'Tater Salad

For some reason I crave potato salad in the summertime.  In a weak moment I've been known to buy the ready made stuff from the supermarket.  You know,  the one in those little plastic containers made from unpeeled new potatoes and that mystery sauce.  What IS that stuff?  

I buy it, we eat a spoonful or two, then it spends a day or two being shifted around the fridge.  Finally, I throw it out and feel guilty for wasting food and contributing to global warming.  (plastic containers and transportation of mass produced potato salad...bad, very bad)

It's mad to buy the stuff when I already have everything I need to make potato salad.  It's more of an assembly job than a recipe.  You can put in almost anything you like; onion, hard boiled eggs, chopped pickles.  I am tempted to add some diced pickled beetroot but Andy would probably freak out at the sight of pink potato salad.

I don't even buy any special kind of potatoes.  I buy good all purpose potatoes in bulk and use the small ones.  Just make sure they are about the same size so they will be cooked at the same time.  Boil them for about 15 minutes or until they are tender enough to be easily pierced with a sharp knife.  Drain off the cooking water and let the potatoes cool a bit so you can remove the skins.  

Slice the potatoes into bite size pieces and place them in a large mixing bowl.  Dice some onion, two or three hard boiled eggs and a few sweet pickles (if you like them) and add them to the potatoes.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and  black pepper.  I like the slightly sweet taste of Salad Cream so I use that for my dressing.  You can use mayonnaise if you prefer.   Add enough to moisten the potatoes and stir well to combine everything.   Have a little taste and adjust the seasoning.  Add a bit more of whatever you think is needed.

Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the potato salad for a couple of hours. Sometimes the potatoes will absorb the salad dressing and you will need to add a little more Salad Cream or mayonnaise.  Just before serving, I like to finely chop some chives and sprinkle them over the top of the salad to add a little colour.  Parsley would look pretty, too.   

One day I am going to add some pickled beetroot.  Who says potato salad can't be PINK!