Herby Potato Salad with Crunchy Vegetables

Potato salad is a love or hate it kind of food. People also seem to be in two camps: mayo dressing or vinaigrette. The kind of potato salad I like is one where the potato is waxy, not starchy, with a little bit of acidity and plenty of something green, like herbs. I could do either mayonnaise based dressing or a vinaigrette. What I always thought was missing was some textural contrast to the potato. With that in mind, I decided to toss in some crunchy vegetables.

Just in time for the last long weekend of summer, this potato salad would be great for an outdoor meal. This recipe starts out with small, waxy potatoes. The kind I used were called “two bite” potatoes and are the size of a golf ball. Any kind of waxy potato will do such as a yukon gold, as long as you cut them into same-sized chunks. After cooking them to just tender, you toss in blanched, crunchy sugar snap peas, cool radishes and a mound of soft herbs and scallions. Everything is then combined with a tangy, grainy mustard vinaigrette.

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Why is blanching important?

Sometimes, I get asked why it is important to blanch (aka quickly boil in salted water) green vegetables. Blanching any green vegetable will enhance its’ color, taste and texture. If you look at snap peas before you blanch them, they may look a little pale, with lots of blemish marks. If you taste one, it may be slightly starchy and have a dull crunch. Blanching them will make them have a more vibrant look, taste and texture. After blanching, drain and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking. I do this with vegetables like broccoli, green beans, kale, shelled peas, and sometimes even carrots, if I’m serving them raw.

What kind of vinegar is best to use for this potato salad?

For the dressing, I’m partial to champagne or sherry vinegar but most anything you have on hand will do. All except balsamic vinegar. Balsamic would stain the potatoes a dark color and in my opinion, is a little too sweet for this potato salad. So apple cider, red wine, rice wine, even white distilled vinegar would work. Maybe you prefer lemon juice? I would suggest going with what you like.

What else could you add?

I contemplated adding some chopped dill pickles to this potato salad. Then I would have to consider pickle brine too. Capers would be nice. For the herbs, you don’t have to just use either cilantro or parsley. There could definitely be a combination of any soft herbs here such as dill, tarragon, basil, mint, and lovage. To round this salad out and make a meal of it on its’ own, you could top it with some sliced, hard boiled egg or chopped bacon. It makes a great side dish to anything grilled, either meat, fish or vegetable.

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