German Potato Salad - try something different with your barbeque?

Creamy tangy potato salad made with stock instead of mayonnaise - delicious and different.

​South German Potato Salad (vegan optional)
 
Actually, “Swabian” Potato Salad, but not everyone outside of Germany (and not everyone inside Germany either) knows where the unofficial district of Swabia belongs. You won’t find it on a postcode or town name but it’s an area taking in parts of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemburg with about 7 million inhabitants. It has it’s own culinary traditions and specialities which I was fascinated to learn about when I lived in Ulm  - a beautiful town on the Danube. Eating new food when you’ve moved to a new country is a bit different from eating new things on holiday. You aren’t going back, so you have to get used to them and work out what you like to eat on a daily basis, and what your friends are likely to serve you.

I’ve always loved the English version of potato salad: perky little new potatoes, rich with mayonnaise, piquant with spring onions and chives, spritzed with lemon juice and sparkled with ground black pepper. I was initially suspicious of Swabian Potato Salad – the potatoes melt almost to a slurry in the stock, there’s no creamy mayonnaise in sight, and it is served at room temperature – how odd is that? But if you come at it from another angle, don’t see it as competition to a much-loved favourite, you will also find this delicious and quite different. It is a perfect accompaniment to a barbeque, it matches with grilled meat or sausages as effortlessly as you might expect from a German dish.  It’s also great with cold meat from a next-day roast leftovers or with a big salad.

Try it and be brave. I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
 
Serves 6               Timings:  1 hour preparation, then time to cool.

• 800g potatoes – baking type floury potatoes, not new potatoes or salad ones
• 3 shallots – about 160g
• 1 small leek
• 100ml white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• 200ml vegetable stock  - the original version uses chicken or beef stock as that is what would be around in a country kitchen in Swabia, but a well flavoured vegetable stock is just as good. I love the Nine Meals from Anarchy vegetable stock puree you can get in little jars.
• Handful fresh parsley, well chopped.

 
Scrub then boil the potatoes in their skins until tender – about 30 minutes depending on their size.

Meanwhile make up the stock in a jug if you are using cubes or powder, or warm it up in a small pan if you are using home made stock. Slice 2 of the shallots and the leek up very finely and put them into the warm stock to tenderise. Reserve the remaining shallot and also slice it up very finely.

When the potatoes have boiled and are tender inside, drain them and let them cool a little and then peel them while they are still warm. As you peel them, chop them in slices and drop them into your serving bowl, adding ladles of warm stock as you go. Don’t use all the stock to start with. When you’ve sliced up about half the potatoes, add the vinegar to the bowl. Go on peeling and slicing potatoes and add them to the bowl along with the reserved shallot. Add more stock until you have quite a loose mixture.  Taste and adjust the seasoning – you might need more salt depending on the stock you used and you might need a good grind of black pepper.

Add the parsley and mix, then allow to cool and serve at room temperature.

The salad can be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for at least a day but I wouldn’t freeze it.