Cuban-Style
Potato Salad(featured in The Oregonian, June 28, 1998)
Sweetwater’s Jam House’s Cuban-style Potato Salad is like all the other recipes Susan Zimmerman creates for her Portland, Oregon restaurant: flavorful, festive and full of fire. Every bite has a bite. Smoky bacon, crunchy pickles, snappy olives do their best to tantalize your taste buds, but it’s the dressing that wins you over. It’s simple---just mayonnaise, yellow mustard, and habanero hot sauce; It’s dynamite, just make sure to stir in the habanero sauce one teaspoon at a time.
Makes 6 servings
Potatoes
12 to 15 baby red potatoes, with skins (2 pounds)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt,
Salad Base
3/4 pound thick-sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 1/2 cups diced red onion
4 green onions, sliced into 3/4-inch pieces (greens included)
3/4 cup baby dill pickles, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
3/4 cup Spanish Queen olives (colossal size), sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
5 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
2 teaspoons to 1 1/2 tablespoons habanero hot sauce (see note)
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Canned pimento for garnish, optional
Canned asparagus spears for garnish, optional
To cook potatoes: Cut the baby red potatoes into bite-size pieces. Place the potatoes and salt in a pot and cover with cold water. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Remove the lid and reduce heat to a simmer until the potatoes are barely fork tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and drain immediately. (If you prefer, you can steamed the potatoes.) Transfer the hot potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
While the potatoes are cooking, trim off any excess fat from the bacon. Cut the bacon into 1/2-inch strips and fry until almost crisp, but still slightly soft. Drain on paper towels. Add the bacon to the hot potatoes, along with the red onion, green onions, pickles and olives. Stir the mixture and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. (The heat from the potatoes will wilt the onions slightly and permit the flavors to develop.) Stir in the hard-boiled eggs. Sprinkle the garlic powder over the potato mixture. Stir to combine.
To make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and yellow mustard until blended. Stir in the habanero sauce, one teaspoon at a time, until the desired hotness develops. (I use the whole 1 1/2 tablespoons.) Add the dressing to the potato mixture and stir until combined.
This salad tastes best if eaten while still warm or at room temperature, but don’t leave the salad out if you’re not dining right away. It’s equally enjoyable cold. To serve, place the salad in a serving dish and garnish with canned pimento sliced into strips and canned asparagus spears. (In Cuba, it’s traditional to serve canned vegetables.)
Note: Habanero hot sauce can be found in most supermarket condiment sections. I like to use Matouk’s West Indian Habanero Hot Sauce, which is found in most Latin-American markets.
From Susan Zimmerman, owner, Sweetwater’s Jam House
This recipe is recommended for the beginning to intermediate cook.
Sweetwater’s Jam House is located at 3350 SE Morrison Street; Portland, Oregon. The phone number is 503-233-0333.