If you ask me, potato salad, in all its various styles, is one of mankind’s crowning achievements. John, on the other hand, doesn’t like it at all. And, I mean, that’s okay. He doesn’t have to like everything I like. He has rights. This is one of them.But for some reason I just cannot seem to leave him alone.
So instead of letting John enjoy his carrots and potato chips in peace, I set about interrogating him about what his problem with potato salad was, what potato salad ever did to him, and how he thought he could do it any better. The issue? Texture. The potatoes are too mushy, the mayonnaise is too squooshy, and on the whole it’s just something he can live without.
I immediately ran home and made a potato salad with 100% more onion and 50% less mayo, with a little extra egg and celery thrown in. Making it reminded me that although potato salad tends to mean potatoes swimming in mayo, it really can be anything. Potatoes and something. Some kind of salad. And I am definitely not being cocky when I say that this new potato salad is in many ways more salady than its traditional counterpart. At least, in the way I think of salad it is, but maybe it’s less salady in the 1950s-America sense of the word — the one that usually involves jello.
Anyway, I ended up with something crunchy and oniony and just mayonnaisey enough, with all the potato salad tastiness of which I’ve grown so fond. And it’s completely squish-free. Even John likes it!
Squish-Free Potato Salad
Serves about 6
- 2–3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
- 2 medium yellow onions
- 2 stalks celery
- 5 hard boiled eggs
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp coarse mustard
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder (more if you love garlic potatoes)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cut the potatoes up into 1″ cubes and boil in salted water just until fork-tender. Drain and allow to cool.
- Chop the onion rather coarsely and the celery rather finely and put them into a big bowl. Remove the yolks from the hard-boiled eggs and chop those coarsely into the same bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix mayo, vinegar, mustard, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper until it is delicious potato salad dressing.
- Add the potatoes to the big bowl and toss gently with the chopped vegetables. Add the dressing and toss until everything is lightly coated. Chill (seriously, you need to take a breath) and serve with something delightful like cheeseburgers.
