Lindy's Family Potato Salad uses all the classic ingredients. Tender potato, crunchy celery, onion, olives, and pickles a nice vinegar-based mayo dressing. Hard-cooked eggs, optional.
The making of Lindy's Family Potato Salad
This recipe for Lindy's Family Potato Salad has been, as the name might suggest, in my family forever. This is the potato salad I grew up on. Although I do try to make different kinds of potato salads, when it comes to one being most requested, this is the one. I think that putting the vinegar right onto the freshly cut, still warm potatoes, makes all the difference. Traditionally we always used good old Idaho russet potatoes. I think this is mostly because back in the day, good old Idaho russet potatoes were the only kind you could find in the grocery stores. Maybe you might be able to get white rose, but that was about it. Now you could probably make this with Yukon Golds, or red potatoes, but the texture and taste would be changed, so I'm going to continue to make this recipe for potato salad with russet potatoes, only.
This is the potato salad I grew up on. .
I don't put any hard-boiled eggs in mine, because I don't like them, but you could put some in if you insist. Or cut them into halves and put them around the rim, that's what I do when I make this for other people.
My sister always insisted that a potato salad couldn't be potato salad without black olives, so those are included. As well as my required dill pickle. The celery adds a nice crunch and freshness.
And of course, the dressing. It couldn't be easier than to add salt and pepper to the still-warm potatoes then mix in a goodly amount of cider vinegar (and it must be cider vinegar), and then mix in the mayo until everything is coated.
This potato salad could be eaten immediately or for best results, refrigerate for a few hours at least, but best overnight.
Lindy's Family Potato Salad
Ingredients
- About 3 pounds of russet potatoes try to keep them all the same size for even cooking, skins on
- Diced sweet onion to your taste
- Diced celery hearts with some of the inside leaves, to your taste
- Canned black olive slices to your taste
- Diced dill pickles to your taste
- Apple cider vinegar about ½ cup or to taste
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Mayonnaise I use low-calorie mayo
Instructions
- Place the unpeeled potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer and cook until just cooked through (do not overcook or you will have mashed potatoes when you stir and don't undercook or you will have crunchy potatoes and that's not good, so just when a paring knife goes through the thickest part easily, they are done).
- Take the pot, drain and run cold water over the potatoes; let the potatoes sit in cool water until cool enough to handle. When cool enough to handle (you do want them still warm) peel them; cut into quarters and then slice about ¼ inch thick. Place in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle them with salt and freshly ground pepper, then pour some apple cider vinegar onto the still-warm potatoes and stir. You want a good vinegeriness to them; add the celery, onions, black olives and pickles, stir; then add mayonnaise to taste (I don't use but maybe ¾ cup of mayo so the salad does not become a mayonnaise salad, but the vinegar and potatoes and other ingredients shine through).
- Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours at least, best over night.
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