Potato Salad Will Have Tasters Coming Back For More

My mother has been preparing this potato salad since she and my father first ate it at a potluck picnic with friends in the summer of 1945. The woman who prepared the salad said it wasn’t at all like traditional potato salad because it had a mere tablespoon of mayonnaise. (Mayonnaise was being rationed at the time, but potatoes and onions were plentiful and inexpensive.) So she decided to experiment and dress the potato salad with an oil and vinegar-based dressing rather than the traditional mayonnaise-based dressing. Everyone loved it! It’s as popular and picnic-friendly now as it was then. 

It goes well with just about anything that goes with potatoes and especially anything from the grill. 

The original recipe used apple cider vinegar, but I use seasoned rice vinegar—both make a great-tasting dressing. Peeling the potatoes is a matter of preference.

MARINATED POTATO SALAD

½ cup neutral oil

¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon black pepper

6 medium potatoes, unpeeled, quartered

1½ cups quartered and thinly sliced onion

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1. In a 1-cup jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine oil, vinegar, celery seed, salt and pepper. Shake contents until well combined. Allow dressing to stand at room temperature for several hours.
2. Cook potatoes in boiling, salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender. Allow potatoes to cool. When cool enough to handle, thinly slice.
3. Layer the potatoes and the onions alternately in a rimmed dish large enough to accommodate the ingredients. 
4. Shake dressing and pour evenly over the potatoes and onions. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. (Overnight is recommended.)
5. Just before serving, toss the salad with the mayonnaise. Season with additional salt if desired. 

6 servings