You can’t beat a really good potato salad. Not the kind supermarket versions slathered in mayonnaise that make you feel sickly after a helping, but this fresh delicious kind bursting with punchy flavours and with some cooked ham thrown in for a meaty and filling addition.

I made this dish for a picnic a few weekends ago for my house-mate and I when we were still experiencing the Irish heatwave. Luckily there is a really nice park just around the corner from my house so with the rug, dishes and food in a bag, off we trotted to the local park for a sunny light lunch. My potato salad was made with garlic, onions, capers, lemon zest and ham and really could be eaten as a meal in itself, as well as I side.

This is really quick, and the ham makes it filling and substantial enough as a main dish. I used leftovers for lunch in work on Monday, and some more leftovers the following night in a kind of a spanish omlette/ tortilla.

Ingredients:

1 kg of baby potatoes

1-2 cups of roughly torn cooked ham

4 cloves garlic crushed

2 red onions finely minced

1 small bunch of chives chopped

1 large cup of caper berries

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup rapeseed oil (or other mild tasting oil)

Sea salt

1. In a big salted pot of boiling water add your potatoes and cook for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
2. Meanwhile add the garlic, onion and all the oil to a large pan and stir on a medium-low heat for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are done. You want this soft and translucent, but not golden and crispy.
3. When the potatoes are cooked slice them length ways and stir into the pan (make sure the heat is off at this point) coating in the garlic and onion oil.
4. Finely chop the caper berries (reserve a few whole ones for serving) and stir into the mix along with the lemon zest and a generous seasoning of sea salt.
5. Serve in a dish with the remaining whole capers decorated on top with some more lemon zest.