On Potato Salad
Posted: 07/03/2010 Filed under: Food + Drink, Photography, Recipes, Stories | Tags: lemon juice, pepper, potato salad, salt, siblings, thyme, waxy potatoes 6 Comments »
Every potato salad enthusiast has a potato-and-dressing combination that they adore and staunchly defend. My favored combo is a batch of waxy potatoes dressed in lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme — a recipe which we whipped up this afternoon, and which I cannot stop eating. I think I’ve been into the refrigerator for potato salad at least five times today.
This tendency for willpowerlessness in the presence of potato salad runs in my family. A sibling of mine once threw away a carton of creamy potato salad one evening in an effort to stop eating it, only to dig it out of the trash the next morning for one more helping (with no negative gastrointestinal consequences, I might add — this sibling has a stomach of steel and an admirable and hardworking gut flora.)
Ah, potato salad, you wonderful summertime staple. We are prostrate before you!
[Update: see comments below for the recipe!]
Okay that looks and sounds delicious. Would you be willing to part with the recipe? I’m not fond of potato salad with mayo or Miracle Whip and such. So this lovely, appealing potato salad could be just what I need.
Thank you.
Joan P
We tend to improvise potato salad in our house, and the exact proportions vary, and it always turns out tasty, so *fear not* if you do not follow the recipe below to the letter. It’s roughly based on the “French Potato Salad” recipe from the new Joy of Cooking:
Scrub 2 pounds of red or waxy potatoes. Put them in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-25 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain them and cut them into cubes. (I like the skins on, so I never skin them before cutting. Also, your cubes do not have to be perfect! Just bite-sized.)
As the potatoes are cooking, whip up the dressing. I like to whisk together equal amounts fresh lemon juice and olive oil (for 2 lb of potatoes, 6 tablespoons of each is good), plus salt and pepper to taste, and a heaping tablespoon or two of fresh thyme leaves.
While your potato cubes are still warm, toss them with the dressing — they absorb the dressing best while still warm. You can eat this potato salad hot, cold, or at room temperature. I actually like it warm or at room temperature — all the flavors shine! But I will happily eat it cold, as my blog post attests.
To this salad, you can add minced shallot or onion, chopped parsley, chopped hard-boiled egg (yum!), bacon, or any number of other appealing potato-salady things. To the dressing, you can add a little whole-grain mustard, or substitute red or white vinegar for the lemon juice.
But I like the clean, plain flavors of potato, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and thyme, and so that combination is what I return to again and again!
Good luck, and let me know how your tastebuds like it!
There is nothing in this dish my taste buds could ever get bored with; and there is no dish that screams “July!” louder than potato salad. And that’s what we’re having for dinner tonight.
You are right — potato salad is a quintessential July dish! Hope you enjoyed yours for dinner… and for lunch the next day!
I love to put some surimi, tuna and mayo with the potatos. It taste more than great!!
xxx
Mmmmm…. so many excellent ways to make potatoes. Thank you for sharing yours!