Going to a Labor Day party? Bring a classic: potato salad, the traditional mayo-based kind. But don’t buy it! It’s easy to make, but also easy to make delicious and memorable. Plus, it’s cheap (recipe below is less than $7). That’s called a win-win in my book.
Good potato salad has two key ingredients: mustard and salt. Yup. No matter what else you do, you want to add mustard to your mayonnaise, and you want to add more salt than you think you need.
Mustard: add Dijon (my favorite, Wegman’s brand), or spicy mustard, or even mustard powder, but you want to add enough that you get some zing into the mayo. If you are using, say, 1 cup of mayo, add around a quarter cup of mustard. Mix well and then add to your potatoes.
Salt: Any kind will do. I use sea salt. I salt my potatoes before I add anything to them, and then I re-salt once I’ve added mayo/mustard.
Last tip: Potato salad will be better on day 2 or 3, so make your potato salad ahead of time, and let it sit in your fridge. This also allows you to make sure you have enough (but not too much) mayo in there. Add mayo as needed before going to your party.
I guarantee you, people will love and wonder, “Who made this potato salad?” You!!!
Creative options:
-add chopped up hardboiled eggs to your potatoes. This ups the protein content, making your potato salad a good go-to for your vegetarian friends. They’ll appreciate your efforts.
-add bacon or ham pieces (now your vegetarian friends are giving you the evil eye).
-use Whole30 compliant mayo, or Whole30 mayo with avocado mixed in for an eye-catching green potato salad.
-add horseradish to your mayo/mustard combo, the grated kind in the jar. Sinus-cleanse!
How to make Potato Salad yourself:
It really does not matter what kind of potato you use. I like the Yukon gold kind or the white kind. I make as much potato salad as will fit in my glass bowl with a lid—that’s usually 10-12 potatoes’ worth.
-boil potatoes in a pot. They are done when you can easily stick a fork through them.
-take potatoes out of the water and cool them (I use a plate).
-skin them, and cut them into smallish pieces, so that you could fit maybe 3 pieces in a mouthful. They will mush. That’s completely ok.
-salt your potatoes, about 2tsp of salt for 10-12 potatoes.
-add 1 cup of small chopped celery
-if desired, add 1small onion, chopped small
-mix 1 cup mayo and ¼ cup mustard in a bowl
-Add mayo/mustard mixture to potatoes and stir. Repeat with ½ cup mayo and a big dollop of mustard as necessary. Do not add mayo too quickly-it’s not a mayonnaise salad.
-salt to taste. Add a little pepper, too. Stir again.
-let sit in the fridge, covered, at least overnight
-check to see if you need more mayo before you go to your party.
-maybe decorate the top of your potato salad with cherry tomatoes or green/red pepper rounds.
-bring home any leftovers to serve as the basis for your lunches for the rest of the week.