Very Small Baked Potato

Ingredients

• 1 very small baked potato
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• ¾ cup olive oil

Method

Bake the potato at 200°C until completely tender — a skewer should slide through without resistance, roughly 20–25 minutes depending on size. The skin should yield easily to pressure. Halve the potato lengthways and scoop the flesh into a bowl while it's still hot; the heat makes what follows easier and helps the emulsion take.

Mash the potato thoroughly with a fork or push it through a ricer if you have one — lumps will break the emulsification later. Add the mustard, salt, and caster sugar, stirring until dissolved and fully incorporated. This is a vegetables|potato vinaigrette, not a purée, so work with purpose. Pass the entire mixture through a fine sieve into a clean bowl, pressing gently with the back of a spoon. This removes any remaining fibrous matter and gives you the silky base you need. Don't skip this step — the sieve is what separates this from mere mashed potato.

Pour 1 tablespoon of the vinegar into the sieved mixture and whisk to combine. Now add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream — not a thin trickle, but not a pour either — whisking constantly. The potato starch acts as an emulsifier, binding the oil and vinegar into a stable sauce rather than a broken mess. If it looks thick and glossy and holds together, you're succeeding. This is the critical stage.

Once the oil is incorporated, add the remaining tablespoon of vinegar and whisk until it's completely combined. The sauce should be pale, creamy, and spoonable — think of a Provençal aioli without the garlic. Taste and adjust salt if needed; the vinegar will sharpen and cut through the richness. Serve at room temperature or warm, spooned onto the crisp potato skin or over the reserved halves. This dish works as an accompaniment to cold meats or as a light first course on its own.