How skilled are you at diplomacy within your family? Take this test—make this recipe for Potato Salad and see who loves it, who hates it, and why. I’m not a sociologist, but I know that Potato Salad happens to be a polarizing topic. I don’t consider myself a picky eater, but 99.9% of the time, I eschew potato salad unless it’s this recipe. Deli counters and restaurants serve it with too much mayonnaise or onions. Or it’s super mushy. Or worse, sometimes it’s served sweet. This Potato Salad recipe solves all that.
Boiling Is the “Hardest Part”
There’s nothing difficult about making Potato Salad. Boiling takes about 20 minutes to get them to be barely fork tender. Don’t overcook, because the salad will turned into mashed potatoes. When the potatoes are done boiling, put them in an ice bath to stop internal cooking and let completely cool. I boil the potatoes the night before I want to make the salad so that they cool and firm up in the fridge. This allows the potatoes to stay nice and cubed when I go to dice them, instead of falling apart.
Basic Ingredients
- Red potatoes
- Hard boiled egg
- Celery
- Black olives
- Roasted bell pepper
- Mayonnaise
Like I mentioned, boiling is the hardest part. The rest is just combining the ingredients you like.
This Potato Salad dish serves a lot of people, and many probably won’t have the same palette as you do. This dish, therefore, becomes something of a compromise. You want to make it the way you enjoy it, but you also want other people to love it as well.
I enjoy a lot of spice and heat in most of my food, Potato Salad included, but not everyone has that same appreciation. I try to be diplomatic about it making something with a lot of flavor but not spicy hot. I add paprika and use apple cider vinegar to impart some flavor and depth, but not scare anyone away.
I’m not big on onions in my salads, however, most of my family really enjoys the flavor. Instead, I use a bit of onion powder. Compromise.
If I want it spicier, I add hot sauce directly to the salad. I don’t add a ton of cracked pepper, because Sofia doesn’t like it. Again compromise.
Variations
- Like the heat? Make it spicier by adding diced jalapenos (fresh or jarred).
- Onion lovers can add diced red onion or chives.
- Make it vegan by using vegan mayonnaise and avocados in place of the hard boiled eggs.
- Sweeten it up by adding diced sweet pickles.
- Make it tangy by adding more vinegar, or diced dill pickles.
- Make it starchier and mushier by using russet potatoes and cooking until the potatoes are really tender.
Even with all the compromises, this dish manages to make the majority happy. It’s basic enough that you can tweak it to suit your tastes. My recommendation is to make this about 4 hours before you need to serve it, to let the flavors meld together.
You Might Like These Too!
Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 lbs red potatoes
- 2 hard boiled eggs diced
- 1 cup celery about 4 stalks
- 1 cup black olives sliced (about 1/2 of a 6.5 oz can)
- 1/2 cup jarred roasted red bell peppers diced
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp kosher salt or to taste
- 2 tbsp black pepper or to taste
- 1 tbsp Italian parsley, for garnish diced
Instructions
- In a large kettle add the potatoes and enough water to cover about an inch or so. Set stove to high and bring the potato to a steady boil, using a fork to test them for tenderness.
- Meanwhile, hard boil the eggs.
- When the potatoes are fork tender, and the eggs done, put them in ice baths to stop the cooking.
- When ready to make the salad, dice the potatoes and eggs and put them in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Test and adjust amounts as desired.
- Let rest in the refrigerator for at least four hours before serving.
Leave a Reply