A Delicious Potato Salad for Spring

This past Easter Sunday was the first holiday we’ve been able to celebrate with our family in more than 15 months (Christmas 2019 was our last!). To say that my husband and I were excited about seeing our teenaged grandchildren would definitely be an understatement! And, as usual for this special spring celebration, I offered to cook the meal with my son, Mike. He took care of the meat and fish, while I prepared sides, including a roasted potato salad with peas and chives.

The recipe for this delectable potato salad calls for a mustard and shallot vinaigrette instead of the traditional mayonnaise dressing, and the potatoes are roasted instead of being boiled. Roasting, cleaned but not peeled, small red skin potatoes adds extra flavor, and using a vinegar-based dressing rather than one with mayonnaise, means the salad can sit out longer at room temperature without risk of spoilage.

Chopped hard boiled eggs, some cooked peas (fresh or frozen will work), and plenty of chopped chives round out this dish. The vinaigrette can be assembled and the eggs boiled a day ahead and the poatoes roasted several hours in advance. All that is necessary at serving time is to stir in the cooked peas and chives, and then toss everything in the dressing.     

Try this salad with grilled lamb chops as we did, or with steaks, burgers, or sausages. It’s also delicious with roasted salmon. It’s spring, so it’s time to start making potato salad again!

 

 

 

 

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Roasted Potato Salad with Peas and Chives

Mustard Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard with seeds
Kosher salt  and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots

Potato Salad
2 1/2 pounds red skin potatoes, cleaned but not peeled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup fresh or frozen peas, cooked and patted dry
3 large hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped chives

1.For vinaigrette, in a small nonreactive bowl combine vinegar, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper, and whisk well to combine. Whisk in olive oil. (Vinaigrette can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before using and whisk well.)

2.To prepare the salad, arrange a rack at center position and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Have ready a large baking sheet.

3.Quarter the potatoes, lengthwise, and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1/3 cup olive oil, and toss well to combine. Spread potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet. Pour any remaining oil in bowl over them. Roast potatoes until golden and tender when pierced with a knife, 40 to 45 minutes. Watch carefully, and stir the potatoes every 10 minutes with a wooden spoon or a spatula to ensure that they don’t stick. Remove and cool to room temperature on baking sheet.

4.Transfer potatoes and chopped eggs to a serving bowl. Add the dressing and toss well to coat.  (The salad can be prepared 3 hours ahead to this point. Cover loosely with foil and leave at room temperature.)

5. When ready to serve, add the peas and half of the chives to the potato salad, and toss well to combine. Taste the salad and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle the remaining chives over the salad. Serves 6.

Cooking tip:: Although a simple kitchen task, many people have trouble making hard boiled eggs.  Place eggs in a saucepan in a single layer and add enough water to cover by an inch. Bring water to a boil over medium high heat. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook 12 minutes. Remove eggs and plunge them into a bowl of cold water  for 2 to 3 minutes or longer until the eggs are cool. Crack and remove shells.

Copyright Betty Rosbottom 2021

6 thoughts on “A Delicious Potato Salad for Spring

  1. Can’t wait to m and the potato salad. Thanks for sharing. Hope you and your family are well.
    With warm regards, Alice recently

    • Hi Alice,
      Sorry I didn’t see your message and am just now answering. I love that potato salad and am thrilled you’re going to make it. My assistant just made it this past weekend and said her husband almost ate it all. Hope you’re well too! Betty

  2. Do you think it will be ok to make this the day-before? Or will it get too “mushy” if I don’t serve for 24-hours.

    • Hi Karen,
      Yes, you can make it a day ahead. I did and it was delicious. It helps that the crust is pre-baked for 10 minutes. Hope you enjoy it and Happy July 4th! Betty

        • Hi Karen,
          I’m so sorry. I thought you were talking about the cheesecake recipe which I just posted. For the roasted potato salad you can make the vinaigrette and hard boil the eggs a day ahead. The potatoes always taste better if roasted a few hours ahead and then tossed with the dressing and other ingredients.
          That being said, I have roasted the potatoes the day ahead–they worked but didn’t have as nice an appearance as the ones done on the same day.

          Hope this helps! Happy July 4th! Betty

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