Anybody out there craving a little 4th of July potato salad? We pull this recipe out at least once a summer over here. Tim grilled ribs for himself on Father’s Day, and we wanted the classics to go with them–corn on the cob and potato salad.
Speaking of fathers, my Dad has always been the potato salad maker, whether he was cooking for a crowd at camp, a family gathering, or home. He swears he never added radishes, though I’m pretty sure I got that idea from him. I love the color and the crunch.
I also love pickled vegetables. They are super easy to make and keep on hand. This year I replaced my Dad’s suggested sweet pickle relish with some quick pickled red onions.
You can make these pickles right before you begin your potato salad and they’ll be ready in an hour. If you want them savory, skip the sugar. I usually double the recipe and make one jar savory and one jar sweet.
So get your eggs boiling,
and while you are at it, your potatoes too.
Put it all together, just in time for the 4th of July.
I’m still undecided about what we are making over here on the 4th. As of last night, we have it narrowed down to about 6 different non-classic ideas. What? While I get on that, I thought I’d share with you an oldie but goodie and a perfect reason to love your lunch on the 5th, if you have any leftovers. Here you go!
| Classic Potato Salad with Pickled Onions | Print |
- 5 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 8 hard-boiled eggs
- 1¾ cups of mayonnaise
- ¼ cup yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoons pickled onion or relish juice (sweet or savory)
- ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 small bunch of radishes, ends removed and diced
- ½ cup celery diced, 1-2 stalks
- Garnishes: pickled red onions (see below) and/or snipped chives
- Cover quartered and peeled potatoes with water, 1 teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, set to simmer for about 15 minutes until just tender. Taste test potatoes to see if they are done to your liking. Not too crunchy, not to mushy. Let them go another 5 minutes if needed.
- Remove hard yolks from egg whites. Mash the egg yolks and put in a medium bowl. Dice the egg whites and set aside.
- In your medium bowl with egg yolks, whisk in mayonnaise, mustard, pickle juice, ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Refrigerate dressing until ready to serve.
- Dice radishes and celery and set aside with egg whites.
- Once potatoes are done, drain them gently and let them cool while spread out on a cookie sheet to dry.
- When cool enough to handle, slice each potato quarter into ½ inch pieces. Lightly salt these potato slices.
- In a large bowl combine cooled potatoes, celery, radishes, egg whites and dressing. Stir gently to combine. Taste and add more salt, pepper, and/or extra pickle juice to adjust the taste to your liking. (This process of tasting makes for the best potato salad each time, don't skip it!)
- Garnish with pickled onions and chopped chives.
| Pickled Red Onions | Print |
- ½ red onion sliced or diced
- ¼ cup white or cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ¾ teaspoon of salt
- optional: 2-3 teaspoons of sugar for sweet pickles
- 1 small jam jar or container with lid
- Fill jar with sliced or chopped onion pieces
- In a liquid measuring cup, whisk the remaining ingredients together to dissolve salt and/or sugar.
- Pour liquid mixture over your onions.
- Top your jar with the lid and shake it up and down a few times.
- Let your onions sit room temperature for at least an hour before using.
- Refrigerate leftovers for a couple weeks.
- Recipe can easily be multiplied.
Enjoy!
~H
