Banish bland potato salad

Summer means having picnics, and having picnics means making potato salad. Sometimes that salad doesn’t quite live up to expectations. Luckily Epicurious just took a look at common potato salad problems and how to fix them.

The biggest complaint for potato salads is that they can be a bit bland. Epicurious recommends properly seasoning the potato cooking water – and that means more than adding salt. Add fresh herbs, like a few sprigs of parsley, to the stockpot along with salt. This “brings so many extra opportunities for flavor infusion in the potatoes-add garlic if you like, or a tablespoon of vinegar to help the potatoes get even punchier.”

Another tip the site endorses is to dress the potatoes while they are still warm, as that allows them to absorb more flavor. For oil-based dressings, toss the potatoes when they are hot. But if you are using a mayo-based dressing, “stir in the potatoes when they’re warm, not hot-you don’t want to break the mayo.”

Epicurious also notes that can perk up a heavy dressing by adding some acid, like pickle juice, buttermilk, vinegar, or a squeeze of lemon juice. Get your summer picnics off to a good start with one of these great potato salad recipes from the EYB Library: 

Fingerling potato salad with green chile-cilantro salsa from Epicurious (pictured above)
Potato salad with a rhubarb & balsamic dressing from Tinned Tomatoes
Patricia Wells’s warm potato salad with capers, scallions & mint from Serious Eats
Warm lentil and potato salad from Smitten Kitchen
Roasted potato salad with mustard-walnut vinaigrette from Food52