Want to make a country-style potato salad just like your grandmother used to make? The kind that allows the potato to be the star of the show? Of course you do or you wouldn't be Googling around the internet looking for a basic, vintage recipe reminiscent of kinder, gentler, traditional times -- a recipe absent of a long-list fancy-schmancy ingredients (no special heirloom potatoes, no gourmet vinegars, no crazy-hot sauces, no silly spices, no asinine add-ins), that, while exciting-to-the-palate for the first few bites, just grow old in your mouth while muddlling up the flavor of the perfectly-cooked spuds. If you've ever watched The Waltons ready themselves for a picnic up on the mountain, you know that grandma didn't toil over the task of making the potatoe salad any longer than it took the kids to gather their things and pile in to the back of the truck.
Yes, for most of us, potato salad conjures up memories of exactly what our grandmothers made. And, for the most part, those recipes for our grandmother's potato salad do not vary much. Various quantities of the usual suspects: potatoes, eggs, celery and/or onion, with a dressing made of mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, pepper, sometimes pickles or pickle relish and/or a dash of mustard, plus, an occasional fresh herb. Voila: potato salad. While we all have our favorite recipe or recipes, when offered potato salad at a gathering, this is the kind we Americans expect to be served. To hasten up chilling any potato salad, try my spread it on a sheet pan method.
The cook in every family has a favorite potato salad recipe. From my Eastern European heritage family, in my repertoire, Classic Creamy Potato and Egg Salad, Baked Russet-Potato Salad, Red Potato Salad w/Horseradish-Mayonnaise, and, Vintage Pea, Carrot & Potato Salad Olivier, are amongst my family's favorites. That said, unlike almost all of our grandmothers and grandfathers, we of subsequent generations began moving or traveling to different areas of the US and/or started traveling around the world -- we eat globally and regionally, as well as locally. Our pantries contain spices and ingredients from many cultures, and, because potatoes are a great foil for foodie creativity, it should come as no shock to anyone that potato salad has been fused with flavors from other cuisines. Example: My Russet & Sweet Potato Salad w/Chile-Lime Mayo, pairs great with almost any Tex-Mex-style grilled chicken, steak or spareribs.
Simple, straightforward & on point, Hellmann's potato salad:
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks
1 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup thinly-sliced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
~ Step 1. Peel and cube the potatoes, placing them in a 3 1/2-quart chef's pan with straight-deep sides. Cover potatoes with cold water and add 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, adjust temperature to a steady simmer and continue to cook until al dente (to the tooth), just shy of being cooked through to their centers, about 6-7 minutes after the water boils. Do not overcook potatoes. Drain potatoes into a colander. Do not rinse potatoes. Set aside to drain and cool for 10 minutes.
~Step 2. While potatoes are cooling, in a large bowl, place and stir together the mayonnaise, white vinegar, salt, sugar and black pepper. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the celery and onion. Add and gently fold in the still-warm potatoes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Everything tastes better with Hellmann's:
Hellman's Original Eight-Ingredient Potato Salad: Recipe yields about 5 cups.
Special Equipment List: vegetable peeler; cutting board; chef's knife; 3 1/2-quart chef's pan w/straight, deep sides; colander; large rubber spatula.
Cook's Note: Mayonnaise. As a gal who loves deli-, tuna- and egg-salad sandwiches, I am never too far from my mayo. During the picnic and tailgate season, when side-dishes like macaroni salad, potato salad, cole slaw and deviled eggs reign supreme, I purchase bigger jars, in two-packs. When our garden tomatoes are ripe, I could (and will) eat a freshly-picked sliced-tomato sandwich, on white bread, with a big slather of mayonnaise, every day. There's more. I can't imagine my life without mayonnaise-based tartar and remoulade sauces in it, or, oh my Thousand Islands salad dressing, and, I'm very proficient at making homemade mayonnaise ("mayo") from scratch too. These two ~ Spreads go Bread to Bread: Hellmann's vs Duke's ~. To find out who gets my #1 vote, read my post.
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2020)
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