Pickled Fennel Potato Salad
For this recipe, we’ve upped the flavor ante with pickled fennel and a good amount of fresh herbs to add depth and aroma. You might want to make a double batch, it’s that good.
Ingredients
Pickled Fennel
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp. sugar or honey
1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
Stems from 1 large fennel bulb, cut into 1/4-inch slices (should make about 3/4 cup); fronds reserved
Potato Salad
2 lb. organic red potatoes, cut into bite size chunks (skin left on)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. grainy mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup mixed chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill, thyme and rosemary
Reserved fennel fronds from pickled fennel for garnish
Directions
Place vinegar, water, sugar or honey, and salt in a small, non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar and salt. Remove from heat, let cool for 5 minutes, and then add the fennel slices. Let sit for at least 20 minutes while you cook the potatoes.
Boil cut potatoes in well-salted water until just soft (not falling apart). Pour into a large colander and run cold water over the hot potatoes for a couple minutes to cool them a bit.
Strain the pickled fennel, reserving the liquid. Drizzle potatoes with 1/4 cup of the pickled fennel liquid and gently fold it in. Let potatoes cool a few minutes more.
In a large bowl, combine the onion, garlic, sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, fresh herbs, and the drained pickled fennel. Gently fold in the mostly cooled potatoes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld, or refrigerate. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving, if needed. Garnish with reserved fennel fronds.
Suggestions
Many potato salad recipes can taste bland or overly mustardy, or have so much dressing you wonder where the potatoes went. So for this recipe, we’ve upped the flavor ante with pickled fennel and a good amount of fresh herbs to add depth and aroma, and we’ve reduced the mustard and mayo and added sour cream for tartness. You might want to make a double batch, it’s that good.
Suggestion: If you have lots of fennel, make more pickled fennel by pouring the remaining reserved warm pickle liquid (or make more liquid) over the sliced fennel stems or thinly sliced bulbs in sterilized jars. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for many weeks. Feel free to add aromatics like smashed garlic, fresh herbs or pickling spices to the pickling liquid.
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