Molly Baz

1. Shred and cook the potatoes:
Fill a medium bowl with cold water.
Using a veg peeler, peel 3 large russet potatoes. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into ¼” thick planks. Arrange the planks in stacks on your cutting board and cut the planks lengthwise into ½” thick strips, yielding long slender potato sticks. Add the shredded potatoes to the cold water as you go.
Once all the potatoes are cut and submerged in water, give them a swirl or two and then drain the water. Place the drained potatoes in a large skillet and cover with enough fresh cold water to just barely cover them (you can also use a pot). Season the potato water heavily with salt (a small handful!) and set over medium high heat.
Bring the water to a simmer. Once it simmers, use tongs to gently stir the potatoes occasionally, until they are just tender and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. Taste one every minute or so until they’ve reached their desired doneness (soft and yielding but not mushy), then drain well and let cool.
2. Make the walnut dressing:
Return the now empty skillet to the stove.
Use your hands to crush 1 cup raw walnuts into the skillet, breaking them into slightly smaller pieces. Add ⅓ cup olive oil and set the skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring and swirling the pan frequently until the walnuts are golden brown, 6-10 minutes.
Once the walnuts are golden, remove the skillet from the heat. Lightly smash and peel 1 garlic clove. Finely grate the garlic clove right into the skillet while still warm. The residual heat of the oil will sizzle and cook the garlic.
Let cool 2 minutes, then stir in ¼ cup sherry vinegar and 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard. Coarsely grind a lot of black pepper into the skillet and season the dressing with salt–it will need quite a bit! Let cool in the skillet while you finish your prep.
3. Finish prep and toss to combine:
In a similar manner to the potatoes, cut 8 dill pickle spears into ¼” matchsticks, to match the length of the potatoes.
Trim the ends of 6 scallions, thinly the scallions on an extreme bias (to create long, fine, slivers.
Cut 1 bunch of chives crosswise into 3” long pieces.
Pick the leaves of 1 bunch of basil, discarding the stems. Thinly slice the leaves (chiffonade).
Combine the potatoes, pickles, scallions, chives, basil and walnut dressing in the large bowl and toss well to combine. Taste and add more salt or pepper as needed.
Transfer to a serving bowl and serve at room temp, or chill until ready to serve.