Loaded Cheat Potato Salad

Look, I am all for doing things from a scratch but sometimes you are bone tired and it is your turn to bring a salad to a get-together, braai or work function. It was exactly this scenario that inspired this recipe. It was the end of 2018 (and you know what a hectic year that was) and I was so tired that even the thought of chopping lettuce, tomato etc. for a salad brought tears to my eyes. So, I decided I would zhush up a salad from my local supermarket. I grabbed my basket and then placed a ready-made potato salad in; I then proceeded to grab chives, I had mielies in the fridge (so I skipped that), grabbed a cup of pecan nuts, finely diced bacon and off I went.

I got home; pulled out butter, cayenne pepper, the mielies, maple or golden syrup (both work and I can’t remember which one I used at the time) and started “winging” the salad (see the details below). Surprisingly to me, the people at the get-together flipped out and asked for the recipe.

Now, I know this recipe is considered a “cheat” in the foodie world. But heck if Nigella uses frozen peas – why can’t we sometimes cheat for the sake of our sanity.

So here is what you have been waiting for…

INGREDIENTS:

•    1 x Pack of Bacon Bits, Chopped

•    1 x Ready-Made Potato Salad

•    Chives, To Taste

•    Cup of Pecan Nuts, Broken Up

•    2-3 Mielies/Corn on the Cobb*

•    2 Tsps. of Cayenne**

•    2 -3 TBSPS. of Syrup

•    Butter for Frying

•    Salt and Pepper, To Taste

•    Chilli Flakes, For Garnish (Optional)

Notes:
*I used leftover mielies from the night before; I also made them in the microwave and then added some butter, paprika and mixed herbs.
** You can’t taste the cayenne’s spiciness at all once caramelised. So, if you aren’t a fan of spice, don’t stress.

HOW TO MAKE IT:

#1 To a pan add a dollop of butter and brown it slightly.

#2 Add the chopped bacon bits, cayenne and maple syrup to the pan; and allow it to caramelise.

#3 Remove from the heat once the bacon and mix are brown, and the sauce like a sticky caramel (don’t burn it). If the pan is too hot, remove the bacon from it before it burns. Allow the bacon to cool.

#4 In the meanwhile, place the mielies in the microwave with the corn-sheath on top and the “yellow” bits face down in a bowl. Microwave between 4 and 7 minutes (depending on the amount you have opted for). You can also use mielies leftover from a braai/get-together (like I did). These mielies just had a bit of butter, paprika and Robertson Mixed Herb Spice on and came straight from the fridge.

Allow the mielies to cool before removing the sheath and stringy bits and then remove from the cob.

#5 Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl (tip: not the one you will serve it in – things get messy during mixing); then add the mielies.

#6 Next up, crumble all but a few of the pecan nuts over the potato salad (the few leftovers will be used to finish the potato salad).

#7 Snip up some chives into the salad, according to your taste levels (about a ¼ cup).

#8 Now, add the “cooled” bacon to the potato salad.

#9 Mix it all up.

#10 Transfer the mix into your serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper; crush the last bit of pecan nuts over, snip several bits of chives for garnish and for a pop of colour add some chilli flakes.

#11 And enjoy!

Download The Recipe Here.

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7 thoughts on “Loaded Cheat Potato Salad

  1. Yay yay yay yay! So glad you uploaded this one!!!!! It is so yummy

    1. Hi Fiona.

      Thanks for the comment and thank you for being part of the “test” subjects.

      I truly appreciate you.

      Warm and sparkle regards,
      Sparkle Ellie

    1. Hi Madre

      Dankie vir die terugvoer! Ek hoop dat jy dit maak en geniet een of ander tyd.

      Moenie ‘n vreemdeling wees nie 🙂

      Skitterende en vriendelike groete
      Sparkle Ellie

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