Potato Salad?

Question

What is the best way to make a good one?

Which are the best Potato's to use?

Answer 1

Use small new potatoes and cut them in half and boil. Make a dressing using olive oil, mayo, Swedish mustard and baby capers, loads of salt and pepper and if too sweet, a bit of balsamic vinegar. Toss with the potatoes while they are still hot and serve warm sprinkled with crisp fried onions, if you like them!

Answer 2

Ingredients
250g small new potatoes
75g Green beans
4 salad onions, diagonally sliced
100g black olives, pitted
50g thinly sliced salami, cut into quarters

For the salad
3 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp Mint, chopped
2 tsp grain mustard
salt and pepper


Method
1. Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for 15 minutes, then add the beans and cook for a further 3 minutes until tender but still crisp. Cool under running cold water, then drain and leave to cool.

2. Cut the potatoes into chunks and toss gently in a serving bowl with the salad onions, olives and salami.

3. Make the dressing; mix together the oil, vinegar, mint and mustard; season to taste. Pour over the potato salad and lightly toss together. Divide between two serving plates and serve.

Answer 3

Depends on the type of potato salad you want. Do you want a mustard-based salad, mayo-based salad, vinegar based salad, pesto-based salad, etc. Once you figure that out, the main problem people seem to have is the potatoes themselves. I personally scrub new potatos and boil them until I can skewer them with my fork. However, you can use just about any type of potato you want. Just make sure you cook them enough.

Once you've got the potatos cooked, cut them into bite-sized chunks. After that, it's a matter of taste. I add bacon, sliced black olives, chopped green onion, and djion mustard. My mom adds sliced red onions, garlic powder, and pesto.

If you've never made potato salad before, the best thing to do would be to go to a recipe site and find a good basic recipe you can modify. Once you get the hang of it, you can start doing all sorts of wild and crazy things!

Answer 4

I use only Yukon Gold because they have a nice buttery flavor. Peal 5 lbs bag, cut and cook til fork tender. Drain. While still warm add 2 heaping Tablespoons of REAL mayonnaise, a squirt of brown deli mustard, 1 Tablespoon sweet pickle relish 5 diced hard boiled eggs and garlic powder. Mix all of this together while the potatoes are warm. It makes a "mashed " salad and it creates a creamier texture while still leaving chunks of potato for texture. You can also boil the eggs with the potatoes (in the same pan) to save time and extra cleaning. Chill completely for flavors to combine.

Answer 5

Get potatoes that are washed and don't need peeling.
Shove them ( I do about a kilo of spuds)
chopped in whatever size pieces you can fit in your mouth, into a pot of water (enough water to cover) a bit of salt on top. Boil till they are kind of how you like the texture (some people are a bit odd and like half-raw type texture) chop finely, a red onion, a bit of celery, some parsley, and chives (wash first- unless they grow in a hanging pot, you never know who's lifted the leg) Then drain the potatoes, pour in a whole bottle of Paul Newmans ranch dressing + a few tablespoons of whatever other mayo you have on hand (that ranch is good, but fairly exxy and doesn't go far) You have to dress it while it's warm, shove all your cut stuff in , bit of salt and pepper and it's really good!!!! I like egg in other peoples potato salad but I just don't have either the skill level or time to try it myself, have fun testing!

Answer 6

Back-For-Seconds Potato Salad

Ingredients:

6 large red potatoes, cooked until just done, cubed
1 cup celery, sliced
7 hard cooked eggs, sliced
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1/2 cup dill pickle, diced small
2 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons mustard
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 paprika

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, celery, 6 eggs, red onion and dill pickle.

In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper. Mix well. Pour a little at a time over potato mixture (size of potatoes used determines if you use all the dressing; usually it takes all).

Pour into serving dish. Garnish with reserved egg and sprinkle paprika lightly over top. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

Answer 7

'Best' potatoes -- depends on your taste. Red and 'new' potatoes go well, to me, in a vinaigrette dressing; mayo-style ones make good use of more floury russets and Yukon Golds.

But.

Boil your potatoes whole with the skin on so they don't get water-logged, and dice them while they're still fairly hot -- and drench them with vinegar while they're still warm. Doing it that fussy way will add a _lot_ more flavour. Use a serrated knife to chop them if you're leaving the peel on and want it to stay (mostly) on the potatoes.

Possible extras (mince fine):

onion -- green, red, sweet; onion juice also works
pickles, gherkins
pimientos
hot banana peppers
celery
mustard
flat-leaf parsley
chives
hard-boiled egg

I suggest 'Miracle Whip' in lieu of mayonnaise -- lots of flavour without drowning the salad.

Of possible interest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_salad
http://southernfood.about.com/od/potatosalads/ *
http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blpotatosalad.htm

* For inspiration only -- I've made a few recipes from southernfood.about.com, and they've been lousy. Not "I dislike southern US cooking" lousy, but just lousy as recipes -- measurements are a bit off or something.

Answer 8

I always get raves on my potato salad and its so simple:
1. Boil two pound unpeeled red potatoes until soft. I cut them fist then boil. Hard boil three eggs at the same time. Some times I put the potatoes and the eggs all in the same pot to save on clean up time. They take about the same time to cook.
2. Drain and cool eggs and potatoes.
3. Peel and mash up eggs in large mixing bowl. Add potatoes.
4. Cover with real mayo.
5. Add one good squeeze of yellow mustard, one shake of garlic powder, one diced medium red onion, and lots of salt and pepper. Mix well.
6. Cool for about an hour serve and enjoy.
You can also add bacon crumbles to garnish. It adds a lot of fat, but its so good.

Answer 9

Deviled Potato Salad

I mash the potatos myself

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 Cup Hellmann's Real Or Light Mayonnaise Or
Low Fat Mayonnaise Dressing
1/3 Cup Hellmann's Dijonnaise Creamy Mustard Blend
1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Pounds Potatoes, Cooked And Peeled (About 5 Cups) --
Cut Into 1/2" Cubes
1/2 Cup Chopped Celery
1/3 Cup Chopped Red Onion
2 Hard-Boiled Egg -- Coarsely Chopped
Lettuce Leaves (Optional)
Cherry Tomatoes, Halved, For Garnish

1. In large bowl combine mayonnaise, creamy mustard blend, vinegar,
sugar and salt. Add potatoes, celery, red onion and eggs; toss gently
to coat. Cover; chill.

2. If desired, spoon into lettuce-lined bowl and garnish with cherry
tomatoes.

Answer 10

DELI STYLE POTATO SALAD
8-10 large potatoes
half of a medium onion, diced
2 tbsp. sweet pickle relish (or dill relish)
1/4 cup celery, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups miracle whip
2 tbsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. celery seed
sugar, salt and pepper to taste

Peel potatoes and place in a large pot of boiling water. Cook until tender, drain and refrigerate until chilled. Chop coarsely. In large bowl combine miracle whip, mustard, celery seed, sugar, salt and pepper. Reserve 1/4 cup of dressing. Add onion and potatoes to dressing. Mix well and refrigerate overnight. If salad is too dry, add 2 tbsp. of water to reserved dressing and mix into salad to loosen. Add salt and pepper to taste.