I’ll never understand why potato salad is mostly served as a summer side dish. There are a few months when you make it for picnics and barbecues and then it’s nowhere to be seen for the rest of the year. But potato salad has every right to take center stage if you make it special and serve it alongside green veg or a mountain of salad.
We’ve created an easy potato salad base to which you can add all kinds of flavor profiles. The three versions we’re sharing are completely different and highly flavored, but feel free to create your own! We slice our potatoes so that there’s exponentially more surface area for the dressing to cover.
Easy Potato Salad Base
Cook time:
30 mins
Total time:
30 mins
Yield: 6 people
Recipe Notes
If making mayonnaise-based potato salads, the potatoes can be dressed cold or at room temperature. If they are olive oil-based, you can dress them warm.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Red, yellow, and/or purple new potatoes
- 3 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice (see individual recipes)
- salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring water covered potatoes to boil in a large covered saucepan or small Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until potatoes are tender,15 to 20 minutes. Drain and let stand until cool enough to handle. Slice or cube 1/3 of the potatoes with a serrated knife, place in a bowl and drizzle with a portion of the vinegar or lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with remaining potatoes and acid, sprinkling each layer with salt and pepper. Proceed with one of the following recipes.
