Potato Salad

[Plantes Vertes]

Just out of interest blue_dolphin, does your rocket/arugula always look like that? It's quite different from what I normally see in this country (yours is much larger, broader and paler). I wonder what types they are.

 

Also, what does tarantella mean here?

[blue_dolphin]

Just out of interest blue_dolphin, does your rocket/arugula always look like that? It's quite different from what I normally see in this country (yours is much larger, broader and paler). I wonder what types they are.

 

Also, what does tarantella mean here?

 

The arugula in this last box did indeed have leaves that were much larger, broader and slightly lighter (though perhaps not as light as it appears in my photo) than anything I've seen in the grocery stores or what I usually get in the box.   Not sure if that was due to the unusually hot weather we had recently or if it's a different variety.  The flavor was peppery, as usual.

Tarentella is the name that this company puts on its fancy tuna belly meat.  I thought it might be a common usage, but apparently not.   Google books turned up a reference in a book called Cooking in Europe, 1250-1650 to tarantella as "a salted tuna belly, much like prosciutto in texture and even flavor."  The product I used isn't that but is a lovely bit of canned tuna.

[BeeZee]

I'm going to make that Tunisian potato salad next week for a company picnic, since it will be sitting outdoors for a while I like the idea of no mayo or dairy products in the mix. Found some recipes for "quick" versions of preserved lemon so I plan on making my own.

[BeeZee]

I did make the Tunisian potato salad for the company picnic, it was well received. I also added more capers and more olives than the recipe above called for, since I was cooking 3 lbs of potatoes, and finely minced the onion. The other slight mod I made was mixing some smoked paprika with the sweet paprika. I had made "quick" preserved lemons a couple of days prior and they didn't seem to have broken down at all, so I really minced them down into small bits. I'd make the recipe again, but I have to remember to really heavily salt the water for the potatoes, I felt that I had to keep adding salt to the salad. Probably if I had "real" preserved lemons a bit of the salty juice would be a good addition.

[ProfessionalHobbit]

Ever since I moved to San Francisco, I've despaired at having acceptable versions of potato salad in restaurants.

 

The most recent violation was

 

 

which is the version sold at Wise Sons.

 

http://wisesonsdeli.com/

 

That picture is a crime against potato salad:  no acidity, or anything remotely of interest other than a boatload of dill.

 

So I decided to make my own for a change.

 

 

1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks.

 

 

3/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup organic mayonnaise, 2 tsp. stone-ground mustard. Shortly after this pic was taken, I added a pinch of salt and some black pepper.

 

 

 

1/4 cup minced scallions.

 

 

1/2 cup sliced celery.

 

\

 

1/4 cup chopped Vlasic dill pickles.

 

 

Potatoes were cooked in lightly salted water until fork tender (after about 20 minutes), then drained and rinsed in cold water. Then stirred in 5 tbsp. dill pickle juice.

 

 

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley.

 

 

5 rashers fried bacon, which I eventually diced.

 

 

Fold potatoes into sour cream mixture, then add remaining ingredients (celery, green onions, bacon, pickles, parsley). Taste for salt, black pepper and pickle juice.

This recipe is sized for 4-6 people.

Recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/potato_salad/

PS.  B pronounced it "perfect".

PPS.  It could probably have used a touch more acidity, come to think of it.  Or maybe what I'm really pining for is a German potato salad.

Edited June 23, 2016 by ProfessionalHobbit (log)

[suzilightning]

5 hours ago, ProfessionalHobbit said:

 

PPS.  It could probably have used a touch more acidity, come to think of it.  Or maybe what I'm really pining for is a German potato salad.

 

YES...yes you are.....slice your potatoes into rounds...cook in broth... make a vinaigrette with the bacon grease and add the parsley and some finely minced shallot or onion.  If you need to moisten the dish a bit use the broth as they do in Germany......

[suzilightning]

Damn you, Stash!!!!!!

Now I am craving my mom's potato salad.   Potatoes, onion, celery(which I can no longer eat),green pepper, Miracle Whip, hard boiled eggs and defrosted green peas.    It never hits the same notes as mom's.

 

Edited to say I've made two batches since writing this and have been very, very happy.  No celery or had boiled eggs.  Replaced the Miracle Whip with Cain's mayonnaise and added some sweet relish and celery salt.  Missed by THIS much ........but still good.

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by suzilightning (log)

[lindag]

I always make my Mom's recipe for potato salad; very simple though I do add some sweet pickle relish.

Otherwise it's hers and just the way I like it.

Once in a while I'll make German potato salad, I'm quite fond of that too.

Actually I love just about anything that begins with 'potato'.

Edited June 23, 2016 by lindag (log)

[kayb]

Potato salad is my comfort food. Potatoes, boiled in heavily salted water. Eggs if I feel like it (generally I don't). Sweet pickle relish. Dressing of Hellman's Mayo, ballpark mustard, ketchup or ripe tomato relish, onion salt (don't like raw onion), garlic salt (don't like raw garlic), Lawry's seasoned salt, paprika. Chopped crisp bacon is an acceptable addition; celery and bell peppers (can I hear an Amen, @rotuts?) are assuredly not.

 

I will eat this for dinner with nothing else. Or for breakfast. Best while warm.

 

My German potato salad is small red potatoes, cooked in the skin and sliced or quartered; bacon, fried, diced, and set aside; the bacon grease, with some coarse mustard, some caraway seed, some chopped onion added and sauteed until the onion's soft; a healthy splash of cider vinegar, and some water from the potatoes if needed. Plenty of black pepper. Tossed gently. Also served warm.

[gfweb]

I make an interesting version  (using yukon golds of course) with blackened diced onions. Get 'em good and dark, just short of burnt, and mix in to diced potatoes with mayo , s/p, and a splash of jalapeno cider vinegar. Best if it rests an hour or two. Goes well with meats

[rotuts]

@kayb 

 

Kudos your way.

 

esp. re the Cel and the Bell

 

how ever. should you have the means, and get a fantastic price

 

the I-Pod  does very quick, and more than outstanding work with the potatoes for the P.Salad.

 

no soup, just fantastic potatoes.   i make a big back  ( pressure steam ) and keep those I do not use That Day

 

for Those I Use fore  late night snacks

 

you get the idea.

 

 

[HungryChris]

OK, I had to have potato salad!

HC

 

[ProfessionalHobbit]

The version that sticks in my mind is a little bit on the sweet-and-sour side.

 

I haven't had one that matches lately.  The quest continues...

[cyalexa]

I'm about to try this:Austrian-style potato salad

 

Only I'm using new red potatoes because that's what I have.

[Katie Meadow]

The potato salad least likely to win my heart is the one where you can't locate the potatoes; and that's the most common kind in delis, BBQ shops, and potlucks. I love potato salad, but it should be all about the potatoes! I can't think of another dish that lends itself to so many variations, except maybe slaw. In summer, when good yukon golds or fingerlings are abundant I make a lot of potato salad, and I rarely make it exactly the same way twice. 

 

When I look at recipes for potato salad my main criteria are as follows: 1) Russets are best in latkes, not potato salad  2) If the recipe says it feeds 6 it shouldn't require a cup of mayo.

 

I swear by this: potato salads benefit from the following step: when the potatoes are still very warm, cut them up and sprinkle generously with salt and vinegar. Let them sit at least 10 minutes before adding the rest of your ingredients, and then don't forget you already put in some vinegar.

 

Lately I am liking various types of pickles in my potato salad, not just standard bread and butter types. Japanese style pickles can work great. I added some pickled kohlrabi to a potato salad recently--also yummy.

[Beebs]

Oooh, this topic is making me crave potato salad!  I have a giant bunch of dill to use up, so I guess I will be making a very dilly potato salad this weekend.

[lindag]

Fresh dill in potato salad is very nice, but don't forget the celery seed and/or celery salt, it adds a lot of flavor.

[AlaMoi]

potato salad on-the-hoof....  these are Red Pontiac - dug fresh they're like candy!

 

[gfweb]

@alamoi how many pounds of potatoes does patch yield?

 

[AlaMoi]

that's three rows about 10' each - we'll get roughly fifty pounds for storage at the end of the season.

however, we dig / eat them 'as needed' so the total yield is higher.

 

I've grown about every variety in the book over the years - but the red pontiacs seem to keep much better than others.  we didn't run out of garden potatoes until end of February - no sprouting / rotting / etc. - good to the last spud (g)

 

"dinner pick" August of last year:

 

[robirdstx]

My Potato Salad

 

 

This batch contained four large thin skinned white potatoes (boiled until tender, cooled, peeled and cut into a large dice), four large hard cooked eggs (diced), two stalks celery and one-third of a medium onion (both small dice), about a half cup of mayo and a teaspoon or more of dijon mustard, salt and black pepper. The potatoes are kept aside until all of the other ingredients have been stirred together, then the potatoes are gently folded in. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow the flavors meld. (I personally do not care for pickles in potato salad.)

[Fernwood]

On 6/24/2016 at 1:39 PM, Katie Meadow said:

I swear by this: potato salads benefit from the following step: when the potatoes are still very warm, cut them up and sprinkle generously with salt and vinegar. Let them sit at least 10 minutes before adding the rest of your ingredients, and then don't forget you already put in some vinegar.

What she said.  

Adding the vinegar at this point also firms up the cut surfaces of the potatoes.  Good if you don't want your salad to resemble smashed potatoes but if you use waxy spuds and leave them with the vinegar too long before completing the dressing they can set into disconcertingly sharp-edged polyhedra.  

[lindag]

19 hours ago, robirdstx said:

My Potato Salad

 

 

This batch contained four large thin skinned white potatoes (boiled until tender, cooled, peeled and cut into a large dice), four large hard cooked eggs (diced), two stalks celery and one-third of a medium onion (both small dice), about a half cup of mayo and a teaspoon or more of dijon mustard, salt and black pepper. The potatoes are kept aside until all of the other ingredients have been stirred together, then the potatoes are gently folded in. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow the flavors meld. (I personally do not care for pickles in potato salad.)

Sounds almost exactly like mine except I like to add a couple tablespoons of drained, sweet relish.