Author Notes
Glorious is what California summers are all about: warm and dry weather that's perfect for barbecues and balmy evenings spent with good food, great wines, and close friends.
This salad has been part of my repertoire for over 25 years. The cucumber gives it a nice crunch and subtle flavor, and the pimento adds a spark of color (a 1982 cookbook, "Glorious Food" was my muse for this, one of my favorite salads). It is important to use fresh, just-picked cucumbers for a sweet flavor. —dymnyno
Test Kitchen Notes
Combine fresh potatoes, cucumbers, and herbs from the garden (or, for the city folks, the farmer's market) with delicate, fragrant tarragon and you'll be transported to the south of France. Oh, tarragon, you magical thing. And with simple ingredients like this, you can celebrate summer long after the kids have gone back to school. Or dream about that trip to France...More, please! —Jennifer Mullin
Ingredients
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6
large Yukon Gold potatoes
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4
cucumbers (each about 9 inches long)
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1 teaspoon
Dijon mustard
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2 tablespoons
scallions, mostly the white part, minced
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3 tablespoons
mayonnaise
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3 tablespoons
champagne vinegar
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1 tablespoon
fresh tarragon leaves, minced
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1 tablespoon
curly parsley, minced
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1 cup
olive oil
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4
ounce jar of pimentos, drained and chopped
Directions
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In a large pot of water, cook the potatoes until tender but not mushy (still firm). Cool, peel, and cut into thin round slices.
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Peel the cucumbers. Using a julienne tool or mandoline (Benriner), julienne the cucumbers until you get to the seeds. You'll have long, thin slices that are the length of the cucumber. Put into a colander, sprinkle with a little salt and sweat out excess water. Save the cucumber water.
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Put the reserved cucumber water, mustard, scallions, mayonnaise, vinegar, tarragon, parsley, and olive oil into a blender. Blend until it becomes a smooth emulsion. Add black pepper to taste.
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Gently (I use my hands) fold the cucumbers into the potatoes.
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Next, fold the sauce into the potatoes and cucumbers.
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Finally, fold the minced pimento into the salad.
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