Wednesday, March 25, 2015

our perfect potato salad


I have to admit that I wasn't always a fan of potato salad. But since living in Germany, I've changed my tune, as it seems to be quite a favorite here among our friends and acquaintances. It's been featured at most every summer BBQ, buffet, or special celebration I've attended recently and eventually I decided to give it a second chance.

And boy am I glad I did! This is an entirely different experience from the potato salad that I knew as a kid- a side order that came with the KFC bucket of chicken, with enough vinegar in it to knock you right over. This recipe is pure bliss, really. The perfect side for whatever you've got cooking on the grill, or (since it's a little early to be grilling in these parts) a delicious meal all on it's own. 

As per usual with the recipes I've shared, the amounts are a bit loose. Feel free to experiment and find the ratio you like, make a small side salad for yourself or a party-sized salad to bring to a function. The amounts in this recipe make enough for the two of us as a side at dinner, with plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.

Oh, because I forgot to mention- it tastes even better on the second day.



our perfect potato salad 

you will need:
a half a kilo of potatoes, peeled and boiled until soft
3 hard boiled eggs
4 large pickles
3 diced onions
a generous handful of bread crumbs
3 stalks of celery
a handful of fresh parsley

for the dressing:
olive oil (4-5 tbsp)
white wine vinegar (2 tbsp)
mayo (3 heaped tbsp)
sea salt and black pepper (to taste)


Start by boiling both your potatoes and eggs. Once these are cooked, chop them up into bite sized pieces and mix together in a bowl so they can start cooling off. Next fry up your diced onion in a pan with some olive oil and the bread crumbs. When they are nice and brown and coated with the crumbs, add them to the bowl.

Now it's just a question of chopping up your pickles, celery and parsley while your cooked ingredients cool off. Add them to your bowl and mix everything together well.

You could make your dressing separately, but to be honest, I usually just drizzle everything on top, season with salt and pepper, give it a good mix and call it good. The important thing is to wait to add the mayo until the salad is cool. This is because of the raw egg in the mayo- you don't want to risk salmonella. I add the oil and vinegar right away though. Again, feel free to play around with the amounts in the dressing so it's right for how you like it. I find that you don't need to add too much vinegar as the pickles give that flavor, but I'm probably just trying to avoid that potato salad experience from my childhood...

And there you go. Easy, simple and delicious. I'd love to know what you think if you give this recipe a try, or if you've got any tried and true potato salad recipes. This is such a classic dish and it seems there are thousands of ways to make it.



4 comments:

  1. That looks yummy and similar to how my mom makes her amazing potato salad. Adding breadcrumbs is new to me though. I guess potato salad is one of those typically german meals :) Did you know in many families Bockwurst and potato salad also a traditional Christmas meal to save mom from slaving in the kitchen for hours?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it does seem to be pretty typical here, but I love how many different ways there seems to be to make it. Glad I gave it a second chance for sure! Oh, I didn't know that- haha, that's awesome! I'll have to remember that next time it's Christmas and I'm stressed about the menu! I'm pretty sure potato salad would be a crowd pleaser at any time, Christmas included!

      Delete
    2. it does seem to be pretty typical here, but I love how many different ways there seems to be to make it. Glad I gave it a second chance for sure! Oh, I didn't know that- haha, that's awesome! I'll have to remember that next time it's Christmas and I'm stressed about the menu! I'm pretty sure potato salad would be a crowd pleaser at any time, Christmas included!

      Delete
  2. Oh there definitely are hundreds of ways to make potato salad, I think everyone makes theirs a little differently ;)

    ReplyDelete