If one is going to make potato salad on the Fourth of July in the United States of America make sure you purchase your fresh dill at least a couple days ahead of time as everyone else apparently has the same idea the day before.
After three stores I triumphantly found my dill and returned home with my garden bounty and three pounds of potatoes.
That it was a surprise to me that everyone and their cousin was making potato salad reminded me that I may be adventurous eater and cook but sometimes I am a little out of step with main stream concepts for standard holiday meals.
I did however volunteer to bring the potato salad to the pre-fireworks dinner party – but only because I had a collection of potato salad recipes from various cooking magazines I wanted to try. In the end – I made none of those recipes but made up my own.
Can a potato salad truly be called a salad without other vegetable kingdom counterparts in the bowl with it? I thought not so I gave my salad a little crunch with red onion, celery, and a giant dill pickle.
I am pretty proud of the result and firmly believe it to be a crowd pleaser with a little bit for everyone – not too much mayo, a little mustard, some egg yolks, fresh herbs and garlic.
The result a nice even bodied, smooth crunch with an herby kick and acidic spike that finishes without the heavy goop of southern traditional or super tang of a German style.
In the end it is a pretty tasty potato salad.
Egg and Dill Pickle Potato Salad
2.5 pounds of red potatoes skinned
5 hard boiled egg yolks
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 large or 3 small to medium dill pickles, finely chopped
1/4 cup dill pickle juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp ground yellow mustard powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup roasted garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp sea salt
Step 1:
Skin and boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Drain and let cool. Meanwhile, if you do not already have roasted garlic lying around, cut the top off an entire bulb of garlic, place it on a baking sheet, drizzle it with olive oil and bake for 20-30 minutes.
Step 2:
Boil eggs and remove yolks from the whites.
Step 3:
Chop all your vegetation and herbs, including the roasted garlic cloves.
Step 4:
In a mixing bowl combine pickle juice, mayo, Dijon mustard, mustard powder, black pepper, salt, paprika, parsley, dill and garlic to form a dressing.
Step 5:
Put the potatoes in a bowl and break them up into chunks using a wooden spoon. Using your fingers squish the egg yolks over the potatoes. Mix together until the egg is evenly dispersed amongst the potato.
Step 6:
Add chopped vegetables, pickle and dressing mixture – mix gently until everything is evenly mixed together.
Step 7:
Refrigerate until just before serving.
Step 8:
Enjoy with friends – this recipes makes 8 to 10 servings.