Ma's Classic Potato Salad
Ma's Classic Potato Salad is a family favorite. No frills. No fancy ingredients. Just pure and simple uncomplicated potato salad. And it's sooo good.
Food doesn't have to be complicated to be good.
And as I wrote that sentence, I actually started to say "I'm a firm believer food doesn't have to be complicated to be good." But you know what? - It's not a belief. It's a fact. It's just a pure and simple fact that food doesn't have to be complicated to be good.
As I've gotten older, I think I've come to appreciate and understand that more and more.
It's just a pure and simple fact that food doesn't have to be complicated to be good.
When I was learning to cook, I gravitated to more complex recipes and foods, thinking that that was what I was supposed to do to be able to cook well. Well, while many complicated dishes are indeed good, so are many of the uncomplicated ones, too.
Some of our very favorite foods are so incredibly not-complicated, it's almost unbelievable they taste so good. Like Triple Berry Fruit Salad with Vanilla Simple Syrup, or Oven Barbecue Chicken Thighs, for example. Or how about 's most popular recipe, Crescent Sausage Bites? - Truly just 3 ingredients, and they're a crowd-pleaser every time.
That's just the case with Ma's Classic Potato Salad, too. No frills. No fancy ingredients. Just pure and simple uncomplicated potato salad.
And it's one of our family's absolute favorites.
My husband Mark's mom, or Ma as we call her, has been making this version of potato salad ever since he can remember.
And it's a staple dish for so many occasions and meals at Ma's house. Most times Mark and I would visit Ma for the weekend when we lived several hours away, there'd be a big bowl of her potato salad in the refrigerator when we arrived.
And Christmas dinner with turkey, ham, and all the fixings? There'd be a big bowl of Ma's potato salad then, too. The menu just wasn't complete without it. And my sister-in-law and I, especially, loved to see it on the table.
No frills. No fancy ingredients. Just pure and simple uncomplicated potato salad. And it's one of our family's absolute favorites.
Fortunately, Ma's recipe is very easy to make.
You start as you do with pretty much every potato salad recipe - by boiling some potatoes. Ma uses just basic yellow or white potatoes - don't get baking potatoes or Russets, or something like that because the texture just won't be "right" for potato salad.
Boil the potatoes in their skins, or "jackets" as Ma says, in salted water until tender. This should take about 25–35 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. A fork should easily piece into the potatoes when they’re cooked.
Then let the potatoes cool a little until they're cooled enough to handle. Peel the potatoes while they’re still warm and chop them into cubes.
We like to chop the potatoes into what I'd say is "medium-sized" cubes so the potato salad has some texture. But chop the cubes larger or smaller if you'd like to get the texture that suits your taste.
Chop up a few hard-boiled eggs and stalks of celery, too.
The eggs bring that classic potato salad flavor, and the celery brings great crunch.
Put all the chopped ingredients in a large bowl along with some salt and pepper. Then add in some mayonnaise and prepared yellow mustard.
When mixing everything up, we first take the spoon and mix together the mayonnaise and mustard right on top of the potato mixture so the two ingredients are blended.
Then we mix everything together until all the potatoes are well coated.
This method just helps more easily get the mayonnaise and mustard distributed evenly throughout the salad and makes for real easy mixing.
Then you're ready to serve up this family favorite. No frills, no fancy ingredients - Just pure and simple uncomplicated potato salad. And it's sooo good.
We hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we do!
Thank you for stopping by . We'd love to have you back soon!
Yield: 8-10 Servings
Ma's Potato Salad
Ma's Classic Potato Salad is a family favorite. No frills. No fancy ingredients. Just pure and simple uncomplicated potato salad. And it's sooo good.
prep time: 30 Mcook time: 35 Mtotal time: 65 M
ingredients:
- 5 fairly large basic yellow or white potatoes
- 3 hard-boiled eggs
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 c. mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 T. yellow mustard
- 1/2 tsp. salt, or more to taste
- 1/8 tsp. pepper, or more to taste
instructions:
How to cook Ma's Potato Salad
- Rinse potatoes and place them, unpeeled, in a Dutch oven or other large pot. Fill pot with enough water to cover potatoes by about 1-inch. Bring pot to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-high. Boil potatoes until soft, about 25–35 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. A fork should easily piece into the potatoes when they’re cooked.
- Drain potatoes and set aside to cool until cooled enough to handle. Peel potatoes while they’re still warm and chop into cubes. Place chopped potatoes in a large bowl.
- Peel hard-boiled eggs and chop into small cubes. Finely chop celery. Add chopped eggs and celery to the potatoes and toss to combine.
- Add mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper to the top of the potato mixture. Mix together the mayonnaise and mustard a bit, and then stir it into the potato mixture. Add a little more mayonnaise and/or mustard, if needed, to obtain your desired consistency.
- Cover and chill at least 2 hours to allow flavors to meld.
TRACEY'S NOTES
- Three stalks of celery may seem like a lot, but it adds wonderful crunch to the potato salad. Use a little less (or more!) if you'd like, but I don't suggest omitting it completely.
- Hard-boiled eggs are easiest to peel when they're still warm. Run them under cold water until just cool enough to handle, and then peel.
You might also like these other tasty salad recipes:
This post is linked with Meal Plan Monday.
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