Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large pot for boiling potatoes
• •Small pot for eggs
• •Heavy pan or skillet (24cm) for Speck
• •Wide shallow serving bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Boil the potatoes

   Place the potatoes whole and unpeeled in a pot of well-salted cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook until a knife slides through the center without resistance, about twenty minutes depending on size. Don't rush this by cutting them smaller. Whole potatoes absorb less water, which means better flavor and a firmer texture when you slice them. Drain and let them sit just until you can handle them.

   Festkochende (waxy) potatoes hold their shape when sliced warm. If you use mehligkochende (floury) potatoes, your salad will turn to mash the moment the broth hits it. This is the single most important ingredient choice in the whole dish.
2. 2

   Peel and slice warm

   Peel the potatoes while they're still hot. Use a tea towel to hold them if you need to. Slice them into rounds about four millimeters thick, letting them fall into a wide, shallow bowl. You want a thin slice that can absorb the Marinade without falling apart, and you want them hot when the broth hits. This is the step where the salad is made or lost.

3. 3

   Dress with warm broth

   Warm the beef broth until it's properly hot. In a small bowl, whisk together the hot broth, three tablespoons of Apfelessig, the finely diced onion, mustard, neutral oil, a pinch of sugar, and a good amount of salt and pepper. Pour this Marinade over the warm potato slices immediately. Toss gently with your hands or a soft spatula, being careful not to break the slices. Let the potatoes sit for at least ten minutes to absorb the liquid. They'll drink up most of it. That's exactly what you want.

   The broth must be hot when it meets the hot potatoes. Warm starch absorbs liquid. Cold starch repels it. This is why Austrian Erdäpfelsalat tastes completely different from mayonnaise-dressed potato salads. The flavor is inside the potato, not sitting on top of it.
4. 4

   Soft-boil the eggs

   Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil. Lower the eggs in gently with a spoon. Boil for exactly six and a half minutes. Transfer immediately to ice water and leave them there for at least three minutes. This gives you a yolk that's set at the edges but still molten and golden at the center. Peel carefully. The eggs can wait in their shells while you finish everything else.

   Start with eggs straight from the fridge if you can. Cold eggs in boiling water gives more consistent timing than room-temperature eggs. And don't skip the ice bath. Without it, the residual heat keeps cooking the yolk and you lose that golden center.
5. 5

   Fry the Speck

   Place the Speck lardons in a cold pan. Set it over medium heat. Let the fat render slowly as the pan comes up to temperature. This is not the same as throwing bacon into a hot pan. Starting cold draws the fat out gradually, and the Speck crisps evenly without burning at the edges while the center stays soft. After about five to seven minutes, the pieces should be deeply golden and crisp all the way through. Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a piece of kitchen paper. Save a tablespoon of the rendered fat.

6. 6

   Dress the Vogerlsalat

   In a small bowl, whisk one tablespoon of Apfelessig with the reserved tablespoon of warm Speck fat and a pinch of salt. Toss the Vogerlsalat gently in this dressing. The warmth of the fat will barely soften the leaves without wilting them. Vogerlsalat is tender and bruises easily. Handle it like you're holding something you care about. Don't overdress it. You want each rosette lightly coated, not drowned.

7. 7

   Compose the salad

   Spoon the warm potato salad onto plates or into wide shallow bowls, spreading it into a generous bed. Pile the dressed Vogerlsalat loosely on top. Scatter the crispy Speck over everything. Halve the soft-boiled eggs and nestle them into the salad, yolk side up. Drizzle each plate with Kürbiskernöl. Let it fall in dark green ribbons across the potatoes and leaves. Finish with flaky salt over the egg yolks. Serve immediately while the potatoes are still warm and the Speck is still crisp. Mahlzeit!

   Kürbiskernöl is never heated. It's a finishing oil, always added at the table or just before serving. Heat destroys its flavor and turns it bitter. If you cook with it, you've wasted it.

Chef Tips

• •Steirisches Kürbiskernöl g.g.A. is the real thing: dark green, almost black, thick and nutty. If the oil in the bottle looks pale or thin, it's not what you want. The protected-origin oil costs more and it's worth every cent. A little goes a long way. Buy a small bottle and keep it in a cool cupboard, never in the fridge.
• •Gretel always said the Marinade for Erdäpfelsalat should taste too sharp on its own. The potatoes absorb the vinegar and mellow it. If the dressing tastes balanced in the bowl, it will taste flat on the plate. Trust the sourness. The potatoes know what to do with it.
• •Vogerlsalat has a short season, from late autumn through early spring. If you can't find it, use young spinach leaves or a mix of mâche and watercress. It won't be the same, but the spirit of the salad will carry through.
• •The rendered Speck fat is not waste. Dressing the Vogerlsalat in warm fat is an old Styrian trick that gives the leaves a savory depth no olive oil can match. Don't pour it down the drain.

Advance Preparation

• •The Erdäpfelsalat base (potatoes dressed in warm broth) can be made up to two hours ahead and left at room temperature. It should not be refrigerated. Austrian potato salad is served at room temperature or slightly warm, never cold.
• •Speck can be fried and drained up to thirty minutes ahead. It stays crisp at room temperature.
• •The Vogerlsalat must be washed and thoroughly dried ahead of time, but dressed only at the moment of serving. Wet leaves dilute the dressing and wilt faster.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 370g)