Or maybe it's 1,742 or even 17,420 because, surely, there are as many versions of potato salad as there are cooks.
The majority vary from each other based on combinations of ingredients after the potatoes are cooked. This one establishes it's difference much earlier on by combining several cooking methods to ready the potato component, and then layering the potatoes with other ingredients.
The potatoes are cut into wedges and boiled, then broiled to golden doneness. Lots of recipes say "use your favorite potato". Not this one: yukon golds are a must. Of the readily available commercial potato types, only a yukon will survive the boiling and then roast to perfection with a smooth, sealed surface and an achingly creamy interior. They're also a good size, averaging 3-4" in length which makes 2-3 wedges a perfect serving.
Once the potatoes are cooked they should be arranged on a platter, cut sides up. This can be done in the morning and the potatoes left at room temperature until service, when a separate wet salad of, say, shaved fennel and celery in a mustard dressing, cabbage and onion with red wine vinegar and blue cheese, or what I'm doing today--blanched french cut green beans and shaved Walla Walla Sweet onion in a chopped calamata olive vinaigrette--gets scooped over the top. The potatoes will quickly take on the flavors of the other salad but will retain their own fresh roasted flavor and creamy texture.
I'm taking a big platter of Salad #742 to a couples bocce ball tournament a friend is holding tonight. They're providing burgers and sausages and all the guests are bringing side dishes. This is a perfect pot luck dish: all the work's done in advance, it needs neither to be chilled or reheated, and the assembled dish you present to your friends is eye-poppingly dramatic.
So this is one of those recipes that's more of a technique than a script. Cut washed yukon golds in half lengthwise, and depending on their size cut each half into two or three wedges. Put in pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, add salt. Cook for about ten minutes, until potatoes are about 80% done. Drain and toss with EVOO, then spread on a cookie sheet, skin side down, and move to the broiler. Broil at 450-500 for about ten minutes until potatoes turn golden brown. Transfer cooked potatoes to the serving platter to cool and await the next step.
By the way, it's a good idea to make a lot more potatoes than you think you'll actually need. #1, once they're roasted, you will most likely eat one potato's worth. I did! And #2, when it comes to food, bounty is attractive, and potatoes are cheap. Go ahead--spoil the crowd and pile it on!!!
Meanwhile, prepare your salad. The sky's the limit here--use any combination of vegetables and dressing your heart desires, but make it extra wet so that there will be enough dressing to coat the potatoes, too. Pour over potatoes just before serving.