There seem to be as many versions of potato salad out there as there are varieties of spuds! My husband likes a Mediterranean version I make with olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and pickled artichokes, and that’s a good one, but this old-fashioned classic is the tried-and-true crowd favorite.
Because potatoes are the star, care in cooking them is key: To keep from bursting the potatoes’ cellular structure and ruining the texture, which happens with a hard boil, you’ll want to simmer them just below boiling until they are still slightly firm but easily pierceable by a fork. Once the potatoes reach this stage, I plunge them into an ice water bath to keep the internal heat from cooking them further.
With the potatoes cooked and chilling, I turn to the cutting board, chopping plenty of vegetables to add color and crunch. I use green and Spanish onions, pickled gherkins, parsley, pickled red peppers and minced garlic. For the sauce, I first blend unseasoned rice vinegar with Dijon mustard, a little sugar and yes, pickle juice! That gets gently mixed in to the potatoes with sour cream and Hellman’s mayonnaise.
If you’re planning a picnic, this salad goes great with my buttermilk-marinated Golden Fried Chicken. Add some fresh fruit, tomatoes and corn and your menu is complete. Continue Reading…
