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classic potato salad recipe topped with sliced hard boiled eggs
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Old Fashioned Potato Salad

Creamy with mayonnaise, tangy with mustard, crunchy with celery and onion, and with a surprise of green olives, this is a classic old-fashioned potato salad recipe.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine America
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 330kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds Potatoes preferably small red skinned
  • 1/2 cup celery chopped
  • 1/2 cup onion sweet, chopped
  • 1/4 cup green olives pimento stuffed, sliced (optional)
  • 1 cup mayonnaise 1 generous cup
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoon mustard yellow
  • ' Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 Hard Boiled Eggs for garnish
  • Paprika for garnish

Instructions

  • Rinse and remove any bad spots or eyes from the potatoes. Don't peel.
  • Place potatoes n a large sauce pan and cover them with cold water by two inches.
  • Slowly bring the potatoes to a boil. Cook them until just about done. When you insert a knife into the potato and it slides out somewhat easily, those potatoes are done enough for potato salad. Depending on the size of the potatoes, plan on 30 - 45 minutes cooking time.
  • Drain potatoes in a colander. Remember, when you drain them in the colander, they're so hot, they'll continue to cook for a few minutes more. The skins will peel off easily since they're cooked, or I like to leave skins on.
  • Meanwhile, chop your vegetables. Place them in a large bowl.
  • When the potatoes are cool enough to handle (they'll should still be hot) With a knife, coarse chunk, or cut the potatoes in half, while adding them to the bowl with the celery and onions. Let sit for a couple of minutes before stirring. I like to do this to steam the vegetables and let the flavors marry a little bit.
  • Top with mayonnaise and a tablespoon or more of mustard. This all depends on your taste preference. Add the olives if using. With a large spoon gently fold the potato salad together. At this time I start adjusting the flavors, adding more mustard and mayo, if needed, for both texture and flavor.
  • Remember, the potatoes were boiled in salty water. Taste before adding salt and pepper.Top with sliced hard boiled egg if you'd like. Remember, those eggs will slice cleaner if they've been sitting in the refrigerator for a couple of hours after boiling. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Notes

Tip: Don't over stir the potatoes when mixing the potato salad to combine ingredients. This could cause the potatoes to break down and make for a mushy potato salad.
How Do You Keep Potatoes From Getting Mushy in Potato Salad? If you're using russet potatoes, you may have over cooked them. Russet potatoes are high in starch and if cooked too long will become watery and mushy, which will result in a "mashed potato" mushy potato salad. Red or Yukon gold potatoes are recommended. Mushy potato salad may also result in stirring the potato salad too much. Every turn of the spatula or spoon may cause potatoes to break apart too much.
Is It Better To Boil Potatoes Whole or Cut Up for Potato Salad? When I attended culinary school, it was advices to always cook potatoes with the skin and and cook them whole. Cooking them this way helps to maintain that potato flavor that we all love.

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 348mg | Potassium: 817mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Vitamin C: 22.2mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 6.2mg