)
Finely minced red sweet peppers (optional)
Whole mayonnaise
Spicy mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sweet relish (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Add the salt fish to a bowl and pour boiling water over the fish. Let sit for 10 minutes, drain well, pat dry and set aside to cool completely.
Add the following ingredients to a large bowl – potatoes, salt fish, carrots, parsley, scallions and sweet peppers if using.
Mix together the ingredients for the dressing to suit your taste – mayonnaise, mustard and relish if using.
Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and gently toss to mix. Cover bowl and refrigerate. Serve cold.
NOTES
The salt fish can be shredded finely if you choose but the taste testers and I found that having pieces of the salt fish to bite into while eating the salad proved to be a better experience.
Reserve some of the parsley and scallions to garnish just before serving.
