The Easiest Trick For Giving Boring, Old Potato Salad A Makeover

Potato salad can cause a lot of drama. Everyone has an opinion about what ingredients should be included in this popular side dish, as well as the shape of the main attraction: the potato. You might be accustomed to seeing them at a cookout cubed or roughly chopped, but thinly slicing the potatoes into rounds is the secret to making your creation a sophisticated standout at any gathering.

Written records of potato salad in the United States date back to the mid-1800s. Spanish, French, and German immigrants all brought their own twist to this dish. Today, it seems like everyone has their own unique potato salad recipes full of heavily guarded generational secrets. However, it's no secret that slicing your potatoes rather than cubing them will enhance the texture and presentation of your dish, while still allowing you to prepare it with the ingredients you prefer.

Thinly sliced rounds cook more evenly and are more likely to have that perfect, tender texture throughout. Chopping the potatoes into big chunks can sometimes lead to mushy, overcooked potatoes and firm, undercooked ones in the same bite. Thin rounds also cook faster, so you spend less time hovering over your pot of boiling water. The uniform slices create a more refined-looking dish, which will be eye-catching for your guests and perfect for a special occasion.

To achieve this polished presentation of your potatoes, you'll do things a little differently from most classic potato salad recipes. Instead of boiling your potatoes first before peeling and cutting them, take a page out of Julia Child's book "The Way to Cook," and prepare the potatoes before cooking them. Begin by thoroughly scrubbing and peeling the spuds, if you prefer them sans skin. Next, you'll need to slice them into ¼-inch rounds, dropping them into a pot of cold water as you go. If you're not confident in your knife work, a mandolin can come in handy here.

Once you're done slicing, you can roast your spuds for the perfect crispy texture, or for a more traditional consistency, you'll have to drain the starchy cold water and add new, freshly salted water. Only then can you put it on the stove over until it comes to a simmer. After about three minutes, check your potatoes to see if they are done. You want to be sure you drain them when they have just become tender, otherwise you run the risk of overcooking them and having a mushy mess. Now you are free to go about preparing the rest of your recipe however you like, and you will be left with an aesthetically pleasing and tasty twist on this beloved backyard side dish.