Cold Potato Salad
Dressed warm with seasoned rice vinegar so the potatoes absorb it, served cold. Mustard-forward rather than a bowl of mayonnaise.
- Serves
- 8
- Total
- 1 hour 45 minutes, including the chill
The one rule is dressing the potatoes while they're still warm. A warm potato absorbs vinegar; a cold one just wears it. Everything else here is preference.
Seasoned rice vinegar, which is what I reach for in most things. It's already sweetened and salted, so it lands rounder than white wine or cider vinegar and doesn't need sugar to balance it. In a potato salad that matters, because the potatoes are taking a lot of it.
This is the version I make, which is mustard-forward and sharper than most. It travels, it sits on a table for two hours without suffering, and it's the side that doesn't need attention when everything else does.
If it's not right
- Bland: undersalted, almost always. Cold blunts everything.
- Mushy: overcooked, or floury potatoes.
- Dry the next day: a spoon of mayonnaise and a splash of pickle brine brings it back.
Ingredients
Make these first
Method
-
Cut the potatoes into 2 cm chunks and put them in cold salted water. Bring to a boil and simmer until a knife goes in with no resistance, about 12 minutes.
-
Drain and spread on a sheet pan for a few minutes to steam off.
-
While they're still warm, toss with the vinegar and the pickle brine. Leave 10 minutes to absorb.
-
Mix the mustards and mayonnaise, then fold through with the celery, onion and pickles.
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Season hard. Cold food needs more salt than warm food.
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Chill at least an hour. Chives over the top before serving.
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