Classic American potato salad. Potato salad: recipes, cooking features

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

American style potato salad is a classic dish in the United States. But not only in Western European countries, potatoes are considered a favorite product, without which not a single weekday or celebration passes. It has long been not just food, but the main ingredient for the preparation of side dishes, main and first courses, appetizers and even desserts. It is hard to imagine that just a few hundred years ago, potatoes were considered a delicacy, and Europeans were not even aware of its existence. So where and when was this tasty and he althy root crop first discovered?

The emergence of potatoes and the popularity of lettuce

Efforts to grow a crop that can be used to make an unusual American-style potato salad began about 15,000 years ago. Even the Indians tried to domesticate it in South America. The true homeland of the potato is Bolivia andPeru.

Peter I brought potatoes to Russia for the first time, and at first the local peasants did not like them. But already in the middle of the 18th century, the product became so beloved by people that it was often called the second bread.

Scientists have come to the conclusion that the root crop is rich not only in vitamins (groups B, C), but also in fiber, organic acids, he althy sugars and mineral s alts of calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus. In Germany, the classic American-style potato salad is considered a masterpiece of national cuisine. The Germans serve it with sauerkraut, fried sausages. They also fry bacon slices, saute onion and garlic in the remaining fat, and then add this dressing to potatoes.

Salad recipes are not uncommon in classic New World literature, and are often referenced in modern films as well. And even more so, no picnic is complete without this goodies. Despite the fact that, in our understanding, Americans are a people who prefer food on the go, fried and too fatty, as well as fast food, the classic American potato salad does not harm the body. On the contrary, this dish is considered one of the he althiest in the States.

American-style potato salad: ingredients

For the base you will need:

• Potato - 5-6 medium potatoes.
• Eggs - 5-6 pieces.
• Celery - 1-2 stalks.
• Onion - 1 head.
• Bulgarian sweet pepper - 1 pod.
• Marinated hot peppers - 1 pod.
• Pickled cucumber - 3-4 pieces.

For refueling, take:

• Mayonnaise - 1 cup.
• Natural apple cider vinegar - 2 tablespoons.
• Sweet mustard (Dijon) - 1 tablespoon.
• S alt and black pepper to taste.

American Potato Salad Recipe

Cooking steps:

1. Wash the potatoes, carefully rubbing the skin with a brush or sponge, boil in their skins in s alted water for 25–35 minutes, cool slightly and peel.
2. Hard-boil the eggs (at least 9-10 minutes).
3. Celery and fresh pepper wash, dry.
4. Cut all ingredients into cubes. This is an important point, the classic recipe provides for cutting only in the form of identical small cubes (with sides measuring approximately 0.5–0.7 mm).
5. Put the pieces in a beautiful salad bowl, add mustard, apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, s alt, pepper and mix.

Traditional American Potato Salad Recipe

This recipe is a simplified version of the classic. But most housewives prefer it. And for good reason, because the fewer ingredients, the easier it is to prepare the dish. By the way, such modifications will not affect the specific taste in any way.

So, you will need the following products:

• Medium-sized potatoes - 4 pieces.
• Celery - 1 stalk.
• Fresh cucumber - 1 piece.
• Onion - 1 head.
• Eggs - 3-4 pieces.
• S alt as desiredquantity.

Refill consists of:

• Mustard - 1 tablespoon.
• Mayonnaise - 1 cup.

Cooking algorithm:

1. Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender, peel.
2. Hard-boil eggs, cool in cold water and peel.
3. Cut everything into cubes, season and s alt.

Unconventional recipe (German version)

American potato salad also made with bacon.

Main ingredients:

• Potato - 6 tubers.
• Bacon - 3 strips.
• Green onions - 1 bunch.
• Pickled cucumber - 1 piece.
• Mustard - 2 teaspoons.
• Mayonnaise - 4 tablespoons.
• A pinch of sugar, s alt and ground black pepper to taste.

Put the bacon on a hot frying pan and immediately reduce the heat. Fry the pieces on both sides until cooked and put them on a paper towel to absorb excess fat. Boiled potatoes cut into cubes. Add sugar and finely chopped cucumber to the mustard. Mix all the ingredients, add chopped bacon and put the dish in the refrigerator for half an hour. Before serving, you can sprinkle with green onions or any other greens.

Champignon salad

American style potato salad with mushrooms is good for those who want to lose weight or just prefer not to eat meat.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 4 medium size stuff.
• Onion - 1 piece.
• Champignons (you can take other mushrooms) - 70 g.
• Vegetable oil - 3-4 tablespoons.
• S alt, pepper and herbs to taste.

Potato must be boiled in advance without peeling. Cool then cut into small cubes. Wash the mushrooms, chop finely and fry in vegetable oil until half cooked. Finely chop the onion, add to the mushrooms, mix and simmer for another 10 minutes over low heat. Cucumbers also cut into cubes, mix with the rest of the ingredients and sprinkle with herbs. The salad is dressed with oil, but you can also not add it. And so the dish will turn out very tasty.

Meat salad with potatoes (Korean version called kamdicha)

Needed:

• Potato - 4 tubers.
• Meat (chicken fillet, pork tenderloin, veal) – 300g
• Onion - 1 head.
• Soy sauce - 3 tbsp.
• Sweet pepper - 1 pod.
• Olives - 50 g.
• Garlic - 1 clove.
• Parsley, cilantro, s alt and pepper.

First, potatoes should be peeled, cut into strips, then boiled until fully cooked in lightly s alted water. The meat is also cut into thin strips and fried in vegetable oil along with chopped onions. At the final stage of cooking meat, add soy sauce to the pan, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes, then cool. Vegetableschop into strips, squeeze the garlic, mix all the ingredients. The salad is dressed with soy sauce and sprinkled with herbs before serving.

Potato salad with chicken liver

Required:

• Potatoes - 3 things.
• Chicken liver - 200g
• Onion - 1 piece.
• Vegetable oil (preferably olive) for dressing.
• Greens, s alt and spices at your discretion.

Boil the potatoes in their skins, let them cool, peel and cut into small cubes. Rinse the liver thoroughly and cook over medium heat for about half an hour. Grate the finished liver on a coarse grater or chop in a blender. Mix everything together, add finely chopped green onions, s alt, pepper and season with vegetable oil.

Features of preparation and replacement of ingredients

A real American potato salad should never look like a homogeneous mass. Pieces cut immediately after boiling and cooling the tubers will certainly stick together with each other. This will make the potatoes look like mashed potatoes. To prevent this from happening, it is better to boil the ingredients in the evening, cool and put in the refrigerator overnight. Chilled potatoes are easy to cut, they are no longer that sticky, so beautiful pieces in the form of cubes will be noticeable in the salad, as required by the recipe.

Although in the classic version, the potatoes should be freshly cooked and even still warm. It is believed that in this form it absorbs vinegar and s alt better.

Potatoes can be used young, then it is not necessary to remove the skin from it. But last year is better. It is firmer, more resilient and does not boil as quickly.

You can start eating immediately after cooking or wait 40 minutes until the salad is well saturated with sauce. But it tastes just as good the next day. It is stored in the refrigerator under the lid for up to two days.

For the first time, it may seem that a glass of mayonnaise is too much to make an American-style potato salad from this amount of food. The recipe implies that the ingredients literally float in the sauce. Therefore, if there is no desire to swallow so many calories contained in mayonnaise, you can take less of it. Or you can generally fill the salad with natural yogurt or sour cream - this is a matter of taste. Diet low calorie option - mustard, vinegar and olive oil sauce.

How do you make American potato salad when stalk celery is hard to come by in the cold season? You can chop the stems of the plant into it or add seeds. If you do not like white onions, then you can safely replace it with red or young green ones. Mustard for salad should be chosen sweet, but when this is not possible, then spicy mustard will do, but in smaller quantities. And the French one gives a special spicy taste.

If you don't have apple cider vinegar on hand, you can use white wine vinegar or even a pickle pickle instead.

Modificationscountless potato salad. Canned tuna, garlic, seafood, boiled beef, pork and chicken fillet, mushrooms, fresh vegetables and other ingredients are put in it. If desired, you can add parsley, dill or your favorite greens to the salad to taste. It all depends on the imagination and ability to combine the ingredients of a particular chef. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment and discover new combinations of taste. Bon appetit, or, as Americans prefer to say in French style, - bon appetit!