Chelsea’s famous kumara & bacon salad
This recipe is from the salad section in 2017’s bestselling cookbook in NZ, Scrumptious. Seriously, you have to make it. Technically it’s not quite famous at the time I write this – but I know it will be! It’s a salad like no other, a guaranteed hit whether you’re serving it up at home or taking it to a picnic, BBQ or a pot-luck dinner. The textures and flavours are sensational. This is equally good served as a warm or chilled salad.
Prep time – 15 minutes
Cook time – 20 minutes
Serves 6
Ingredients
Oil, for frying
1kg kumara (purple, or a mixture of orange and purple)
250g bacon, chopped (free-range is best)
¾ cup chopped walnuts
½ a red onion, finely sliced
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
¾ cup cooked peas, cooled
¼ cup good-quality mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream (or use extra mayo)
¼ cup finely chopped parsley, plus extra to serve
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
Squeeze of lemon juice
Method
Peel the kumara and chop into 4cm pieces. Add to a large pot of salted water, bring to a simmer and cook until tender – about 10-15 minutes. Drain and allow to cool to warm.
While the kumara is cooking, add some oil and the bacon to a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry for about 15 minutes until crispy. Drain on paper towels and discard the extra oil.
Add the warm kumara to a large bowl with the bacon, walnuts, red onion, mayonnaise, sour cream (or extra mayo), parsley, Parmesan, peas, peppers and salt. Squeeze in the lemon juice and toss gently to combine. Serve garnished with extra parsley, or refrigerate until needed. It’s nice warm or chilled and will last a couple of days in the fridge.
(Tip – I sometimes like to add half an avo if I have one handy, just before serving).
