Please Help, Making Potato Salad For First Time, Question

[Sarah8793]

I boiled whole red potatoes like the recipe said until they were tender but still firm. It says to cut them into cubes. The red skins are falling off some of them as I cut them. What do I do? Should I wait until they are cooler? Is this supposed to happen? Do I discard the skins that are falling off and keep the ones on that are staying on??? As you can see I'm clueless when it comes to potato salad.

[penguin]

Hmm, I always cube the potatoes first

Anyway, waiting until they are cooler will help the skin adhere more to the potato, but I say leave all potato parts in! You aren't going to have any more skin in the potatoes than what came with them

Those potatoes are all going to fall partially apart anyway when you mix it up, so don't worry about it

[angel-jd1]

I boiled whole red potatoes like the recipe said until they were tender but still firm. It says to cut them into cubes. The red skins are falling off some of them as I cut them. What do I do? Should I wait until they are cooler? Is this supposed to happen? Do I discard the skins that are falling off and keep the ones on that are staying on??? As you can see I'm clueless when it comes to potato salad.

Since the skins of red potatoes are tender. Either option would be fine. You can either peel the potatoes or just cube them with the skins on. I would just throw the skins away if they have already fallen off. Don't worry about adding them to the mixture. Good luck with your tater salad It sounds good.

-Jessica

[Sarah8793]

Thanks for the quick replies!

It just occured to me that maybe I'm supposed to remove the skins?? It doesn't say that in the recipe though. I personally like them, but I don't know about my friends that are coming over. Don't know what I should do.

[eKatherine]

I just ignore the fact that there are tender little bits of red potato skin in the salad.

It's very important to add salt and vinegar to the potatoes while they're still warm and can absorb it. In the very least, you need to do this before adding the dressing. Otherwise they will be very bland.

[penguin]

IMO, red skinned potatoes should not be skinned, not to mention they're the nutritious part of the potato.

[Sarah8793]

Thank you, Thank you everyone for the tips!

I decided to leave the skins on. About half fell off anyway so it is going to be 1/2 and 1/2, sure to please everyone

eKatherine, thanks for the tip. I will do that next time I make it, as I had already finished cooking and draining them.

Sarah

[Nantzie]

My MIL makes the best potato salad. I just recently got the recipe out of her. She boils the potatoes (russet in this case) whole and unpeeled. Then she lets them cool completely in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Then she peels the potatoes with a paring knife and cubes them up. I tried this last week, and it's works really well, other than the planning ahead part. I was expecting the peeling of the cooked potatoes would be messy, and it wasn't at all.

Nancy

[Guest Robbin]

Hi, I make red -skinned potato salad alot and you do not want to peel them or skin them. The skins are much thinnner than other potatoes and flavorful. penguin is right about the nutrition too. Right under the skin is the most nutritious part. You should wash and cube them with the skins on before cooking them and if some come off, it is ok. If they are really tiny, just cut in half.

[Sarah8793]

Hi, I make red -skinned potato salad alot and you do not want to peel them or skin them. The skins are much thinnner than other potatoes and flavorful. penguin is right about the nutrition too. Right under the skin is the most nutritious part. You should wash and cube them with the skins on before cooking them and if some come off, it is ok. If they are really tiny, just cut in half.

Thank you. My guests did like the salad with the skins on. So I will just make it this way from here on.

[eleep]

My favorite potato salad recipe calls for steaming the potatoes and then slicing them, skins on, while still hot -- I use a potholder or towel to hold them while I cut (it does get a bit messy, but the outcome is worth it). Then I toss them in a little bit of white wine and pour on a garlicky dijon mustard vinaigrette (homemade) and some fresh herbs. By this time, the hotness of the potatoes has made all that winy, garlicky, mustardy, olive-oily goodness smell reallly amazing and I generally have a little bowl of the hot salad and try not to touch the rest until it's cooled down in the fridge overnight. It really is even better the longer it sits, but I have trouble cooking food and not wanting to taste it, smell it and luxuriate in it as I'm doing so.

Um -- I like german potato salad a whole lot as well.

Well -- I must be healing if I'm back to feeling so passionate about food!

eleep

[Nantzie]

Erica, I'm totally drooling. That sounds SOOOO good.

Nancy

[Sarah8793]

Yum!! Me too!! Could you give us the recipe?

[eleep]

Sure! I might as well type it all in right now since I think I just got glutened a few hours ago after my roommate accidentally used my jar of mayonnaise (right -- should have put my initials on it). I'm sitting here feeling like a bit of a wreck, so please excuse my parenthetical wiseass comments.....

This is from Martha Rose Schulman's "Fast Vegetarian Feasts"

(gosh, I remember when I was a vegetarian -- what a luxury!)

Warm Potato Salad with Caraway (I don't always use the caraway):

Dressing:

Juice of 1/2 lemon

3 Tbl wine vinegar

1-2 tsp Dijon-style mustard or more to taste (I use more -- cannot say exactly how much)

2 cloves of garlic minced (I use about 5)

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1/2 tsp dried tarragon

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup olive oil

Salad:

2 lb potatoes (I use red)

1/4 cup dry white wine (I just glug a bunch in there -- it all seems to get absorbed anyway )

1/2 to 1 tsp caraway seeds, to taste

4-6 green onions, minced (both white and green part -- this is what the recipe says)

2 Tbl chopped fresh parsley

Steam the potatoes for 10-20 minutes until crisp-tender.

Mix together the dressing ingredients except the oil. Whisk in the oil and blend well.

When the potatoes are done, rinse with cold water, hold with a towel or mitt and slice 1/2 inch (or so) thick. If the potatoes are large, cut them in half lengthwise and then slice. Toss the potatoes with the wine, caraway seeds and green onions then with the dressing. Sprinkle the parsley over the top and serve -- or chill and serve.

Now that I actually look at the recipe, I realize it's legitimately a hot or cold recipe -- however, it is really something that gets stupendously good after a day or two -- if it lasts that long.

eleep

[jerseyangel]

Thank you Erica--that looks delicious! I'm going to try it