I am not a potato salad fan. As I have mentioned, I'm not a big fan of mayonnaise. Anytime there is a dish with mayonnaise on it, I tend to stay away from it. Maybe because the taste always comes to the forefront. Chicken salad becomes mayonnaise with chicken...get my point? Last summer while thumbing through cookbooks, we came across this potato salad recipe. It was from our Wilson Farm Country Cookbook. This potato salad recipe was different from most because it had a vinaigrette dressing to start and then mayonnaise was added at the end to basically hold the salad together.
We served it last night with steaks (marinated in Jeff's Sizzling Sirloin Steaks) and my girlfriend, Anne's, corn and bean salad. (Hopefully we will be able to report on that recipe, too!) It was excellent. I love the balsamic vinegar with just a hint of mayonnaise. The onion and green scallions give it a little crunch. I doubled the recipe and fed eight hungry adults and a few additional children. I get the same compliments all the time. "I don't really like potato salad but this was great!"
Isn't that what you want to hear! Put this on your summer list of recipe staples. It will be the hit of your next cook-out...or maybe someone else's!
Ingredients:
2 pounds of red skinned potatoes (not over 2 inch diameter)
3 tablespoons of salad oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely minced white onion
1/3 cup of chopped scallions
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
3/4 cup of mayonnaise (or enough to moisten)
Preparation:
Boil the unpeeled potatoes until fork tender (20-25 minutes). Drain and while they are still hot, slice them into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the oil and vinegar over the potatoes. Add the onions, scallions, salt, pepper and parsley. (Note: I mix all the ingredients (oil, vinegar, onion, scallion, salt, pepper, and parsley) in a small dish and then add them all together.) Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover and let marinade at least one hour. Stir in the mayonnaise and correct the seasoning. Chill before serving.
Note: Add a small amount of chopped fresh basil, dill or tarragon to make the salad even tastier.
