Classic Potato Salad

During the summer we love a good potato salad with grilled food.  Well, to be honest, we have it with burgers in the winter, too.  I like having some different textures in my potato salad, and the diced celery pieces add a nice burst of freshness and crunch, but otherwise I keep it pretty simple.  Check out the Tips section for ways to switch it up, depending on what you’re eating with it.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 12-15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 large yellow potatoes, cut in bite-sized pieces
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil mayo
• 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tbsp relish (or 1 Tbsp finely chopped pickle+1 tsp pickle juice)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh chives, finely chopped

Preparation

1. Peel, cut, and cook potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes.  Test with a sharp knife.  If the potato slides off easily, it is done.  Drain the potatoes and leave them in the colander to dry.
2. In the bottom of a large bowl, mix mayo, mustard, relish, salt and pepper.  Mix well with a spatula.
3. Add in warm potatoes, celery, onions, and chopped hard boiled eggs.  Stir into dressing until everything is well coated.  Sprinkle fresh chives over the top.

Tips

• Use still-warm potatoes.  It allows the dressing to soak in a bit and creates a really creamy texture for the potatoes.
• I like yellow potatoes for potato salad because of their smooth texture.  I personally find white potatoes end up having a mealy mouth feel when they cool down,  They’re great for mashing, I just don’t like them cold.
• Crumbled bacon is a really nice addition to the potato salad if you have leftover bacon around.  Since that never happens in our house, I have to remember in advance to cook bacon, so we don’t have it in potato salad very often.
• If you have a nice, ripe avocado, its really nice to add chunks of it to the salad and stir it in.  It blends in with the dressing and adds more creaminess.
• Curried Potato Salad:  Add 2 Tbsp of curry powder to the water when you cook your potatoes.  Add 2 tsp of curry powder to dressing mix.  Substitute peach or mango chutney for the relish. Add in finely diced fresh jalapeno pepper if you want some heat.  Serve with Tandoori Chicken.
• Pesto Potato Salad: Substitute in 2 Tbsp of Pesto for the Dijon and relish. Add in 1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes.  Serve with grilled Italian sausage and peppers.
• Greek Potato Salad: Add in 1 cup grape tomatoes, 1 cup cucumber, quartered and cut in 1/4 inch slices, substitute 1//4 cup diced red onions for the green onions. Omit hard boiled eggs, and in the place of relish, add in a splash of balsamic vinegar to the dressing. Serve with grilled chicken breast.