Potato Salad

Lunch today was with the Oz side of the family, hosted by my lovely cousin on the other side of town. It was a lovely meal, shoulder of lamb with all the trimmings, including way more new potatoes than even the nine of us could eat. I took the extras home with me in a plastic tub, and this evening they served as a shortcut to my potato salad, which I have refined over the years to absolute perfection.

My cousin departs tomorrow for another trip into the outback - and so will I, on Friday. I'll be away for nearly two weeks, but hopefully will be able to keep up the writing while I'm gone - although I might not be able to update until I'm back. In the meantime, the recipe! Tonight we ate this with simply sauteed leeks and golden brown sausages from the butcher. It's really good with anything barbeque'd.

Ingredients:

• 300-400g potatoes (preferably a waxy variety, baby, or new potatoes)
• half a carrot
• a generous bunch of celery or parsley leaves
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces and simmer the potatoes until tender, but not falling apart - about 10-15 minutes. Run them under cold water or put in the refrigerator to cool down. (WA water conservation kicking in here!) Coarsely grate the carrot, and finely chop the leaves. Mix the cool potatoes, carrot and celery leaves in a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Taste, and add more mayonnaise if you like it creamier, or more lemon if you like it sharper. Keeps for a few days in the fridge, but is best served after making, at a cool rather than cold temperature.