It's Spring, and eggs abound - usually in some connection with Easter. Pastel eggs on door wreaths, pastel coatings on chocolate eggs. But it's suddenly real eggs I am craving. Yes, I can make my deviled eggs, but I just can't seem to wait for a summer picnic to have potato salad - that creamy combo of eggs and potatoes - that my grandmother used to make.
Google "potato salad" and you quickly get over 28 million results. Unable to recall the exact recipe of my grandmother, I turned to America's Test Kitchen / Cook's Country. They too have many potato salad recipes - American, French, German, Austrian etc.
A common Hungarian potato salad combines potato and onions and vinegar - not unlike certain German potato salads (that they sell at my local German Deli). I am betting the vinegar-y type salad is a common European style, but they too must like creamy salads. This Amish Salad surely had some Swiss German roots? Cook's Country offers this easy version of a traditional cooked dressing (in this case cooked in the microwave) which includes apple cider vinegar - that "elixir" that everyone seems to be raving about these days. (See Notes below.)
BTW, if you are interested in the traditional cooked dressing, look no further than Edna Staebler's "Warm Potato Salad" in Food That Really Schmecks.
Apart from chopping the celery, there is not much "make ahead" with this recipe. It's all "in the moment" - making the dressing while the potatoes cook. The salad benefits from being chilled for about a half hour, and can be refrigerated for two days.
Getting ready:
hard-boil the eggs
chop celery
peel and cut potatoes
plan for two 30-minute refrigeration periods
4 large eggs
Hard cook and peel the eggs. (See Notes below re hard cooking eggs.) Save one cooked egg yolk for the dressing. Mash / finely chop the rest, and set aside.
3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
1 TB salt
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3/4" chunks. Place in a pot, covered with salted water to 1” above the potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium/ simmer until just tender - about 10 minutes. BE CAREFUL here. If you overcook the potato chunks and they get mushy, you will end up with mashed potato salad - not what you want.
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 hard cooked egg yolk
2 TB yellow mustard
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp salt
1 stalk celery
3/4 cup sour cream
Microwave the vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves - about 30 seconds.
Place this vinegar mixture into a food processor with the cooked egg yolk, mustard and celery seed and salt. Process until smooth.
Set aside 2 TB of this dressing to mix with the hot potatoes.
Mix the remaining dressing with the sour cream, and set aside.
Finely chop the celery. Depending upon the size of the stalk you may have 1/4-1/2 cup - your preference.
By now the potatoes are likely ready. Drain them and immediately drizzle them with 2 TB of the dressing. Mix gently using a rubber spatula. The warm potatoes will absorb that great flavour. Refrigerate until cooled - mixing once during that 20-30 minute period.
Add the mashed eggs to the dressing / sour cream mixture. You can leave this a bit chunky or mash it if you prefer a smoother dressing. Add the dressing and celery to the now cooled potatoes. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes and Tips...
Hard Cooked Eggs - doesn't sound complicated, but if you want to get them perfect - not cracked and with no "grey" rings - review the notes on my Deviled Eggs page.
Potatoes - ATK advises using only Yukon Gold; they say russets fall apart in this salad
Apple Cider Vinegar - Braggs seems to be popular, though I also like Gingras from Quebec
For KB Recipe Attribution Practices please click here.
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