Waxy potatoes and layered dressings anchor Cloake’s summer salad recipe

Felicity Cloake’s potato salad recipe, published by the Guardian on 11 May 2025, centres on waxy potatoes with thin skins. She recommends choosing small, similarly sized potatoes and cooking them whole where possible. Starting them in cold, generously salted water, then simmering until tender, is intended to prevent the outsides from overcooking before the centres are ready.

After draining and steam-drying, the potatoes are cut and tossed with a mustard-and-vinegar dressing, then left to cool. A separate mayonnaise mixture brings together spring onions, capers or gherkins, fresh herbs and wholegrain mustard. Cloake includes homemade mayonnaise options using either egg or chickpeas and aquafaba, and suggests adding the mayonnaise shortly before serving when preparing ahead.

For home cooks, the recipe’s flexibility lies in its alternatives: ordinary or plant-based mayonnaise, different acidic ingredients for the vinaigrette, and a choice of herbs and pickles. Its focus is culinary technique and customisation, rather than nutrition or cost; the article does not establish health benefits or compare ingredient prices.