Artichoke and Potato Salad with Creme Fraiche

Pan fried potatoes mingled with tangy marinated artichokes and crispy maple glazed pancetta, all tossed together with a tangy creme fraiche dressing. This is comfort food heaven.

Why I Love Artichoke and Potato Salad with Creme Fraiche

There are days where I crave comfort food. I just need something warm, cozy and a whole lot of carbs. And who’s kidding, salad generally does not come to mind. Except for this one. Ha.

Good ol’ fashion potatoes pan fried then tossed together with marinated artichokes and maple glazed pancetta and mingled together with a tangy creme fraiche dressing.

It’s got something crunchy, something salty, something sweet, something tangy and all the carbs you need!

Guarantee it will hit the spot with comfort cravings. A great recipe to add to your list of budget salads to serve the masses.

The Best Potatoes For Potato Salad

When serving large crowds, a good potato salad goes a long way. Thrifty and delicious, potatoes are a fantastic ingredient for budget salads.

If you want to make up your own potato salad, our potato pairings chart will give you a good guide of what goes well with potato.

However, with over thousands of potatoes growing around the world, choosing the right kind for potato salad can be a little overwhelming. So let’s get straight to the point – waxy is better than starchy.

A waxy potato is slightly firmer and holds their shape better when cooked. Whilst a starchy potato will fall apart during the cooking process which is perfect for a creamy mash but definitely not for potato salads.

I always prefer to have a variety of texture and shapes with my potato salads. For this potato salad with creme fraiche recipe, I used a mix of baby chat and kipfler potatoes. Both are great potato all-rounders.

I love kipfler potatoes for the shape and delicious nutty flavour. They are more waxy and hold their shape when cooked. For baby chats, they are a little more floury but still hold shape and are perfectly soft inside.

Of course there is no need to use the same types of potatoes I have chosen. Choose your own favourite mix for potato salad. Make sure they are similar sizes when cooking.

Try our other super yum potato salads! Creamy Beef Sausage and Crunchy Roast Potato Salad and Tofu Salad with Snake Beans and Peanut Butter Dressing.

What Is Pancetta?

Essentially cured pork belly, pancetta adds beautiful salty flavour to its dishes. Originating from Italy, pancetta is simply cured with salt but occasionally, depending on secret family recipes, spices and other aromatics are added to infuse the meat.

What is the difference between pancetta and bacon? They are close as they are both made with pork belly and with salty flavours but they are prepared differently. As mentioned, pancetta is cured with salt whilst bacon is smoked to “cook” the meat.

However, the difference between pancetta and bacon is subtle so you can substitute the pancetta with streaky bacon in this recipe if you can’t find it.

Can You Eat Pancetta Raw?

There are two types of pancetta – rolled and flat. You can eat rolled pancetta raw as this version is cured and then dried, similar to prosciutto. Great to add to antipasti or in sandwiches.

For the flat version, this is generally not eaten raw. It is chopped up and added to pasta, stews or soups or cut in thick strips and grilled, similar to bacon.

How to Make Artichoke and Potato Salad with Creme Fraiche

How to Cook the Potatoes

Give potatoes a wash and then cut into halves. If the kipfler potatoes are a bit big, cut into thirds.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to boil and add potatoes to cook until just tender. This will take about 10 minutes. Drain and give them a good shake in the colander.

Heat a flat pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add potatoes and pan fry until lightly brown. Just a couple minutes really to gently toast the sides. Remove from the pan.

I do prefer a little more bite in my potato salads so by pan frying the potatoes, it adds a little more crunch and toasted flavour. Heavily dressed mushy potato salad is not my thing.

How to Make Maple Glazed Pancetta

Turn the oven on to 200°C or 400°F.

Place pancetta strips on a lined baking tray. Using a brush, gently brush pancetta with maple syrup on both sides.

Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes or until crispy. Do be careful and watch the pancetta in case it burns.

Remove from the oven and cool down on a wire rack. Once cooled, cut into small pieces approximately 1 cm.

Hint – don’t let the kids see it otherwise they may be all gone before you know it. And if you can’t find flat pancetta, streaky bacon will work perfectly as well.

How to Make Creme Fraiche Dressing

Rather than using mayonnaise for potato salad dressing, I chose crème fraîche instead as the base.

What is crème fraîche? Pronounced “krem fresh”, it is made from adding bacteria to cream and is essentially the French version of sour cream.

The difference between sour cream and creme fraiche is the higher fat content which makes creme fraiche more silky consistency and won’t curdle or split as easily in higher temperatures.

Sour cream has a more sour taste whilst creme fraiche is more creamy and tart.

What is creme fraiche used for normally? Because of the higher fat content, creme fraiche is often used in sauces and soups. It can be whipped into salad dressings and used in sweet pastries and cakes.

With the slightly acidic taste, crème fraîche dressing helps cut through the starchy feel of the potato salad but still give it a creamy taste. Throw in a little chopped chives for freshness.

Place crème fraîche, olive oil, lemon juice and chives in a small bowl. Mix together until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

How to Assemble the Salad

Cut artichoke hearts into quarters and place in a large mixing bowl.

Add pan fried potatoes, maple glazed pancetta into bowl and creme fraiche dressing into bowl. Mix well and ensure all potatoes are well covered.

Place in a large dish and serve.

This potato salad with creme fraiche is best served warm but of course easily devoured cold. This budget salad recipe will convert even those who don’t like salads.

Perfect with summer barbeques, autumn stews, winter roast or spring grilled fish. An all rounder, anytime of the year.

That’s all!

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