Piccalilli potato salad

Combine piccalilli with potatoes, cucumbers and radishes, then top with deep-fried onions. It’s ideal as a picnic salad or side dish – just toss with the dressing when you’re ready to eat

Prep:25 mins
Cook:15 mins
plus 2 hrs pickling and cooling

Serves 6
Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 267
fat 9g
saturates 1g
carbs 39g
sugars 20g
fibre 6g
protein 5g
salt 1.8g

Ingredients

750g new potatoes, halved
½ small cauliflower (about 350g), broken into very small florets
100g green beans, trimmed and halved
sunflower oil, for frying
300g piccalilli
3 tbsp olive oil
8 radishes, quartered
3 baby cucumber, thickly sliced
100ml cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 large red onion or 2 small, finely sliced

Tip

The origins of piccalilli
We all love a bit of piccalilli with a slice of ham, and this humble yellow relish has been around since the mid-18th century. It was influenced by the East India Company and the spice trade, hence its use of traditionally imported spices, like turmeric. It was originally called ‘Indian pickle’ or ‘picallilio’, and any veg available were used in it. As such, it became the perfect pickle for preserving gluts of garden veg, such as cauliflower, onion and marrow.

Method

First, make the pickled onions. Pour the vinegar and 50ml water into a small saucepan. Add the sugar, 1 tsp salt and the mustard seeds and simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Put half the onion into a heatproof bowl and pour the hot liquid over. Leave to cool slightly, then cover and leave to pickle in the fridge for 2 hrs.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 10 mins. Add the cauliflower and beans, and cook for 2 mins more, then drain.
Heat a depth of 3cm sunflower oil in a small heavy-based saucepan until a small cube of bread dropped into the oil turns golden within 20 seconds. Carefully drop the rest of the onion into the oil and fry for 1-2 mins, or until golden and crisp. Transfer to a sheet of kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt – this will help keep the onions crisp.
Mix the piccalilli and olive oil together in a bowl. Toss with the cooked potatoes, cauliflower and beans, along with the radishes and cucumbers. Toss in the pickled onions, then tip into a serving bowl and top with the crispy onions.