Most likely, your family has a potato salad recipe that’s been passed down from generation to generation. Take a second to recall your family’s favorite recipe… is it served cold or hot? Does it have a mayonnaise or vinegar base? The type of recipe you have probably depends on where your family hails from.
While boiled potatoes are always the main ingredient, you’ll find different versions of the recipe depending on it’s country of origin. In Bulgaria, potato salad is made of boiled and peeled potatoes with leeks or onions, oil, salt and black pepper. In Italy, it’s common to include garlic and hot peppers and if you’re in Sicily your potato salad may have string beans. In Syria you’ll find that this common side-dish contains tomatoes, fresh basil, parsley, mint, onion and green pepper. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia you’ll most often find this side-dish next to fried fish or white sausage if it’s around the holidays. It’s made with carrots, green peas, pickled cucumbers, celery, mayonnaise, eggs and onions. In the United States you’ll find that Potato Salad is usually associated with summer and picnics. White or red potatoes are commonly used and basic ingredients include mayonnaise, yellow mustard, black pepper, celery seed, relish, and often topped with paprika, served cold or room temperature.
In Germany, ‘Kartoffelsalat’ is a popular dish in the southern region made with onion, yellow mustard, vegetable stock, vinegar and oil. Today. we’re sharing a Bavarian style German potato salad adapted from the family recipe of Debby’s ‘Mutti’ from the blog, A Feast for the Eyes.
What’s your favorite type of Potato Salad?
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Roughly 5 lbs of Yukon Gold potatos
1 small red onion (about 1 cup finely chopped)
1/2 pound bacon
1 tablespoon fresh dill
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup Japanese rice vinegar (optional ‘secret’ ingredient)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (original recipe calls for 1 cup)
HOW TO MAKE IT:
Boil potatoes, skin on, until tender (about 20-30 minutes).
Fry bacon and cook until crispy. Set aside about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat to add back in to the dish later. Finely chop the cooked bacon and set aside. Finely dice the red onion, parsley and dill.
Drain potatoes and let cool. Use a knife to remove skin once they’ve cooled. Once all of the potatoes are peeled, cut the potatoes into cubes.
Pour the vinegar, salt & pepper, onto the warm potatoes and let sit so that the liquid absorbs.
Add bacon, red onion, parsley and dill along with reserved bacon fat and chicken stock. Carefully stir it all together and add vegetable oil a little at a time. Add sugar. Gently stir.
Best served at room temperature after sitting for at least an hour!