July 15, 2014
This super simple red potato salad is of the don’t-mess-with-the-classics variety. It’s my go to recipe for summer BBQ’s and it always is a hit. Most recently, it was part of our 4th of July menu along with fried chicken and coleslaw — at that point, what’s a little more mayo added to the mix?
Yes, mayonnaise. This is a classic combination for good reason. The mayo makes for a creamy goodness that can’t be duplicated with anything else. Lately, I’ve been buying Spectrum Mayonnaise. It’s organic, super bright, creamy and tastes great. Still, there’s nothing wrong with Best Foods/Hellman’s if you can’t get your hands on the Spectrum.
When selecting potatoes, look for the small red boiling potatoes and always go for very firm and red over soft and mauve (yes, there’s a joke in there). The softer, lighter red potatoes will turn brown when cooked. If they come in a bag, squeeze a few of them to make sure you don’t have soft ones in the mix. Lately, I’ve been finding the best red potatoes at Tri-County Produce. As for the hard-boiled eggs — don’t bother with an egg slicer, go for chunkier pieces, it gives great texture to the dish.
Even if it’s just the four of us, I like to make big batch with the assurance of leftovers. Is there anything better than cold potato salad out of the fridge the next day? On the 5th of July I took a batch of potato salad and fried chicken leftovers to the beach and it was a huge hit with my umbrella mates.
If you want to serve this for an afternoon/evening party, I’d recommend making the salad in the morning to give it a good go in the fridge. Try it with ribs and call it a day. Easy breezy.
Serves 8 – 10
3 pounds red potatoes
1 cup mayonnaise
1 heaping tablespoon grainy mustard
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
4 bunching onions, white and half of green part, chopped in thin coins
4 eggs hard boiled, rough chop
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 shallot, small dice
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley chopped, and reserve some for garnish
Wash and dice your potatoes into bite-sized pieces. I usually slice them in half and then slice another 3-4 times depending on size. The slices should be 1/4 inch thick. Place potatoes in a large pot filled with water to cover and a handful of salt (about 2 tablespoons). Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes — until semi soft when pierced with a knife, but not to the point when they’re breaking apart. Drain potatoes and cool until room temperature.
Mix the mayonnaise with the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper, paprika together. When potatoes have cooled mix the dressing, potatoes, onions, eggs, celery, shallots and parsley together in a large bowl. Taste for seasoning adding more salt and pepper if needed. Chill and when ready to serve, garnish with fresh parsley.
Cooking hard-boiled eggs: To cook the perfect hard boiled egg bring a pot of water to boil, then add the eggs and gently boil for eight minutes. If you get an overly aggressive boil you’ll have some crazy ass cracked eggs on your hands. After eight minutes drain out the hot water in the sink. Add a few cups of ice to the bowl and some cold water. Let sit until cooled completely.
