If you can’t make Potato Salad, it may7 be that you truly have a black thumb for the culinary arts. But that need not be the be the last word! Try my No-Hassle Potato Salad and you may just get a new lease on cooking in general with an initial success as easy and yummy as this!
Classic Potato Salad. Anyone – and I mean ANYONE – can make it.
It couldn’t get any easier. But that doesn’t mean you can’t dress it up to the nines for special occasions if you want!
What you need…
4 medium Waxy Potatoes
1/2 cup / 125 ml Mayonnaise
1 tsp. / 10 ml Yellow Prepared Mustard
1/2 cup / 125 ml Celery, finely diced
1/2 cup / 125 ml Green Onions, sliced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Ground Paprika, to garnish
What you do…
Wash the potatoes well. Decide whether you want to leave the skins on. I usually do – adds flavour and texture. Peel if you like. Cut into 3.4 in. / 1.5 cm cubes. Boil for a few minutes, until just fork tender. Do not over-cook or the Potatoes will fall apart in the Salad. I, for one, like some texture. Drain the Spuds as soon as they are done and set aside to cool.
Slice the Onions dividing the White part from the green part.
Mix the other ingredients, except for the Onions, in a medium mixing bowl. Add all of the white part of the Onions and half of the green part to the Mayo Mixture and blend to evenly distribute all the ingredients.
Add the Potatoes – when they have cooled to room temperature or below – and gently fold them into the Mayo mixture until all the Potatoes are coated. If you add the Mayo Mixture to warm Potatoes, it will melt into a sloppy mess and the salad will not hold together properly.
Refrigerate the Salad for at least an hour to make sure it is nice and cold and to let the flavours meld and mellow.
Garnish with a sprinkle of Paprika for colour and little zing of flavour.
And that’s all there is to it!
Now, the recipe I’ve presented this morning is just the basic one. Lots of folks add crumbled Hard Boiled Eggs. It’s either a tradition in your family or it’s not… You can add embellishments till the cows come home, if you want – even a variety of meats or Seafood items, to make it a complete meal! Potato Salad is not just for Summer anymore, either… Anytime you’re having Fried Chicken, for example, you’ll want to put Potato Salad beside it!
~ M