All about potato salad

Barbecue, hot dogs, pickles, cole slaw, potato salad—I hope you’ll have it all for the Fourth of July, but because of quarantine and social distancing, it’s going to be a different kind of a holiday this year. Maybe you’ll forego the usual big cookout and just do some hot dogs in the back yard for your family. But of course, you’ll have potato salad. It’s a must.

We are a family of devoted consumers of this ubiquitous dish—but we each have our own take on it. Jordan likes a yellow mustard version, made with salad mustard. When I was young, an Italian cook at the hospital where Dad worked taught Mom a trick with potato salad—peel the potatoes immediately after cooking (ouch for your fingers!), cube, and douse with vinaigrette. Let that soak in before you add eggs, celery, onion, pickle, mustard and mayo, and whatever you like. When I make that kind of old-fashioned potato salad, I used dijon in place of the bright yellow stuff.

Christian likes a hot potato salad that I make, modeled on German sweet/sour stuff though I tend to minimize the sweet. And me? Sometimes I like a French version, where the potatoes and onions are in vinaigrette, no mayo. Add capers if you like. My recipe this week is sort of a variation on that.

But potato salad comes in many versions. My files contain recipes for a salad made with fresh corn and basil, or one with bacon. Some people liked hard-boiled eggs, and others reject them. Some other things you might consider adding: radishes, artichoke hearts, cornichons, blue cheese, tuna, green beans—unlimited choices are yours to experiment with.

One of my favorite recipes comes from an Austin barbecue chain called County Line. One thing I learned from it is contrary to everything else I’ve ever heard—boil potatoes with skins on (use large baking potatoes) and chill. They are so much easier to peel and dice when cold. The original recipe calls for 5.5 lbs. Idaho potatoes—about four large ones—and makes enough to feed Coxey’s Army, but you can easily halve it. The distinctive feature is a whopping 16 oz. of dill pickle relish if you make the whole batch. Before you decide that’s too much, let me assure you it is not overwhelming but gives a great tang to the salad. (I’m getting hungry writing this!) You can find the recipe for County Line Potato Salad all over the internet.

Here’s a family favorite, a different take that I got from a friend. Please note you have to work fast with hot potatoes for this one.

Lemon Potato Salad (serves 8)

6 medium red potatoes

1 small onion, finely diced

½ c. celery diced

¼ to ½ c. chopped parsley

2 tsp. grated lemon peel (use your microplane)

3-4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (do not use bottled)

3-4 Tbsp. salad oil

1 Tbsp. salt (do not skimp on this – it’s important)

¼ tsp. pepper

Make the sauce of the last five ingredients first and let it sit while you boil potatoes with skins on until tender. Drain. Peel and dice while still warm. Pour sauce over the warm potatoes and onion. Stir to coat everything well. Add celery and parsley. Chill before serving.

Note: the original recipe called for a small jar of diced pimiento. It would give the salad a nice touch of color, but I’m not wild about the flavor and prefer to omit it.