Hot Potato! (Win at the Potato Game)

What with Fourth of July picnics and such, a short tutorial on potatoes should be in order. Even if the potato has been taken for granted, one might yet learn a new thing or two about this common vegetable.

Potato salad has assumed a fairly unglamorous role as the potentially boring standard at picnics; I blame the mass-produced, over-processed, preservative-laden stuff found in most large grocery stores. But a freshly-prepared potato salad can really hit the spot!

No, I won't go Martha Stewart on you and suggest that you harvest your potatoes that morning, although I might share that my potato plants are flourishing! They seem quite happy amongst the parsley, cabbage, and nasturtiums. I suspect the plants are benefitting from the composting and double-digging I did earlier in the year.

The recipe below veers away from the standard potato salad, which hardly needs a recipe. But consider a few pointers in preparing any potato salad: Prep the veggies a day early, if necessary, cooking potatoes ahead of time and allowing them to cool. But if onion is added to the mix, add it on serving day; the flavor will be much finer! Something happens to raw onion as it hangs out in the dressing; it gets stronger, in an unpleasant way.

As for cooking the potatoes, online recipe forums seem adrift with questions on the subject. While the oven or microwave might work well for baking potatoes, red potatoes (and similar varieties with lower starch content) are best steamed or boiled. For us at , a pressure cooker does the job, as we can add just an inch or so of water; more flavors and nutrients are retained this way. If boiling the potatoes seems like an easier option, you can save the cooking water as a base for soups. In any case, remember that baking or microwaving red potatoes may prove futile. They seem to take forever! (Trust us — a few of us at the deli have tried.) If baking potatoes (Idaho, Russet, and the like) are on hand, they also work for potato salad, although they won't hold their shape as well.

In any case, here's to a happy summer of picnicing!


German Potato Salad

German Potato Salad is a nice change of pace from typical potato salads. The dressing uses egg and olive oil instead of mayonnaise, so it's best made on serving day, although you can do your prep a day ahead. A salad made with store-bought mayonnaise lasts longer because of the preservatives in it, but it's nice to have a bit of preservative-free food once in awhile!

A variation on this German Potato Salad: Cube potatoes up while still warm. Cook the celery and onion in the pan with the bacon, and toss with the dressing and hard-boiled eggs, serving it warm.

Cut this recipe in half for smaller gatherings, if you're not cooking for a crowd. Or make the full amount for a big group; serves 15-20.

Ingredients:

• 5 lb. potatoes (5 or 6 large potatoes)
• 5 eggs total (3 hard-boiled, plus 2 for dressing)
• 1/2 lb. bacon (optional)
• 1 1/2 TBS. hot Dijon mustard
• 3 TBS. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/4 c. frozen apple juice concentrate
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. celery seed
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 c. olive oil
• 1 c. chopped celery
• 1/2 c. chopped red onion
• Optional: Use 1/3 c. honey and 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar if you don't have frozen apple juice concentrate

Earlier in the day, or the day before, cook: > 5 lb. potatoes

Drain water off and cool potatoes in the refrigerator. Hard boil: > 3 eggs

(Optional) Fry until crisp, and then drain: > 1/2 lb. bacon

Make dressing, stirring the following in a small bowl: > 2 eggs

To the eggs in bowl, add: > 1 1/2 TBS. hot Dijon mustard > 3 TBS. apple cider vinegar > 1/4 c. honey > 1/4 c. frozen apple juice concentrate > 2 tsp. salt > 1/8 tsp. celery seed > 1 tsp. pepper > 1 c. olive oil

When ready to serve, mix the following: > Cubed, cooled potatoes > 1 c. chopped celery > 1/2 c. chopped red onion > Dressing (premixed in separate bowl)

Garnish bowl with hard-boiled eggs and crumbled bacon. Serve cold, or use just-cooked potatoes and serve warm.