Sugar Snap Peas and New Potato Salad with Crumbled Egg and Sardines

Here’s another McFadden (for those that don’t have the book). Delicious savory salad. It may seem liquidy at first but the delicious sauces will be absorbed by the potatoes as it sits. We don’t have new potatoes this year but I think a few booths at the Leavenworth Market will.

Ingredients

1/2 pound new potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 lemons

1/2 pound sugar snap peas, strings pulled off, thinly sliced at an angle

1 bunch scallions trimmed (only trim 1/2” off the top - the greens are so delicious it’s a crime to waste them!), slice on a sharp angle, soak in ice water for 20 minutes and drain well

6 boneless canned sardines, drained and broken into pieces

2 tsps dried chili flakes

extra virgin olive oil

4 soft-cooked eggs

1 handful of mint leaves

Fill a large pot with cold water and add salt until it tastes like the sea. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until tender, about 15 minutes - don’t overcook. Drain and let them cool.

Using a rasp-style grater, zest both lemons into a bowl large enough to hold the entire salad. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze in the juice but keep the seeds out. Add the potatoes, sugar snap peas, scallions, sardines and 1 tsp chili flakes. Season with 1 tsp salt and many twist of fresh black pepper. Toss gently to mix everything then let marinate for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Break up the eggs by pulling them apart into quarters and dropping them into the bowl. Add the mint. Mix gently, taste again, and adjust seasoning. Serve at room temperature.