Mainese (Cook Island Pink Potato Salad) is a traditional Cook Islands recipe for a salad or accompaniment of potatoes blended with pickled beetroot and mixed vegetables served topped with mayonnaise and grated hard-boiled eggs. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Cook Islands version of: Cook Island Pink Potato Salad (Mainese).
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This is a potato and beetroot salad (hence the pink colour) that's finished with a topping of freshly-made mayonnaise (hence the name) with a garnish of chopped hard-boiled eggs.
Some people call it mainaise, some say it's mayonnaise, some call it minus, we're calling it mainese - that famous pink potato salad from the Cook Islands. This way of making it is how Koni likes it, adaptated for Manaui.com.
Ingredients:
For The Salad:
7 medium to large potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
5 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and peeled
150g mixed vegetables
400g of drained beetroot slices (from a jar or tin)
100g Chow Chow
Salt, to taste
For the Mayonnaise:
1 whole egg
5 egg yolks
1l salad & cooking oil (it's best to use a light oil)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
white vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice (to taste)
salt, to taste
Method:
For The Salad: Bring a large pan or stockpot to a boil. Add a decent amount of salt and use to boil the potatoes (in their skins) for about 35 minutes, or until cooked through and tender but not mushy (you're looking for them to be just about knife tender).
Bring another small pan of water to a boil, add the vegetables and cook for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Once cooked, drain the vegetables and set aside in a bowl.
When the potatoes are cooked drain and set aside to cool until they can be handled. Wrap in a tea towel and peel the skins. Cut the potatoes into 15mm cubes then set aside to cool completely.
For the mayonnaise, combine the whole egg and egg yolks in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until thick and light in texture. Beat in the dijon mustard then, with the whisk running slowly drizzle in the oil. You want to add the oil slowly so it has time to be incorporated into the eggs as an emulsion.
Once the oil has been incorporated and you have a thick mayonnaise whisk in the vinegar or lemon and the salt, adjusting the acidity and saltiness to taste.
Once the vegetables have cooled, add the diced potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Cut the beetroot slices into small dice then add to the bowl with the potatoes.
Add in the cooked (and cooled) mixed vegetables along with the chow chow.
Grate in two of the hard-boiled eggs onto the other ingredients then carefully turn the ingredients with a large spoon to combine everything together.
Add approximately 200ml of the freshly-made mayonnaise dressing to the potato mixture, turning the ingredients until the entire salad is evenly coated. Save some mayonnaise to dress the top of the salad.
Taste the salad and add more salt, mayonnaise, lemon juice or other ingredient until it suits your personal taste (I like to add some thinly-sliced red finger chillies).
Turn the salad mixture onto a tray and carefully smooth down the potatoes with a spoon, until the mound of salad looks like an upside-down bowl.
Cover this entire mound of salad with an even layer of the reserved, freshly made mayonnaise, then garnish it by grating the remaining hard-boiled eggs evenly over the dressing.
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