I don’t know how many times people have asked me for the recipe of my potato salad and I’m always stumped! “Why,”you might ask. Because I have no measurements. So, I’m going to try my best to help you visualize this process.
It’s Easter, and in the U.S., most Americans serve a baked ham, potato salad, and baked beans. I can go with the ham, because I like the leftover ham-bone for seasoning a pot of beans and using the ham slices for sandwiches or other recipes.
For the potato salad, choose as many potatoes as you have people. For example, for a dinner of six, choose six potatoes. I like using yukon golds. They don’t fall apart when boiled, and I like keeping the peelings on for more flavor.
1. Wash your potatoes and boil them whole till tender.
2. Let cool completely and cut up into smallish bite-size pieces.
3. Run out to your garden and pick a nice bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley and an equal amount of fresh spearmint. Pick the leaves off and soak in cool water so that any sand or grit settles to the bottom of the sink. Spin dry and chop. Put on top of cooled potatoes.
3. Chop one bunch of green onions. I use chives from my garden and one small sweet vidalia onion. Add to potato mixture.
4. Squeeze enough lemon juice for 1/2 cup. Add 1/2 cup good olive oil. Salt and pepper generously. Potatoes take a lot of salt, so don’t be stingy. If you don’t have lemons, do NOT use the bottleed variety. Instead, use a good red wine vinegar. The proportions you want are one-to-one acid to fat. Pour over salad mixture and toss. Allow to sit on the counter for several hours and toss occasionally to thoroughly incorporate the flavors.
5. Serve at room temperature, because you don’t want the olive oil to congeal in the fridge.
Are you game to try a different potato salad?
My herb garden has
flavors so nice.
I’ve parsley, garlic,
sage, oregano and
basil, that’s right;
delicious companions
for a number of dishes;
they’ll make your mouth water,
fulfilling your palate’s
most delicate wishes.