Recipes - Potato Salad

There are probably as many potato salad recipes as there are cooks, but I suppose it won’t hurt to put down a few more:

Classic Potato Salad

I had been trying to make a potato salad that tasted “original” – simple, familiar, more in the range of comfort food that more inventive display, and I finally found it, made by my mother’s caretaker.  The key ingredient? Sweet relish.

* 5-6 medium/large Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, quartered

* 3 lg. Tbsp. mayonnaise

* 2 Tbsp. sour cream or whole milk yoghurt

* 1 Tbsp. mustard (any kind – I guess since this is original, it should be Gulden’s)

* 3 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish

- Boil the potatoes until a fork can be poked into them, but they should not be soft.  There will be some additional cooking once you take them off the stove and cool them, so they should be a bit firm to the touch.

- Drain the potatoes, and rinse them in very cold water 3-4 times to cool them off and stop the cooking.  Cut each of the quartered pieces in half.  Cooking too small pieces of potato is risky because they may cook too quickly and get soft, so I prefer the extra work at the end

- Mix the ingredients of the dressing in the bowl in which you are going to serve the potato salad, and add salt and pepper to taste

- Add the potatoes, mix well, and chill

Classic Potato Salad #2

This is the potato salad I always used to make when I was trying to figure out the key ingredients of “original” potato salad.  It is good and not sweet:

* 5-6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered

* 1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped

* 1 bunch parsley, chopped

* 1 Tbsp. capers

* 1 Tbsp. Maille mustard

* 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise

* 2 Tbsp. sour cream or while milk yoghurt

* 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

* 1 Tbsp. sugar

- As above, quarter, boil potatoes until tender but not soft

- Drain 3-4 times with cold water, drain, and cut each quarter in half

- Mix dressing ingredients in serving bowl and mix well

- Add potatoes and onion

- Mix well, chill in refrigerator, and serve

Potato Salad with Spices and Chutney

This takes the basic ingredients – mayo, mustard, sour cream or yoghurt – but adds a lot of different spices.  The unusual combination of sweet mango chutney, tuna, and anchovy – salt and sweet - gives a particularly interesting flavor

* 5-6 medium/large Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, quartered

* 2-3 Tbsp. mayonnaise

* 2 Tbsp. sour cream or whole milk yoghurt

* 1 Tbsp. Maille mustard (or other brand of spice French style mustard)

* 1/2 lemon, squeezed juice

* 1 medium bunch chopped parsley

* 1 Tbsp. sweet mango chutney (better to use brands from Asian stores rather than ordinary supermarket chutney

* 1/2 can flat anchovies, crushed

* 1/2 can tuna, crushed

* 1 tsp. carroway seeds, crushed in mortar

* 1 tsp. celery seeds

* 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped

* 1/2 red onion

* 1 Tbsp. honey

- Boil potatoes, cooked until you can poke through with a fork, but with some resistance.  They will continue to cook until fully cooled so they should be firm

- Rinse in very cold water 3-4 times, drain well

- Cut each piece in half.  It is better to do this after cooking, because too small pieces can overcook easily

- Mix all dressing ingredients together, add potatoes; season with salt and pepper to taste

- Put in refrigerator to chill

Potato and Onion Salad

This is a variation of the above.  The sherry, coriander, and chutney give it a great taste

* 1 lg. sweet onion; 1 lg. red onion, chopped coarsely

* 5-6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, with skin and quartered

* 3 Tbsp. sweet mango chutney (better brands can be found at Asian stores)

* 2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar (this is not always available or easy to find, so you can substitute with 1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar and 1 Tbsp. dry (Amontillado) sherry

* 1 lg. bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped

* 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise

* 2 Tbsp. sour cream or whole milk yoghurt

- Boil the potatoes, careful not to overcook.  You should be able to poke a fork in easily but feeling a little resistance.  They will continue to cook until you cool them well.

- Drain and rinse in cold water 3-4 times until cool

- Cut each quarter in half (better to do this after cooking, for too small pieces have a tendency to get overcooked quickly)

- Mix all dressing ingredients in a serving bowl, and add the potatoes

- Mix all well, chill in refrigerator

Potato Salad with Basil, Cajun and Bay Spice, and Honey

The unusual combination of these key ingredients plus the more traditional mayo and mustard, give the salad a great taste:

* 5-6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered, skin on

* 2 lg. Tbsp. mayonnaise

* 2 lg. Tbsp. sour cream or whole milk yoghurt

* 1 lg. Tbsp. Maille mustard

* 1 medium coarsely chopped red onion

* 6 large black olives, halved

* 1 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar

* 1/4 squeezed lemon juice

* 1 Tbsp. honey

* 2 tsp. Cajun Spice (any kind – Blackened Fish, Redfish, any of Prud’homme brand)

* 2 tsp. Bay spice

* 1 Tbsp. dry basil flakes

* 1 small bunch parsley, chopped

- Boil, drain, cool, halve the potatoes as in the above recipes

- Mix all spices except onions

- Add onions and potatoes, mix all well

- Chill in refrigerator, serve, garnished with parsley, ground black pepper