Potato Salad

Recently I asked on Facebook to give suggestions for ingredients to cook with. One of the suggestions was pickled cucumbers. Apparently there is not much use for them other than a delicious snack or a topping on a pizza.

I've found this recipe in Kitchen Sense by Mitchell Davis, page 73. It specifically states that the secret to this recipe is to use plenty of chopped pickle and pickle juice. The salad tastes delicious, so I declare it "Mission Accomplished".

I went by "Three large potatoes" part of the recipe, and thinking I should have gone by "Two pounds" instead, because the amount seems rather small to make six serves. I guess New Zealand large isn't quite American large :) I served the salad with some saveloys to stretch the serving size.

The salad really doesn't take any time at all to make. The trick is to cook the potatoes and the eggs the night before. The recipe says to cool them for 2-3 hours, so unless you're preparing for some events, I don't see the point of making it on the same day. The next day the whole exercise takes less than 10 minutes.

Day 1: Place the potatoes and eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add two teaspoons of salt and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Lift out the eggs and cool under cold, running water. Continue to cook potatoes until they are tender when pricked with a fork, but don't overcook or the salad will be mushy.

Drain the potatoes and cool to room temperature or refrigerate the potatoes and the eggs 2-3 hours or overnight.

Day 2: Peel the potatoes and eggs, cut the potatoes into small cubes and place in a large bowl. Chop the eggs and add them to the potatoes, along with the celery, onion, pickles, pickle juice, mustard, mayonnaise, parsley 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. Mix well, taste, and adjust the seasoning if required. Chill until ready to serve.

Chopped red onion

Chopped eggs

Mixed well!

Ingredients:

2 pounds boiling potato, unpeeled (about 3 large)
2 large eggs
Salt
2 celery stalks, finely chopped -- I omitted celery because I don't like it raw.
1 small white or red onion or 3 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped -- I used a small red onion
5 sweet midget gherkins or 1 large dill pickle, finely chopped, with 2 tablespoons pickle juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 cup Best Foods mayonnaise (it really is the best, and this recipe specifically asks for it!)
1-2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley or other herbs -- I used rubbed thyme
Freshly ground black pepper