Burg’s Potato Salad
Helllooo, I’m back! I hope that you all were able to find the silver linings in this sh*t show that is Summer 2020. I feel extremely fortunate for the milestones my family were able to celebrate and the relaxation we were able to enjoy. I am cognizant that this is not the case for all but I hope that my return to weekly blogging brings a little joy, inspiration and delicious food into your lives. It’s the small things, right? So without further ado, I bring you a recipe that some may see as the last vestige of summer but I view as a possible side dish all year long. While, it’s still potato salad season in my neck of the woods, it may not be so in yours (my parents in Montana had some emergency relief snow yesterday–more on that another time), but I am hoping that with a version this all-around good, you would agree that it hits the spot any time of year.
I came across this recipe while reading a loaned copy of Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life. Molly of Orangette fame, is the sister of a neighbor and after a casual dog walking conversation, the book appeared in my mailbox. It is important to note that in the community where I live all good things are delivered to the lower half of our clunky mailboxes making them pillars of the neighborhood, despite their design. After reading the first few pages of Molly’s book, I was in love. Her writing style, her passion for the kitchen, her appreciation of food made me feel as if she were talking to me not having written words in a New York Times best seller. A Homemade Life reminded me of Ruth Reichl’s books where memories–the most special and the most mundane–are tied to a particular dish and each chapter concludes with a recipe for such dish. After absorbing the setting and feelings for why a particular recipe is important, I am inevitably compelled to make the recipe to taste and complete the picture. After all, with a food memoir where there might be only 20 recipes included, doesn’t their inclusion alone certify their worth?
So it should come a no surprise that by page 14 of A Homemade Life I was making Burg’s Potato Salad and by page 39 I was whipping up Burg’s French Toast (you’ll have to buy the book for that recipe but I’ll let you in on a little secret…oil!). Burg, of food fame, refers to Molly’s father who sounds like the kind of guy that filled a room in the best possible way. His potato salad fills out the plates of your backyard barbecue or your hamburger dinner. It’s important to make the potato salad the night before you want to serve it so that the flavors can come together. And don’t be surprised, turned off, or tempted to omit the ranch dressing. I couldn’t exactly pinpoint the taste in the final dish but I imagine that it brings a certain tang and more importantly, Molly (and Burg) say it’s essential. I can guarantee that after making this potato salad, you will never make another mayonnaise-based version again. Enjoy!
Burg’s Potato Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 3/4 lbs red waxy potatoes scrubbed
- 4 lg eggs
- 8 scallions (white and pale green parts only) thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp salt plus more to taste
For the Dressing
- 3/4 c mayonnaise preferably Hellman's/Best Foods or homemade
- 4 Tbls bottled Ranch dressing preferably Hidden Valley
- 2 Tbls finely chopped fresh dill
- 1-2 tsp caraway seeds optional
Instructions
- Put the potatoes in a Dutch oven or large saucepan and add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Add a generous dash of salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer ad cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a small, thin knife, about 15 minutes.
- Drain potatoes into a colander, rinse with cold water, and set them aside to cool. (If you are in a hurry,put them in the refrigeator to speed the process along. You want the potatoes to be completely cool when you dress them.)
- When the potatoes are cool, cut them into rough 1-inch chunks. For the smaller potatoes, halve them; for the bigger ones, cut into quarters or eighths. Put them in a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, cook the eggs. Place them in a small saucepan, and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the water begins to boil, remove pan from the heat, cover it and let sit for exactly 12 minutes. Immediately pour of the hot water and run plenty of cold water over the eggs.
- When the eggs are cool, peel them, chop them coarsely, and add to the bowl of potatoes. Add the scallions, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of salt and toss to mix.
- In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, Ranch dressing, dill and caraway seeds, if using. Pour the dressing over the potato mixture, and stir to evenly coat. Taste, and adjust salt as needed. Cover and refrigerate overnight before serving.