I have never considered myself a potato salad person - primarily because of my lifelong dislike for mayonnaise. The oddest part is that I love all of the individual ingredients that go into mayo. Eggs? Good. Lemon juice? Great. Olive oil? Why not. While I've warmed up to the stuff over the years, it's still not something that I like to chow down on in large quantities. So therein lies my challenge with classic American-style potato salad. 

About five years ago I stumbled across a Barefoot Contessa french-style potato salad recipe that called for a vinaigrette dressing. YES PLEASE! Ina opened up my eyes to a whole new potato salad world for my anti-mayo tastebuds. I'll share that life-changing recipe which has become a staple soon. 

So imagine my excitement when I received my Bon Appetit July edition with a Smashed Fingerling + Jalapeño Potato Salad on the front cover. There was nary a lick of mayo in sight. This is great as a side dish for so many mains - ribs, chicken, steak, you name it. It's great consumed warm but I think it would be just as tasty if it was at room temp or cool.

Let's dive on in.

Smashed Fingerlings with Jalapeños - Adapted from Bon Appétit July 2014

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved crosswise if large
• ½ cup olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
  • used dijon mustard
• 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced into rounds, seeds removed if desired
• ¼ cup (lightly packed) torn flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • left this out because I didn't have any on hand. I think that cilantro would actually be really tasty in here - probably more so than the parsley.
• [Optional add-on] 2 green onions sliced into thin discs
  • I had some green onions on hand and decided to toss them in. Tasty addition!

Before you do anything else, preheat your oven to 450°.

Vinaigrette:

I always try to make my vinaigrette first so that the flavors have time to meld together.  Whisk vinegar and mustard in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in ¼ cup oil until emulsified; season with salt and pepper. 

The Potatoes + Goodies

If your fingerling potatoes are large, half them crosswise.

Toss potatoes with ¼ cup oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper.

Roast, tossing once, until golden brown and tender, 30–35 minutes. 

While your potatoes are in the oven roasting, chop up your jalapeño, herbs and green onions. 

Let your potatoes cool slightly, then lightly flatten. I had some fun with this step and used my neglected meat tenderizer to do the trick. Any heavy item (even the palm of your hand with some pressure) would work here. 

While the recipe calls for you to stop here with the potatoes, I actually tossed them back into the oven for 10 minutes to crisp up the newly exposed bits of potato. 

Add to the potatoes your jalapeño, herbs and green onions. Toss together lightly. 

The final step! Dress with your vinaigrette and toss; season with salt and pepper.

Now eat and enjoy!

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