By this point in time I've written up, down, and around every food that can dance with mayonnaise, but this one's my favorite. It's the one I'd hope to be: All sturdy and resourceful, potato salad is a winning show of making something out of nothing. It's got self confidence: Give it a good lashing of vinegar, a hard-cooked egg or two, and a fistful of herbs, and the thing will practically strut. It wants for nothing, and it will tell you so.
Perhaps best of all, it’s dependable. If you have command over a strong arsenal of condiments, you can call on potato salad any time of year. You can call on it now — and you should.
Here’s how to make something out of nothing, without a recipe.
1. Decide your potato salad's destiny. My add-ins always include a few hard-cooked eggs, a bit of red onion, cornichon, and a great big pile of herbs. I like chives and parsley — when I'm feeling wild, I'll throw in a scallion — but this part welcomes improvisation. Riff on this according to your mood, or go down another road entirely — try horseradish and dill or arugula and Dijon mustard.
2. Put the potatoes into lightly salted water and bring everything up to a boil. (If you're using baby potatoes, leave them whole or cut the larger ones in half; if you're using larger potatoes, quarter or halve them before cooking.) While they bubble away, make the dressing: To a small bowl, add a heaping spoonful of mustard. Add to that about a 1/4 cup of mayonnaise (aioli really makes a difference, but store-bought will work, too), and then drizzle in an equal amount of olive oil while whisking away. It's OK if you don't measure — the most important part is that the olive oil to mayonnaise ratio be about 1:1.
3. Once they're fork-tender, drain them and immediately shower them with apple cider vinegar. (For about 2 pounds of potatoes, I like about two tablespoons.)
4. To the newly zippy potatoes, add your destined mix-ins. Pictured here: 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped; a few spoonfuls of finely diced red onion; a handful of chopped cornichon; and a heaping 1/3 cup of chopped chives, parsley and scallion. Top if off with a few grinds of pepper and a healthy pinch of salt for good luck.
5. Pour in the dressing, starting with a little more than half, and stir. Taste. Adjust. Is the salad not awake yet? Add a dash of vinegar. Too dry? More dressing. I almost always add a few more herbs because I like mine polka-dotted green, and another pinch of salt. But this is your potato salad — you decide.
This article originally appeared on Food52.com: http://food52.com/blog/11596-how-to-make-potato-salad-without-a-recipe
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