Admittedly, I'm not the best photographer in the universe, but in my defense, potato salad ain't pretty. It is, however, delicious and my husband Douglas makes the best rendition of it I've ever had.
A few subtle touches - fresh thyme, a kiss of smoked paprika and crunchy celery leaves - elevate this picnic staple from side to stand-out.
Douglas' Summer Potato Salad
Ingredients
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3 lbs red potatoes
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1/2 cup mayonnaise
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1/2 cup dijon mustard
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2 stalks fresh celery with leaves
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1/2 white or yellow onion
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3 fresh green scallions
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1 tbsp smoked paprika
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1 fist full kosher salt
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1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
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1/2 cup fresh thyme leaves
Cooking Directions
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Quarter and boil the red potatoes for about 20 minutes, until tender to a fork or paring knife.
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Finely chop the celery, onion, scallions, and thyme leaves, and mix together with mayonnaise and mustard in large mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper and paprika.
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When potatoes are cool to the touch, dress them in the mixture and cover. Let ingredients set up together for an hour. Eat.
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I am really surprised that no one has suggested replacing the mayo with greek style plain low-fat yoghurt combined with a teaspoon or so of Dijon mustard (and if you want, a little olive oil, if you need a little fat). It's really not too different, especially once all the other ingredients are blended in, and a lot lighter, also yoghurt keeps better on a hot day. I can't stand mayo, and yoghurt is a great substitute!
This recipe has got to be wrong. A TABLESPOON of smoked paprika?! I tried the recipe and it was horrible.
Horseradish, anyone? Ya?
One word: buttermilk. In posted recipe, you have about a cup total liquid (1/2c mayo and 1/2c dijon). Reduce one or both and replace with buttermilk so you still end up with a cup of liquid. Trust me. Works especially well with Yukon gold.
I made this. I ate it. And it made me appreciate how good my mom's potato salad is.
Smoked paprika is my JAM!! YUM! Oh man...bacon too? Phenomenal.
My mother's potato sald was the best, and she added French dressing to it. Try it, you'll like it!
Where's Da Ketchup?
You can have that ketchup cuz I got dat gooold!
I use mustard in both potato salad and chicken salad! Aren't you proud of me!! :P
You've been using that same jar for two years right?:))))
LOL, probably!
I forgot to include that I also use a couple of teaspoons of pickle juice to my ingredients for my potato salad.
Ever tried mustard in tuna salad? Sounds weird, but it's pretty good if you add sweet relish to balance the flavor. Gives you a low-fat option, too.
Yep! See my list of ingredients above. I use it in all of my cold salads. :)
Capeche. What I meant to say was mustard in place of mayo (I'm not a miracle whip person). Gives it a nice bite.
Potato salad is yummy.
Yukon potatos, celery, green onion, radishes, egg, a little mustard, miracle whip, salt and pepper! :)
Mine is best . . . make it any way you want but include the eggs and at least one cup of grated chedar! To DIE for, A cup of chopped bacon hurts nothing either. Goes good with any beer or red wine.
glad you shared – i am amused by all these yo-yo's clamering that they make the best po-po salad... whatever...
The nice thing about potato salad is that you can customize it to your own liking or go with whatever you happen to have on hand. My favorite is pretty standard fare, I guess. Potatoes, eggs, mayo, a little mustard, onion, celery, bell pepper, salt, paprika.
Living in the southeast, the mayo *has* to be Duke's, of course. It's just so much better than other brands and makes a huge difference in foods with a heavy mayo presence like deviled eggs, coleslaw, potato salad, salad dressings, etc.
Sometimes I'll throw together a hot potato salad using a drizzling of olive oil and squirt of lemon juice over quartered and baked new potatoes that have been seasoned with herbes de provence.
It's funny to me to see people boasting (or arguing, even) that their potato salad is the best. It's such an individual taste. What may be your best loved version may not be considered all that great by others with their own favorite recipe. So chill out and remember it's just potato salad...and it's all good!
too many wurds go make salad – use bacon and chedar
You should add a bit of wee in there too. Preferably from a camel.
I think all your recipes are great I must add my two-cents in and that is add 7up like 1/3 a cup what a zing especially with vinegerate recipes. A little fresh thyme is me all the way! You wouldn't believe it but I met an ole Greek lady and that was her secret to good ass potato salad rest in peace and thank you.
My mother used to add chopped dill pickles, dill pickle juice and coooked egg yolks and cut up egg whites. Then lots of salt and pepper. I am making this tomorrow for friends visiting from India and we are going to try some adjustments. I have to skip the eggs, because of their dietary restrictions.
Chris I was stupid enough to make it!
It is the worst potato salad ever!
This recipe sucks!
I tbs of smoke paprika? The salad is red like ketchup don't put more than 1 tsp.
Too salty even for 4 lbs of potato (I just did a pinch of kosher salt).
1/2 cup of fresh thyme? It's too much, thyme is very aromatic.
I am a chef, this is a ridiculous recipe with tablesppoons of spices and A HALF CUP OF FRESH THYME...who ever wrote this is a dim wit.
if yours is in the "awesome" category I wonder if there is some kind of potato salad competition I can take mine to.
That photo looks like dog urp.
I deeply dislike may-based potato salad, ever since I got a serious case of food poisoning from the potato salad at a well-known deli-restaurant in the Bay Area (not naming names...). You do not want to see that stuff a second time. when I make potato salad it's the German way - oil and vinegar sauce, some dill....yum. And it is not a perfect petri dish for harmful bacteria, as those mayo-based ones are.
being from germany, let me assure you that mayo based potato salad is very common. in the north where I'm from overwhelmingly so.
Are you sure you didn't get sick from humping the mailbox?
Goat, no one wants to read about your hobbies.
I know a german family does it with sour cream! I improved it with chedar and bacon – the Canadian way.
WHERE IS THE BACON?
bacon and eggs. plus a few other things. the posted recipe is a very basic and somewhat boring potato salad...
Leave the celery and onions out. Why must all potato salads have celery and onions? That's just gross.
Ahhh, the potato salad best recipe conundrum. Who knew throwing down the "best" challenge would elicit such passion! I want to try them all.
Mine didn't come out that good. Thanks for the recipe tho.
Hey, no garlic?? My wife is always asked to put in MORE. The test, open the lid to the closed container after it has been sitting for a couple of hours, if you cannot smell the garlic, your need more"
Irv
Try 6-7 potatoes, 1 medium onion. 1/8 cup sweet relish, 2 tbsps spicy brown mustard, 3 tblsps white vinegar, 2 tblsps of sugar, 2 tsps of oregano and basil. Salt and pepper to taste and the final ingredient....4 strips of crispy bacon coursely chopped......YUM YUM!
opps I forgot, 4 hard boiled eggs diced :)
oops again also forgot 1/2 cup of mayo
Thanks everyone for sharing on this they of reflection. I liked all the recipes! Wish I could meet the chefs too. I am not able to have any type of fat, sugar or salt anymore. In the days when I was allowed to eat anything I wanted I added a bacon and garlic dip with blue cheese crumbles when the potatoes were still warm and refrigerated for several hours before serving. I always came up short.
Enjoy this Memorial Day and your potatoe salad. I can't eat any of it.
Sorry you can't enjoy the potato salad geraldina. Try a couple of tomatoes, some finely chopped onion, chopped cucumber. Let it sit in the fridge a couple hours. Enjoy. You can even add a bit of vinegar if you like. It's good.
Seriously? One half cup of fresh thyme? A fistful of salt? A tablespoon of paprika? A tablespoon of freshly ground pepper? .........all for 3 pounds of potatoes? I am a professional chef and can taste this without making it. This is ridiculous!
Chris, I was stupid enough to make it!
I didn't put a lot of salt, but I did put 1TBS of paprika.
The worst potato salad ever!
It is shameful for the editors to even allow something so stupid. One half cup fresh thyme? I have never used more than 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme in any one dish. The person that wrote this is a moron.
Um, whose fist? I'm guessing that Douglas' hand is a lot bigger than mine. (Still, it sounds yummy.)
My aunt used to make a version that had crushed potato chips on top. Sooooo yummy!
The best potato salad I ever ate used a simple trick that would work for most recipes. A vinaigrette was added to the potatoes while still warm. Other ingredients and the creamy base were added after the potatoes cooled down, and then the whole salad was chilled until serving time and served cold. The tang of the vinaigrette infused the potatoes with much more flavor than a standard recipe. I'll never go back to the Dump and Chill method.
Right on!
A FISTFULL of Kosher salt!!?? Sheesh, hope your bloodpressure is good, otherwise, just eat the salt, 'cause that's ALL you'll taste.
Are those secret ingredients ? Yes – they could have been in there!
It really does look like someone was carrying this dish and tripped .. then scooped it back up and put it on a plate. And how about cutting up those potatoes so you don't have to use a fork and knife? And the writer is talking about her HUSBAND's potato salad. We need to take all this with a .. yeah, I said it .. with a grain of salt.