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Lifestyle

In the Kitchen with Terry Paulding

Terry Paulding
Contributor
August 2008

An article came across my desk recently about making potato salad. It was from the Washington Post (July 9, “Spuds, an Open and Shut Case”), and asserted that “all chefs” mix the potatoes with “dressing” while they’re still hot. Then, it mentions a researcher who spent 10 months testing why mixing hot potatoes with oil makes such a difference in the salad. I thought this person was going in the wrong direction entirely. I fired off an email—never got a reply, but it did get me thinking about how I always mix vinegar with the hot potatoes, which has the double effect of flavoring and firming them up a bit. What else goes into the salad after the potatoes cool is a matter of that moment’s choice—anything from the classic hard boiled eggs, celery, cornichon pickles and herbs with mayonnaise (recipe below), to peas, tarragon and olive oil, to blue cheese and shallots.

I choose a non-mealy, thin skinned potato for salad. Not the russets that you might make baked potatoes with, for instance. If have Yukon Gold, red potatoes or fingerlings, you have the right texture. You can choose little creamer sized potatoes or larger ones, according to your taste.

I rarely peel the potatoes when I’m making the salad at home, although for catering, it’s pretty much expected that they be peeled. Most of the nutrients are in the skins, and I see no reason to discard them. I have a particular method of cooking the potatoes that works well for me, but I’m sure there will be lots of disagreement — there are many people who feel the only way to properly cook a potato is whole. Which is fine for small ones, but I find a larger potato gets overcooked on the outside while it’s still rock-hard inside. So, I cut the potato lengthwise once—into the two thinnest possible halves, so that there is more surface area and less density. I simmer the potatoes in well-salted water until they are just fork tender; go too far, you end up with a mashed-up potato salad without any texture. But undercooked, they are not pleasant to eat. You want the fork to just slide into the center of the piece without much resistance, but without breaking the potato into pieces. If I want boiled eggs in the salad, I cook the eggs right along with the potatoes, but time them separately.

As soon as they are done, I drain the potatoes and quickly work with a sharp knife and a fork to cut big potatoes into 1-inch chunks; small ones can just be left in halves. Then they go back into the bowl and receive a liberal drizzle with cider vinegar while they are still steamy hot. While they cool completely, I make the dressing. Try the recipe, or make up your own. Add the things that make you happy; you’ll find that that magical dose of vinegar will make your salad shine.

One note: If you’re going on a picnic on a hot day, leave the mayo out, and just finish dressing the salad with good olive oil. Either way, you can’t go wrong by pairing whatever you’re putting on the grill with a good potato salad.

Terry Paulding is President of Paulding & Company, a Creative Kitchen, 1410 D 62nd Street in Emeryville. Visit her website at www.pauldingandco.com.