Sweet and tangy potato salad

I’ve collected a lot of potato salad recipes over many years but I always go back to my mother’s recipe when I’m feeling nostalgic.

I don’t recall if I’ve seen orange potato salad anywhere except for family meals. I must have been a teenager before I realized that everyone else, including the deli, served a different version. The orange color, which I find quite appealing on the plate, comes from using French salad dressing, which adds a lot of flavor to the potatoes. Since most of the flavor comes from the vinegar and salad dressing, you only need a small amount of mayonnaise to bind the salad together.

This recipe has a nice tangy flavor with a slightly sweet twist and it’s my absolute favorite side to serve with fried chicken.

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Ingredients
Serves 6-8
2 pounds Idaho potatoes
⅔ cup country French salad dressing
3-4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
⅔ cup celery, finely chopped
¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
3-4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

Peel the potatoes and cut them lengthwise into quarters, then cut each quarter into 3 or 4 chunks that are no larger than 2 inches square.

Boil the potatoes in a large pot until fork-tender, about 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are boiling, chop the celery, onion and eggs. I use red onion for color but you can use white onion or green onion if you prefer.

Measure and pour the salad dressing (I use Ken’s Steakhouse Country French dressing), vinegar, salt and pepper into a large mixing bowl.

As soon as the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and immediately add the hot potatoes to the mixing bowl, which will allow the flavor to seep into the potatoes.

Stir the potatoes well into the dressing and allow the potatoes to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Add the onion to the bowl at this point, while the potatoes are still warm to the touch; this softens the sharpness of the onion.

Give the potatoes a good stir and allow them to cool on the counter for an additional 10 minutes before adding the celery, mayonnaise and eggs.

Stir well and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours to allow the flavors to meld and for the sharpness of the vinegar to soften. If you taste it right away, the vinegar will seem very sharp but it will mellow after resting.

Add more salt and pepper to taste.

The potato salad stays fresh in the fridge for about 3 days.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.