Let’s make ‘the best’ potato salad in the world

Nagi, the cook, photographer and voice behind RecipeTin Eats (recipetineats.com), believes anyone can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost-conscious.

This potato salad recipe was given to her by Mrs B, the mother of a friend, and she says she knew it was one that would stand out from the crowd of thousands – millions – of potato salad recipes “out there” in the world wide web.

What makes it so special is pouring French salad dressing over the hot boiled potatoes, allowing them to absorb the flavour rather than just coating them. Combined with the creamy sour cream-mayonnaise dressing, salty bacon and fresh bursts of celery, cucumber and onion, every mouthful is the perfect bite, she says.

Potatoes – Potatoes vary widely in texture when cooked. For potato salad, I like to use starchy (floury) and all-rounder potatoes which become soft and fluffy when cooked and are a sponge to absorb the French dressing.

Celery and cucumber – Welcome freshness! The celery is sliced finely so you get soft crunch but it becomes floppy rather than stiff sprigs sticking out. And the cucumber is finely diced rather than the typical slicing so you get great, soft, juicy little crunchy pops.

Raw onion (finely minced) – This cuts through the creaminess of the dressing and adds great subtle fresh flavour into the whole salad.

Bacon – Essential for a classic potato salad!

DRESSING 1: THE FRENCH DRESSING

This is the dressing the hot potatoes soak up. The original recipe shared with me by Mrs B used store-bought French dressing, which is an option. However, I just make my own – here’s all you need:

White wine vinegar – The classic vinegar used for French dressing but can be substituted with apple cider vinegar, sherry or champagne vinegar (last resort: plain white vinegar).

Olive oil is the oil of choice. The better the quality, the better the flavour.

Dijon mustard – For flavour and thickening.

Water – 1 tablespoon of water to stretch out the dressing, rather than more oil (simply for health reasons).

Garlic – flavour!

Sugar – Just a touch, which takes the edge off the tang a bit too.

DRESSING 2: THE CREAMY DRESSING!

I find just using mayonnaise is overly heavy. So I use a 50/50 sour cream/mayo combination.

Mayonnaise – Whole egg mayo is best as it is creamier and less tangy than ordinary mayonnaise. Readily available these days in grocery stores (it will say “whole egg mayo” on the label).

Sour cream – Full fat please! Yoghurt can be used as a substitute but sour cream does have a creamier mouthfeel.

Horseradish cream – This is pickled fresh horseradish which has a zingy spiciness like wasabi. Because it’s pickled, it is vinegary. So this adds both a hint of spicy warmth and tang to the dressing. If you’re lucky enough to have fresh horseradish, use half the amount and add a couple of teaspoons of vinegar.

How to make potato salad

IMPORTANT! Creamy potato salads really are better made with starchy potatoes for texture and flavour, but you really need to take care not to overcook else they will crumble too much when tossing. Waxy potatoes would be easier to use because they hold their shape… but the eating part is not as good. I’ve done a lot of potato salad eating in my time to arrive at this conclusion.

Start in cold water – Cook cut potatoes starting in cold water. Never start potatoes in boiling water else they will cook too much on the outside before the inside cooks and crumble when tossed.

Check frequently – Once the water comes up to the boil, start checking at 4 minutes and every 30 seconds thereafter. As soon as you can pierce a potato with almost no resistance, drain immediately. They will continue cooking with the residual heat.

French dressing – Shake French dressing ingredients in a jar until combined.

Creamy dressing – Mix the ingredients in a bowl until smooth.

Soak hot potatoes – Gently transfer the potatoes in a bowl and pour over the French dressing. Toss very gently using a rubber spatula. Minimum tosses just to coat, then set aside for at least 2 hours for the potatoes to cool and absorb the dressing. We are essentially marinating the potatoes here.

The cooled potatoes are also less fragile and less susceptible to breaking when mixing.

Add the cucumber, celery, onion, most of the bacon and all the creamy dressing. Toss gently until mixed through. If time permits, set aside for a few hours or better yet overnight, to let the flavours meld together.

This potato salad will last 4 to 5 days in the fridge, and it gets better with time. Make it once, and it will be a staple at all gatherings for years to come.

POTATO SALAD

1kg potatoes peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

2 tsp salt, for cooking potatoes

250g streaky bacon

1/2 cup French dressing – home-made or store bought

3/4 cup cucumber, finely diced (1 x 15cm/6" cucumber, cut lengthwise and remove watery seeds first)

1 cups celery, finely sliced diagonally (~ 2 ribs)

1/4 cup white onion, finely minced, ~ 1/2 onion

POTATO SALAD DRESSING

1/3 cup mayonnaise, preferably whole-egg

1/3 cup sour cream, full fat (sub yoghurt)

1 tbs horseradish cream (or horseradish relish)

1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

FRENCH DRESSING

1 tbs Dijon mustard

2 tbs white wine vinegar (sub apple cider vinegar)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs water (for volume, rather than more oil)

1/2 tsp white sugar

1/2 garlic clove, finely grated or minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

French dressing – Shake ingredients in a jar until well combined.

Cook potatoes – Put potatoes and 2 teaspoon salt in a large pot of cold water. Turn the stove on. Once the water is simmering, cook for 4 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked (still bit firm in the middle) – they will keep cooking with residual heat. Drain immediately (gently!).

Carefully transfer potatoes into a large bowl and pour over French dressing. Gently toss to coat then set aside for 2 hours so potatoes absorb the dressing and cool (less fragile).

Crispy bacon – Lay half the bacon in a cold non-stick pan. Turn onto medium high and cook until golden (the fat will melt as the pan warms up so it cooks in its own fat). Turn and cook the other side until golden. Drain paper towels, repeat with remaining bacon. Once cool and crisp, chop into small pieces.

Creamy dressing – Mix ingredients in a bowl until combined.

Toss – Add creamy dressing, celery, cucumber, onion, and most of the bacon. Toss gently to combine.

Serving – Serve garnished with remaining bacon. If time permits, I recommend setting aside for a few hours, or even better, overnight, to give the flavours a chance to meld. But still amazing served straight away. Always serve at room temperature, not fridge cold.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking: 15 minutes

Cooling: 2 hours

Total: 2 hours 30 minutes

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