Potatoes with a sour cream & dill dressing

Potatoes with a sour cream & dill dressing

Heleen Meyer loves cooking with fresh herbs and has shared a number of delicious recipes with us before. She always encourages all of us to cook as fresh and natural as possible. Potato salad remains a firm SA favourite, and everyone has their preference of how a potato salad should or shouldn’t be made, but you have to try her recipe.

So simple, yet so special

Make this simple and delicate version – it’s so flavourful and a great alternative to the regular mayonnaise versions we all grew up with. Mayonnaise can be very salty and overpowering, so this combination of sour cream and fresh dill is truly special. If you prefer, you can still add some chopped onion, gherkins or even a hard-boiled egg, as they all partner well with the dill in this sauce.

You can even turn it into a tasty light meal, by adding 1 x 170 g tin tuna, drained or 100 g peppered mackerel, flaked or even avocado slices – delicious!

Heleen shares a few practical tips when making this salad:

– She doesn’t peel the potatoes, as it adds more nutritional value, and you’ll waste less of the potatoes. The skins on small potatoes are typically quite thin anyway, so no need for peeling.

– Don’t rapidly boil or overcook the potatoes, as they can fall apart – just simmer them gently in a few centimetres of water.

– Use a skewer or sharp knife to pierce a small slit into the potatoes to test if they are cooked. A big slit or hole will cause too much water to be absorbed, and they may burst open.

– Don’t leave them in water, rather drain the cooked potatoes immediately and then pour the oil over, as in step 2 – it soaks up the oil and adds lots of extra flavour.

Potatoes with a sour cream & dill dressing

Recipe by Heleen Meyer

Image by Adel Ferreira, for LiG Tydskrif

Serves 4 – 6

Potatoes

750 g baby potatoes, in the skin

15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil

Sour cream & dill dressing:

30 ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice

125 ml (½ cup) sour cream

30 ml (2 tbsp) milk

60 ml (¼ cup) coarsely chopped fresh dill

salt and pepper

extra dill for garnish

1. Potatoes: Place potatoes in a small saucepan with a pinch of salt and a few centimetres of water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce the temperature and simmer gently with a lid on for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
2. Drain potatoes and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour the oil over and toss the potatoes until well coated for a delicious flavour. Allow to cool and then gently crush with a fork, alternatively, cut potatoes in half.
3. Dressing: Mix all the ingredients together and season to taste. Spoon potatoes onto a serving platter or salad bowl and pour some of the dressing over. Serve cold or at room temperature with the remaining dressing and garnish with extra dill.