Potato Salads “Re-Visited”…If you enjoy potato salads you’re definitely not alone.
All throughout the summer, you can pretty much count on a bowl of potato salad showing up at every backyard barbecue, casual picnic or outdoor get together, and for good reason. Potato salads are one of summer’s great comfort foods.
The most popular potato salads are dressed with mayonnaise or salad dressing followed by the oil and vinegar style such as German potato salad. Both have their following but because most people purchase prepared potato salads versus making their own, you don’t often see anything but versions of the classic American or mustard potato salads. And that’s a shame because there are SO many delicious styles and flavors of potato salads to enjoy.
I’ve created and shared a number of my potato salad recipes in my blogs and on Nino’s websites. Here are just a few:
Loaded Fingerling Potato Salad
But there are SO many other unique potato salads to discover. Ones you won’t find in any grocery store and ones that will be the talk of the party.
Let’s talk potatoes for a moment…
Of course the ‘key” ingredient in ANY potato salad are the potatoes. When it comes to which you choose to make a potato salad, you’re best if choosing the type of potato that once its cooked, will hold up to being tossed in a dressing and with other ingredients, without turning into mush.
In the potato world, those potatoes are called the “waxy” type and include red skin potatoes, white potatoes, new potatoes and fingerling potatoes. Idaho and russets are called mealy potatoes and are generally not the best choice for potato salads.
The rest, that is the remaining ingredients and the dressing are all a matter of choice, keeping in mind that certain ingredients just plain go together, like cucumbers and dill or peppers and onions.
Another potato that’s making headlines lately (for all the best reasons) are sweet potatoes. And it’s kind of funny that while you occasionally see roasted sweet potatoes as a garnishment in green salads, you don’t often see them used in straight up potato salads. Well, we’re going to change that, and at the same time, introduce a whole new potato salad flavor for you to enjoy.
My Teriyaki Sweet Potato Salad is an oil and vinegar style potato salad meaning that the dressing is a temporary emulsion that will need to be tossed as it is served to be sure all the ingredients get a nice coating of this delicious dressing. It’s very colorful and a wonderful accompaniment to sushi.
Teriyaki Sweet Potato Salad: Serves 4
4 Medium Sweet Potatoes, Skin On
½ Cup Bok Choy, Cut in ½” x 1” Pieces
½ Cup Snow (Flat) Pea Pods, Cut in Half
½ Cup Bean Sprouts (Fresh)
¼ Cup Red Onions, Cut in Slivers
¼ Cup Red Bell Pepper, Cut in Slivers
2/3 Cup Teriyaki Glaze / Sauce
¼ Cup Rice Wine Vinegar or Lime Juice
2 TBSP Honey
2 TBSP Sesame Oil
1 tsp Kosher or Sea Salt
½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
1 TBSP Black Sesame Seeds (optional)
- Lightly oil the outside skins of the sweet potatoes and roast them in a 375 F oven until tender (about 45 minutes), then chill, peel off the skins and dice into 1” pieces.
- Toss the sweet potato pieces with the (raw) vegetables.
- Whisk together the teriyaki glaze, rice wine vinegar, honey, sesame oil and optional red pepper flakes.
- Pour the dressing over the sweet potato and vegetables mixture and toss.
- Sprinkle with black sesame seeds to garnish.
If you like spicy, if you’re looking for a potato salad with a “kick!” this potato salad will fit the bill and it’s perfect for just about ANY barbecue fare.
Ragin’ Cajun Potato Salad: Serves 6
2 Lbs Baby Red Skin Potatoes, cut in half
¼ Cup Salvaggio’s Cajun Seasoning Blend
3 to 4 TBSP Vegetable Oil
4 Strips Bacon, Cut in ½” pieces
1/3 Cup Sweet Onion, diced ½”
1 TBSP Garlic, Chopped
1/3 Cup Colorful Bell Peppers, diced ½”
¼ Cup Celery, diced ½ “
2/3 Cup Mayonnaise
2 TBSP Spicy Brown Mustard
1 TBSP Salvaggio’s Cajun Seasoning Blend
1 tsp Tabasco
2 tsp Kosher or Sea Salt
2 TBSP Chopped Parsley
- Toss halved red skin potatoes in Cajun seasonings and vegetable oil and roast in a 375 F oven for approximately 40 minutes or until tender. Chill.
- While potatoes are roasting, sauté bacon until crisp then add onions, garlic, bell peppers and celery to the bacon and grease and cook one additional minute only.
- Reserve bacon, the cooked vegetables and 2 TBSP of the resulting bacon grease and toss with the cooked potatoes while warm. Allow this mixture to cool.
- Toss potato mixture with the mayonnaise, mustard, Tabasco and salt.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
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