would work fine if you prefer).
Pickles are a point of contention in potato salad. I like to
use chopped cornichons in mine, mostly because that’s the
type of pickle I usually have in my fridge. Chopped dills,
bread-and-butters, or even a couple scoops of pickle relish
also work just fine. Chopped celery and red onions add
necessary crunch to the mix. To be honest, though, once the
potatoes are properly cooked and seasoned, the dressing
itself is very much a matter of personal taste. I like sugar in
mine, others don’t. Then again, whether or not it needs
black pepper is not a matter of taste—put in the pepper.
There are few dishes much humbler than potato salad, but
if you want to gussy it up a bit, you could do worse than to
add a handful of chopped fresh herbs. Parsley and chives
work great. I sometimes add scallion greens, because they
seem to spontaneously generate in my vegetable drawer. If
you’ve saved your celery leaves, you can go fancy by using
them. Now I know that there are those who like to add
pickle juice. Those who like to add garlic. Those who add
sour cream. Really, all those things could be great, and as
far as flavorings go, there’s no right way to make a potato
salad. The keys to remember are:
Use russet potatoes.
- Cut them evenly and start them in cold water, seasoned
with salt, sugar, and vinegar (1 tablespoon of each per
quart of water). - Season the potatoes again with vinegar as soon as they
come out of the water. - Use bold flavors, because cold food tastes bland without