Guest post: Colourful potato salad with home-made mayonnaise

My father always told me that in order to judge how healthy your plate is, all you have to do is count the colours. Based on that, this dish is a big winner, with 3 shades of green from the spring onion, coriander and peas, the bright red pepper and the shiny orange carrots, the cream-coloured potatoes and the white halloumi and black mustard seeds peeking out amidst it all. I cannot claim ownership of this delicious lunch, as it was entirely thought of and executed by my boyfriend, who also brought us the chicken-halloumi wraps last month!

The ingredient list seems daunting, but it is very quick to put together and also surprisingly cheap (provided you have a vegetable shop downstairs, which offers far better rates than an ordinary supermarket)! The eclectic mix of textures and flavours is refreshing, and I just couldn’t get enough of the final result (let’s just say I had less than 5 bowls…). The home-made mayonnaise tastes completely different from store-bought, so I would really recommend making it yourself – it takes about 5 minutes and is completely worth it! (this was the only bit of the cooking that I actively engaged in)

Serves 3 greedy people

Home-made mayonnaise (only makes enough for the salad)

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• ½ – 1 cup vegetable oil (as appropriate)
• 4 tbsp yogurt
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Separate the egg yolks from the whites (the whites can be discarded or made into an omelette on the side, if you don’t want to waste them). Put in a bowl with the mustard and vinegar and whisk until smooth. Add the vegetable oil (one lug at a time), whisking as you go along. Then add the yogurt, salt and pepper and whisk some more. Keep adding more oil until you are happy with the consistency.

Colourful potato salad

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded and cubed
• 3 carrots, peeled and cubed
• 200g halloumi cheese, cubed
• 100g green peas
• 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• Generous handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Boil the potatoes in salted water until almost done and drain. Be careful not to boil them for too long, else they will turn to mash when you mix them with the other vegetables (this may have happened to us today). Drain.

Heat the oil in a deep pan and fry the mustard seeds. As soon as they start popping, add the onion and garlic with the paprika, salt and pepper and fry until translucent.

Add the potatoes and fry for a few minutes. Then mix in the halloumi, green peas, carrots, chilli and red pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring only at intervals to avoid breaking up the potato. Then add the coriander and spring onion and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Take the pan off the hob and add the home-made mayonnaise, mix for 30 seconds and then serve hot with an extra garnish of coriander and black pepper.