Potato Salad

[David Ross]

Sunny weather has finally decided to come to Eastern, Washington after the third wettest Spring in recorded weather history. And with the arrival of Summer, I thought it might be a good idea to re-generate our discussion of your best Potato Salad recipes.

My potato salad starts with homemade mayonnaise. You can find my recipe at the mayonnaise topic

here.

My potato salad has a Mediterranean accent. I use baby red potatoes, dry-cured Nicoise olives, haricot vert, diced red bell pepper, chives, basil and oregano. I prefer raw red bell pepper because I found roasted red pepper too soft in texture and I didn't like how it turned the color of the mayonnaise red. I toss the potato salad with a good amount of the mayonnaise. This is definately not the traditional mayonnaise and vinegar-based potato salad my Mother made when I was a kid.

This potato salad is also good with grilled zuchinni, tuna, grilled chicken and as a side dish for grilled flank steak.

[cathyeats]

My latest favorite potato salad features a lemony vinaigrette and slow-cooked onions rather than crunchy ones. I was skeptical before making this, but it really works. It's a nice change from mayo-based salads - which I can't eat anyway, because of my damned arteries!

Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions

2 1/2 lbs. new or fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-size chunks

6 T. extra virgin olive oil

4 c. chopped yellow onions (about 4 medium)

Zest of two lemons

1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 t. dijon mustard

1 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 T. minced chives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook until just tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large skillet. Add the onions and cook until soft and golden, about 30 minutes. Pour the onions and all the oil over the warm potatoes. Add remaining ingredients and stir gently. Add salt and pepper to taste, plus extra lemon juice if you love lemon like I do. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 6.

[Isabelle Prescott]

Ah, if only I had a fork in hand... I'd be tasting that immediately. My desire is to lick the picture on my computer screen!!!!!!!!

[nakji]

I made some potato salad yesterday for the first time using the "toss the potatoes in vinegar" trick. Potatoes; apple cider vinegar; Kewpie mayo; green onions; salt and pepper. Very minimal; very delicious.

I like my potatoes half cubed, half mashed, which I achieve by cutting the potatoes into irregular sized cubes.

[LindaK]

Over in the Cooking from "Fiesta at Rick's" by Rick Bayless topic, a recipe for Roasted New Potato Salad with Poblano Mayo has caused some commotion. Chris Hennes and I have agreed to disagree about whether the potatoes in potato salad should absorb the dressing or not. He says no, I say that's half the deliciousness.

There's also some debate about the merits of using roasted vs. boiled potatoes for a potato salad.

Does anyone else have an opinion on these pressing questions?

[Chris Amirault]

What are the different textural results you're getting from roasted vs boiled? I've always boiled so I'm curious about other options.

[Chris Hennes]

Roasting gives a very different result, provided you cut up the potatoes before roasting: it's not so much the texture of the interior of the potato, as that the surface is smoother and less porous, so you wind up with much less "sauce" (be in mayonnaise or some other concoction). I personally prefer that, the flavor of the potato comes through more in the lightly-dressed version, and it resists the gloppiness that I find characterizes the more traditional approach of boiling.

[Chris Amirault]

Ah. So perhaps another issue is precut:whole....

[LindaK]

Roasting gives a very different result, provided you cut up the potatoes before roasting: it's not so much the texture of the interior of the potato, as that the surface is smoother and less porous, so you wind up with much less "sauce" (be in mayonnaise or some other concoction). I personally prefer that, the flavor of the potato comes through more in the lightly-dressed version, and it resists the gloppiness that I find characterizes the more traditional approach of boiling.

Chris describes the difference very well. But we reach very different conclusions. It didn't taste to me as if there was "less sauce." To the contrary, it felt and tasted as if there was too much. To my mind, since they weren't going to absorb the dressing, it would have been better to drizzle just a little of the mayo over a serving of the roasted potatoes.

Lesson learned: I'll stick with boiled potatoes, at least for a mayonnaise based dressing.

[Chris Amirault]

I'm hoping to serve a dilled potato salad later this week. Any updates from the Research Departments?

[HowardLi]

I use Marelene Sorosky's recipe from her "Year-round Holiday Cookbook." It is definitely high cal as it uses a 1/2 pound of bacon. I will post it later.

I made this just now. Tastes great, but the acid level might be a bit high for some folks. How do I know? I made this with 3 kg of potatoes (instead of 3 lbs...) by accident, realized my mistake, and doubled the mayo, pickles, and green onion. I left the drizzle the same. I had the eggs at the 1x amount, but I don't think they add too much to the dish.

Also I omitted the bacon due to a friend's dietary requirements.

Edited May 22, 2011 by HowardLi (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

I love the Japanese potato salad with the corn and cucumber...a LOT

[Jaymes]

I use Marelene Sorosky's recipe from her "Year-round Holiday Cookbook." It is definitely high cal as it uses a 1/2 pound of bacon.

Our favorite family potato salad is also "high cal" as it, too, calls for about a half-pound of bacon, but it's simpler than Ms. Sorosky's.

We justify the calories by reminding ourselves that we only have potato salad once or twice a month, and that's generally just in the summer, so it's okay if it's a bit of an indulgence.

Uncle Larry's Potato Salad

6 fairly large red potatoes

2T apple cider vinegar

1/2 lb bacon

1/2 C mayo (preferably Duke's) or M.W. if you prefer it

1 bunch green onions

3 hard-cooked eggs

Cut the potatoes into large bite-sized chunks. Boil in lightly-salted water until tender. Drain well. Immediately, while potatoes are still hot, sprinkle with vinegar and toss.

Fry bacon in large skillet. When crisp, remove bacon and chop, reserving bacon fat. Add 1/2 C Duke's or Hellman's to bacon fat in skillet and stir until smooth and all the brown bits are scraped up. (You can discard some of the bacon drippings if you think you’ve got too much.)

Chop green onions and eggs and add to potatoes. Pour dressing over all and stir to coat. Correct seasonings and serve at room temp.

[heidih]

I had a mayo based potato salad at a Cuban neighbor's on the weekend. It was a meal in itself as it contained shreds of chicken, peas and raw mushroom. What sealed the deal for me was the addition of cubed apple. I've also encountered the apple at Korean restaurants. It is fun because you can't tell if you are biting into an apple or a potato cube so there is an element of surprise in every bite. I like finely sliced green onions in mine.

[Shel_B]

It's the start of potato salad season along with BBQs and potlucks. I've read somewhere that steaming the potatoes is a "better" alternative to boiling and simmering the spuds, that they don't get as waterlogged.

So, here are a few questions for you potato salad mavens:

Does steaming really make that much difference compared to boiling and simmering the potatoes?

Are some potatoes better suited to one method or the other? I usually use Yukon Gold and Toots likes red potatoes.

When boiling the spuds, some flavor from the liquid seems to infuse into the potatoes. Does that happen when potatoes are steamed?

Will steaming result in a potato thats better able to absorb the flavors of the dressing?

Are any dressings better suited to one cooking method or the other?

Thanks! And happy potato salad days to ya ...

[Mjx]

If it's just a question of keeping the potatoes firm, boiling in water with a little vinegar added is the way to go.

[Lisa Shock]

If it's just a question of keeping the potatoes firm, boiling in water with a little vinegar added is the way to go.

This is the correct way to do it. And yes, waxy types like reds work best. Yukon Gold is ok to use, but it's a medium-starch variety and won't give as good of a result as reds will.

[Darienne]

"When boiling the spuds, some flavor from the liquid seems to infuse into the potatoes."

What are you boiling them in that imparts flavor to the potatoes????

[Lisa Shock]

Salt in the water will season the potatoes, which is a plus. But, yeah, I am also curious about flavors being imparted...what does your water taste like???

[Jaymes]

There is a wonderful "potato salad" thread here somewhere that has traditionally been bumped up each year along about this time, as we head into potato salad days.

And I think I posted in it that one of my very favorite recipes for a Cajun potato salad begins with boiling said potatoes in some Zatarain's shrimp/crab boil.

[Shel_B]

What are you boiling them in that imparts flavor to the potatoes????

The last salad I made was simmered in garlic infused chicken stock, which contained some salt.

[Shel_B]

[...] And yes, waxy types like reds work best. Yukon Gold is ok to use, but it's a medium-starch variety and won't give as good of a result as reds will.

What do you look for as a result that makes red potatoes superior to Yukon Gold?

I like the taste of the YG spuds, and when I use them they cook up firm and tender. Toots likes the red potatoes, and I've always found them to be a little "waxy" compared to the YG.

Yesterday Toots made some potato salad and she used red potatoes that were purchased in different places. The difference in consistancy between the two batches (cooked together, BTW) was remarkable. One batch cooked up nice and firm and the other broke apart. Maybe she ended up with different varieties of red potatoes ... I've never had that happen with YGs.

[annabelle]

"B reds" are the red potatoes that many/most people will boil for potato salad. They are about the size of a regular white potato. The baby reds are what I like to use since they will cook up quicker, the skins slip off easily and the stay firm enough to be diced or sliced, as well as stirred/tossed with other ingredients and a dressing without crushing or crumbling. Personally, I am not a fan of Yukon Golds and don't understand their appeal, but to each his own.

I have never steamed potatoes to be used in potato salad and would be interested to see if anyone does this as a rule.

[Shel_B]

"B reds" are the red potatoes that many/most people will boil for potato salad.

There are literally dozens of varieties of red potatoes. "B reds" says nothing about which variety you're using, just that it seems to reference a small, young potato, often called "new potatoes."

The problem we had yesterday was that Toots cooked up some spuds from two different purchases, and the results were quite different even though the potatoes were cooked together. This suggests to me that different varieties of red potatoes will yield different results.

[Twyst]

"When boiling the spuds, some flavor from the liquid seems to infuse into the potatoes."

What are you boiling them in that imparts flavor to the potatoes????

My personal favorite potato salad is potato salad made with spuds from a cajun crawfish/crab/shrimp boil. They are highly seasoned with onion/cayenne/salt/lemon and whatever happens to be in whatever crab boil seasoning you are using.