Walking Salad with Red Braise Potatoes & Green Tahini

Red braise refers broadly to a Chinese technique of cooking various proteins or vegetables in a rich, sweet and fragrant soy broth that imparts a reddish colour. The particular red braise I’ve used here is inspired by a recipe by the brilliant Chinese Food Demystified. Their approach to making a red braise is incredibly simple so I recommend watching their video on red braising if you want to try this – please do. It’s so delicious. I have made various versions of this braise since only discovering it last month and I’ve probably made it different every time depending if I am looking for something spicier or sweeter. In other words, I think you can adapt this easily to your taste or depending on what you have and it will still be good as long as you use the fundamentals – sweet, salt, fat. I call this a walking salad as was what I gathered on a walk today, the 29th March 2025. As usual, this lunch was unplanned and came out of the fact that I had a large number of discounted baby potatoes. That’s how it is most times!

Left to right – field maple, forsythia flowers, berberis, hogweed, ground elder, rosebay willowherb and cow parsley stems.

Ingredients

– A few handfuls of wild greens washed and spun dry for the base of the salad – I used ground elder, young field maple leaves, young hogweed, cow parsley stems and rosebay willowherb but any wild (or not so wild!) herbs would work. Washed and sliced.

– 2kg potatoes washed and quartered if large – waxy or new potatoes will work best

Soy Sauce – both light and dark

– 3 – 4cm of ginger – washed, peeled and grated

– 3 – 4 cloves garlic – peeled and grated

– 2 – 3 tbsp neutral oil

– 2 tsp fennel seed

– 1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorn

– 1 tsp chilli flakes

– 1 bay leaf

– 1 tsp cinnamon

– 1/2 tsp ground clove

– Fresh wild herbs – if desired

– Heavy pinch of Chinese five spice

– 1 tbsp sugar

– 1/4 tsp MSG

– 2 tbsp tahini

Instructions

1. Add a splash of oil to a large pot and add the ginger, onion and garlic. Place over a medium heat and allow the vegetables to sweat and take on a little bit of colour – 3 minutes should do it.

2. Add all of the aromatics listed from fennel seed to ground clove (I sometimes use whole spices in a little cloth bag to hoke out at the end!) plus any wild herbs you would like to include. I used cow parsley leaves tied in a bundle.

3. Give everything a chance to bloom in the heat for a minute and then add the potatoes and enough water to just cover – around 2 litres depending on your pot- with a generous pinch of salt and a splash of dark soy sauce. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender.

4. Check after 10 minutes and once they seem close to done, add the five spice, sugar, msg, and about a tablespoon of dark and light soy sauce. Keep the potatoes on the heat but remove the lid to allow some evaporation.

5. When the potatoes are almost cooked turn on the oven to 220 and prepare a sturdy roasting tray with high sides. Transfer the potatoes and broth to the pan and drizzle over a little extra oil to help the potatoes crisp up. Pop the tray into the hot oven and allow to roast and reduce the broth down further. The potatoes are ready when they’re golden on top and the broth is reduced to almost a sauce. This should take about 15 minutes.

6. Use a stick blender to combine the tahini with some of the ground elder or other wild (or not so wild) herbs of your choice and splash of water. Season to taste.

7. To serve, layer some of the tahini sauce on the plate and top with the wild greens – ground elder and sliced cow parsley stems – , potatoes, some of the syrupy broth and some wild flowers – I used forsythia and berberis here.

Tip – make as many potatoes as you can fit into your pot or tray as these are an incredible left over for an unusual potato salad or even just a snack. and save the broth for serving with rice.