BY MICHAEL DEVLIN

AT this time of the year we invariably drift towards salads on warm Saturday afternoons. Crisp baby gems glistening with dressing and crunchy coleslaw with crumbly cheddar cheese – there's something so comforting about fresh, sweet leaves and raw vegetables. I think they might even be good for us.

As amazing as it may sound, not everyone likes salad. Off the top of my head I can think of at least three of my friends who wouldn't eat a slice of tomato or spring onion if their life depended on it. The stuff that breaks the trend of course, is potato salad.

Potato in salad format is one of those things that no two people will agree on. Should it be warm? Will it have floury or waxy spuds? Mayonnaise? Olive oil? Mustard? The list of combinations is long and argumentative and perhaps that is the great thing about spuds in general, the fact that they lend themselves to almost anything – except maybe custard or bananas.

So since potato salad falls squarely into the realm of personal taste, we can at least whittle it down to two main groupings - the waxy and the floury.

Once upon a time (a few weeks ago), I was speaking to a friend about 'new spuds' as they are generally known and this friend of mine, voiced his preference for the floury variation. "Them wet ones," he told me with some venom, "I wouldn't even give them to the dog."

A bit strong, I think you might agree. But the thing that made it stick out in my mind was that I prefer waxy potatoes – that and the fact that his poor dog isn't getting dog-food.

Say what you like about waxy potatoes but for texture and taste, there are no substitutes. I have never been able to understand how people will fall over themselves for the floury kind. So they made good mash, but where's the taste? Charlotte or Pink Fir Apples are unbeatable in terms of taste – especially in salads.

Thus, when it comes to making potato salad (in my house at least), you will only ever find me using good waxy purdies. For a start, they don't turn into mash and also, they actually taste of something.

Again, the variations on potato salad are many and wondrous, so there are literally no end of recipes. The following recipe is one I picked up in Germany and goes particularly well with fillet steak. It's a bit of an effort, especially when you consider chips are the quintessential accompaniment with steak and they're as easy as boiling the kettle. Also, I've kept the amounts of ingredients purposely vague because it's the idea which counts really. Plus, you can never really have enough left-over potato salad.

The secret ingredient (well it isn't really a secret anymore) is the gherkin or small cornichons. I'd never have thought of adding these little pickled cucumbers to potatoes but once you've tried it, it's impossible to leave them out. The tangy vinegar adds a little bite which perfectly balances the creamy dressing. And if someone doesn't like gherkins – ignore them – chop them up really fine or even grate them and the offending picky person will never know they're there.

INGREDIENTS

A potfull of waxy potatoes preferably Pink Apple Firs

6 (or there abouts) rashers smoked, streaky bacon, grilled until crisp

1 large gherkin or several small cornichons

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped chives

2 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tbsp soured cream or creme fraiche

1/2 tsp of french mustard

THE PLAN

Cook the potatoes in salted water until soft, then drain and return to the heat to dry out.

Then toss the potatoes with the crumbled crispy bacon, the diced cornichons, eggs and spring onions. Season well.

Fire together the remaining ingredients to make the dressing and mix enough of this into the salad to make it unctuous and delectable.

The main problem with this salad is refraining to eat the lot before it makes it the length of the table.

This is a meal on its own but with a rare steak and a glass of uber-cold weissbier, this is deadly stuff.