Potato Salad… The low down!

What you’ll need to make a classic potato salad

If you were to bounce from braai to braai all across South Africa, you’d likely come across potato salad in a bunch of different forms, from the eggy to the vinegary to fanciful versions decked out with spices, pickles, and more.

We’ll break down how to make a classic potato salad the right way. Then, we’ll give you nine twists on the humble potato salad from all over the globe.

A potato salad is but a few choice ingredients away.

Ingredients for a potato salad

• 2 pounds red-skinned or new potatoes, scrubbed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup dill relish
• 1/3 cup scallions (white and light green parts only), thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a little extra for the cooking water
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Utensils for a potato salad

• large pot
• medium bowl
• strainer
• box grater
• paring knife
• rubber spatula
• baking sheet

How to make a basic potato salad

A creamy, mayonnaise-based potato salad with egg and diced celery is as essential to a barbecue spread as the meat itself. In fact, some might argue that it tastes best when you let it mix and mingle a bit with the runoff sauce from your ribs or chicken.

Here’s how:

1. Make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils above.
2. Fill a pot with water and heavily salt it. Place the potatoes and eggs in the water and bring them to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until you’ve hard-boiled the eggs — this should take about 12 minutes.
3. Transfer the eggs to a medium bowl and place it in the sink. Run cold water over the eggs until they’re cool enough to handle, and then set the bowl of eggs aside.
4. Continue to simmer the potatoes until you can easily slip a paring knife into one — this usually means about 5 minutes longer. Drain the potatoes in a colander over the sink and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes.
5. Transfer the potatoes to a sheet pan or large plate and arrange them in a single layer. Place the eggs next to the potatoes on the sheet and refrigerate everything for about 1 hour, or until they’re completely cooled.
6. Meanwhile, place the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix them together. Refrigerate this until you’re ready to finish putting the salad together.
7. When the eggs and potatoes have cooled, peel the eggs, and then use the large holes of a box grater to grate them over the bowl of mayo mixture. Once you’re done, set it aside.
8. Remove the skin from the cooled potatoes using your hands or a paring knife. (You’re welcome to leave the skins on for a more rustic salad.) Using your hands, break the potatoes into roughly 3- to 4-inch chunks and sling them in the bowl with the eggs and mayo mixture.
9. Gently fold the potatoes and eggs into the mayo mixture using a rubber spatula, until everything is evenly combined and the potatoes are coated all over. You can serve the salad immediately or refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

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European-influenced potato salads

1. Old-school potato salad: Swabian potato salad

Germany is home to a plethora of potato salad styles. But you’ll often find that German recipes call for letting the potatoes soak in a beef broth (along with vinegar), a step that seems to have gotten lost on this side of the Atlantic.

This Swabian-style recipe shows you how it’s done.

You’ll need:

• 3 pounds small, firm potatoes (Yukon Gold or similar)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups water mixed with 4 teaspoons beef bouillon granules (or veggie bouillon for vegans)
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• a few splashes of vinegar essence
• 3/4 tablespoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
• 1/3 cup neutral-tasting oil
• chopped fresh chives, for garnish

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2. German-inspired (with a bunch of added stuff): Warm German potato salad with bacon

A lot of potato salad recipes try to riff on more traditional versions by bringing in a hodgepodge of add-ins. This one really runs with that idea.

Featuring bacon, capers, onion, bell pepper, spices, and more, it’s about as fully loaded as can be.

You’ll need:

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 tablespoon good-quality vegetable oil, such as grapeseed
• 1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2-inch squares
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch squares
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram or oregano
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup capers

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RUSSIAN SALAD

Russian Salad, also known as Olivier (also known as – салат Оливье), is a staple salad in almost every family from ex- Soviet Union.

During the Soviet Era not many people could afford buying crayfish, caviar and many other fancy ingredients, which went into the preparation of the original salad. What we make today is by all means a dumbed-down version of the first. But nevertheless a very delicious one.

The exact recipe — particularly that of the dressing — was a jealously guarded secret, but it is known that the salad contained grouse, veal tongue, caviar, lettuce, crayfish tails, capers, and smoked duck, although it is possible that the recipe was varied seasonally. The original Olivier dressing was a type of mayonnaise, made with French wine vinegar, mustard, and Provençal olive oil; its exact recipe, however, remains unknown.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 lb lean boiled beef or bologna or salami (not pictured in the recipe)
• 3-4 small picked cucumbers
•  4 oz of canned green peas
• 2 Tbsp of Mayonnaise
• Dill for garnish (optional)
• Mustard Seeds (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/2 small cucumber (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Put all the ingredients to boil and turn the heat off when everything is cooked. Discard the shell from eggs. I also like to peel the carrots before they go into cooking. Potatoes, on the other hand, I wash thoroughly and leave the skin intact for cooking. I peel the skin off after the potatoes are cooked. Leaving the skin on keeps the potatoes in one piece, even when slightly overcooked and potatoes actually taste much better when cooked with skin. Don’t mind the darker color at all. On the side of caution, please do not overcook the potatoes, as they turn the entire salad into a big giant mush at the end.

I love this salad with beef rather than with just bologna. But if you are short on time, anything works, really. Salt the water of the beef according to your taste. Doing so brings out the flavor in meat and also adds a great taste to the salad. My sister swears by soaking the meat in cold, somewhat salty water after it is cooked. You can try that out, too.

Dice all the ingredients. I dice the carrots a little smaller than I would potatoes. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Dice eggs as big as you would potatoes. You need to feel the taste of eggs in this salad.  Also dice the boiled meat here.

Dice the dill pickles and along with mayo add to the bowl with other ingredients. Here you can add the dill, a little bit of mustard seeds and all the other optional ingredients. My mother-in-law also adds apples, which I do not like very much. But for some it is a refreshing taste. Add salt and pepper as you wish and slowly mix the salad.

Chill the salad before serving and let all the taste in ingredients blend. If you are making a double batch of this salad, I recommend not to mix everything with mayo. If I know I will not serve half of it, I keep one half unmixed in the refrigerator to prevent from spoiling early.

Enjoy your salad

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