potato salad

Mom’s Potato Salad

Amy Smart shares one of her favorite summer recipes for potato salad made with fresh ingredients from the farmer's market. Amy was the August 2016 cover girl for Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine.

“Everyone enjoys a fresh potato salad in the summer. It’s great to serve at a barbecue, and the leftovers—if there are any—are even better the next day. I love my mom’s recipe, and it’s fun to improvise with it and add my own touches, like fresh herbs or a bit of crunch, like radishes.” -- Amy Smart

Ingredients

  • 2 medium-large russett potatoes, cooked in skins
  • 1⁄2 small onion, diced small
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
  • 1⁄2–1/3 cup mayo
  • 1–2 teaspoons yellow mustard
  • 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
  • 1–2 stalks celery chopped
  • Salt, good amount to taste
  • Paprika, a few healthy shakes
  • Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Put both potatoes in water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook 20 to 30 minutes, depending on size of potatoes. They are ready when a two-prong carving fork moves through the potato, but it still has some firmness. Make sure to cook long enough or the potato will be crunchy in the middle. Immediately put in the fridge and cool down all the way. To hard boil eggs, put two eggs in water and bring to a boil, add a splash of vinegar and shake of salt. Reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes, then add to ice water and cool down all the way. Once potatoes are cool, peel them and dice into medium size pieces, not too small. Add potatoes, onions, celery, and pickle relish to bowl. Mix mayo and mustard together first, and then add to bowl of potatoes and mix. You can add more mayo if you like your potato salad creamier. Mix in a good amount of salt, paprika and pepper. Best if made a day ahead and let sit overnight.