Potato Salad: A Summertime Staple
I know that the official first day of summer is still about a month away, but unofficially, summer festivities begin Memorial Day weekend. For most of the US, that means school’s out for summer break, a long weekend and a grand BBQ on Monday.
What goes with grilled steaks, ribs, hamburgers and hot dogs better than potato salad? During the summer, a big bowl of tangy potato salad is always in the fridge. It’s a perfect accompaniment to sandwiches and almost anything you cook on the grill. This year, since I’ve been promoting cooking with fresh herbs, my recipe has an herb-y twist.
Herbs That Complement Potatoes
Potatoes are kind of a blank slate as far a flavor goes; they take on flavor of spices very well. I like several types of herbs when I cook with potatoes. When I roast them, I prefer a hearty herb like rosemary. When they are baked, chives with butter and sour cream does the trick. For my potato salad, dill has always been my favorite. I decided to add the freshness of flat leaf parsley and a healthy handful of chives to the mix. Chives gives the potato salad the onion flavor without overpowering the parsley and dill.
As far as the type of potatoes to use, use what ever type you have. In this recipe I used russets. If my Yukon golds were ready to be harvested, I would have use them. Any type of potatoes will do. I prefer to peel russets when used in potato salad; red or Yukons, I’d leave the skins on. Make this a day ahead– it tastes better cold 🙂
Ingredients
- 5-6 medium Potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
- 1 Tbsp fresh minced dill weed
- 1 Tbsp fresh minced flat leaf parsley
- ¼ cup fresh finely chopped chives
- ½ cup mayo
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Cook potatoes in salted, boiling water (on medium high heat) until just fork tender.
- In a separate bowl, mix mayo, Dijon mustard and sour cream until smooth and even.
- Toss in the herbs.
- Drain the cooked potatoes and let them come to room temperature. Once cooled, add the potatoes to the mayo and herb mixture.
- Gently mix the potatoes until thoroughly coated.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.