The Salad Cure

Being sick all week was a drag, but being in the house for days on end meant lots of time to cook and to think about cooking. On Thursday, Thomas (of salad-making fame) made me a lovely gift of five waxy potatoes and a bunch of asparagus. On Friday afternoon between naps I found myself unable to think of much besides salade niçoise. We put together this stripped-down version with what I had on hand- potatoes, capers, spinach, asparagus, and eggs.



I learned an important lesson putting this together- not all hard boiled eggs are created equally. Heeding the advice of Bittman, I put them in water, brought it to a boil, turned off the heat, and let them sit for nine minutes. (The Joy would have had me boil them for fifteen! As if!) They turned out great- the white was firm, but the yolk still tasted rich and moist- not at all chalky. Thank you, Bittman! (And Thomas, for peeling.)

All assembled and doused in vinaigrette this really hit the spot. The potato salad was comfortingly warm and tart, just as I had been dayquil-dreamed it. Capers are such sexy, salty little beasts that I am contemplating a dish built around them. (Any suggestions?) Chewing all that green stuff had the added benefit of convincing me I was getting healthier. In retrospect I would have added minced shallot to make the potatoes sharper and a chopped red pepper to make the whole thing more photogenic, but for vegetable-drawer weeknight eating it was not at all bad.