Recipe: Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro & Toasted Cumin

Have I ever mentioned my love of simple potato salads? Oh, yes, I have! Seriously, I hope I don't sound like a broken record, but simple yet fresh potato salads are one of the best summer side dishes. They can even double as lunch or dinner, especially with a little shredded chicken thrown in. This is yet one more quick potato salad, a warm hash of potatoes, shallots, and cumin — there's only about six main ingredients, but it tastes so deliciously toasty and complex!

I was inspired by Indian dishes, of course, when creating this salad. I really love whole toasted cumin seeds. It sounds as if they might be too strong (whole spices?) but in this salad, after being fried in oil, they just have a nutty, toasty crunch.

This comes together fast — just chop and boil potatoes, and chop up the cilantro and shallots while they are cooking. Toss in the hot oil and cumin, and a squeeze of lemon, and presto — a warm, pleasantly spiced side dish that is much more than the sum of its parts.

It just gets better after a night in the refrigerator, too!

Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro & Toasted Cumin

serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 pounds red potatoes, chopped into roughly 2-inch pieces
1 bunch cilantro, stems trimmed and removed
3 large shallots
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons whole cumin
1/2 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Add the diced potatoes and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are tender but not yet mush. Drain and return to the pot.

Chop the cilantro roughly and stir it into the hot potatoes. Slice the shallots thinly and stir them in too.

Pour the olive oil oil into a small skillet and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is quite hot, stir in the 1 1/2 tablespoons of whole cumin seeds. Cook for about 45 seconds, stirring frequently, until the cumin and oil smell toasty and the cumin has darkened slightly. Pour the contents of the skillet over the potatoes (watch out, as some of the seeds may pop as they hit the cooler pan). Stir thoroughly.

Juice the 1/2 lemon and stir the juice in as well. Season to taste with black pepper, and any additional salt, if needed. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.

(Images: Faith Durand)

Comments (6)

Oh, wow, this does sound delicious. It's got a more complex flavour profile than my current favourite potato salad: Ruth Reichl's Aunt Birdie's potato salad from her book Tender at the Bone. The key to that one is that the onions are briefly cooked so take some bite away but they are still crunchy.

How are the cumin seeds, a little crunchy or too small to be crunchy? I'd like to try this! I've been meaning to use more cumin in my cooking.

Why not continue your potato adventure on to Italy? I have a great Octopus Potato salad recipe!

http://hippressurecooking.blogspot.com/2010/07/octopus-and-potato-salad-really-its.html

Coming on the blog later today... Peperonata, that you can mix in with your boiled potatoes. What's more striking than colored peppers and parsley over potatoes?

Yum!

Oops! I thought the URL would be translated into a link... try this:
Octopus & Potato Salad Recipe

i like this and made mine exactly the same but with rice vinegar and olive oil plus cucumbers and feta. so good cold out of the fridge last week.

This reminds me of a potato salad based on Ruth Reichl's in one of her books: the onions are slightly cooked in vinegar. It gives an interesting crunchy bite.

I must share to the world how awesome this potato salad is fried up for breakfast the next day and served with salsa and an egg!