Great British Food Christmas 2024

Extracted from Ottolenghi COMFORT by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (Ebury Press, £30). All photography by Jonathan Lovekin Verena’s Potato Salad Growing up in Germany, Verena remembers two camps when it came to potato salad: campmayo and camp oil/ broth. This is an oil/broth-based version, more prevalent in the southern parts of Germany, specifically Swabia and Bavaria. It’s less heavy and claggy than themayo variety and gets its creaminess from the starch released by the potatoes as they sit for a couple of hours in the warmbroth. We’ve strayed from tradition and added some pancetta (because, why not . . . ) and a welcome freshness fromsome chopped cucumber. Serves: 4 Prepare: 20minutes Cook: 1 hour plus 2 hours soaking time 500g Pink Fir or Charlotte (or other waxy) potatoes 75ml olive oil 1 small onion, finely chopped (125g) 1 garlic clove, crushed 175ml chicken stock 2 tsp Dijonmustard 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar ½ tsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed in a pestle andmortar 15g chives: 10g finely chopped and 5g cut into 1½cm lengths 75g pack of diced smoked pancetta 1 tsp paprika ¼ cucumber, sliced lengthways, deseeded and cut into½cmdice (100g) Salt 1. Put the potatoes into a medium saucepan, for which you have a lid. Add just enough water to cover, salt generously and place on a medium- high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 20–25 minutes, until just tender. Drain and, once cool enough to handle, remove the skins from the potatoes and slice into ½cm-thick rounds. Set aside in a medium bowl. 2. Put 2 tablespoons of the oil into a medium sauté pan and place on a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring regularly, until caramelised. Add the garlic and stock, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Add the mustard, vinegar, 1¼ teaspoons of salt, the pepper and another 2 tablespoons of oil. Whisk to combine, then pour the mixture over the potatoes. Mix gently but thoroughly: it will look wet (and some of the potatoes will break up), but this is normal. Set aside for about 2 hours, for the potatoes to soak up about half the broth, and then stir in the finely chopped chives. 3. Meanwhile, wipe clean the sauté pan and place on a medium-high heat. Add the pancetta, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is crispy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper – leave about 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan – and set aside. Once cool, finely chop the pancetta into crumbs. 4. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the fat in the pan, along with the paprika. Stir for 30 seconds or so, until fragrant, then remove from the heat. 5. When ready to serve, fold the cucumber into the potato salad and transfer to a serving plate. Scatter over the pancetta crumbs, along with the cut chives. Spoon over the paprika oil and serve. “This potato salad is less heavy and claggy than themayo variety and gets its creaminess from the starch released by the potatoes as they sit for a couple of hours inwarmbroth” RECI PES | YOTAM OTTOLENGHI 69 greatbr i t i shfoodawards.com