RCP: Sour Cream and Onion Potato Salad

[Jenise]

This recipe from Bon Appetit magazine is a delicious and playful alternative to standard potato salads. We loved it so I thought I'd share. I made some changes and have written this recipe based on my version, not theirs.

Sour Cream and Onion Potato Salad

2 lb yukon gold potatoes, cut into about four large pieces each*
1/2 c kosher salt
3/4 c sour cream
1/4 c mayo
1 tblsp onion powder
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove finely grated
1/2 vidalia or other sweet onion
2 tbsp vinegar
2 handfuls sour cream and onion potato chips
2 Tblsp chopped chives, or to taste

Two parts to this, the do-ahead and the finishing parts.

Do up to three days in advance:

Place potatoes in a large pot and pour in water to cover. Add salt and bring to a boil over medium high. (Recipe called for a full cup salt, but I balked and only used half that and that's reflected in .) Reduce to simmer. When fork tender, drain and cool.

Meanwhile, combine mayo, mustard, onion powder and pepper in a bowl and mix well, then add chives and garlic. Separately, slice onion vertically, then toss with vinegar.

When the potatoes are warm enough to handle, break them into smaller chunks. When cool, mix with mayo mixture and add onions.

To finish before serving: add sour cream and half the potato chips, crushed. Mix in well; check for seasoning (the chips will bring some salt, but you may want more, then top the salad with more chips and additional chopped chives.

*We have a delightful potato up here called Skagit yellows which are grown in next county south of us. They're larger than yukon golds and a much brighter shade of yellow. Best potato salad potato EVER.

Thanks Jenise. I'm looking for some tweaks for a July 4th potato salad. I really like using more sour cream and less mayo. Not sure why I never thought to use sweet onion. I'll definitely try it. The type of potato really drives the type of dressing. For a floury potato I let them sit in the hot pot after draining till the steam subsides and the pot is dry then dress it with just the vinegar alone so it infuses the potato. The final dressing happens when cooled. I imagine that combining the onion and vinegar deflames the onion a bit. I've found that if I dress the hot potato with onion and vinegar simultaneously the onion weeps and makes the final salad too thin. I ordinarily use a totally different dressing for a waxy potato. Olive oil, vinegar ( white wine, champagne or sherry ) tarragon, mustard. Will follow your recipe sequences using Yukon Golds.
In addition to the variety differences the earth in which they are grown has a definite effect on flavor. Should we say potato terroir ?
Re the mixed in chips I imagine they become soggy if not eaten immediately ? An excellent choice for a texture contrast which I try to achieve with radish cubes.

[Jenise]

Yes, the chips get soggy. They add a cool factor to the just-served salad and disappear in the leftovers. Also, in another potato salad I make I do use sour cream but find the sour cream breaks down a bit from one day to the next, that's why I broke this recipe into two stages for the do-ahead cook--I made the base on Monday and then just finished it prior to serving on Wednesday, and that worked perfectly. Re the vinegar step--YES, I usually sprinkle it into the potatoes as they cool. But this recipe didn't call for vinegar, rather it called for using whole baby yukons and applying wetness with reserved potato cooking water. I didn't like the idea of the little potatoes swimming around in a loose, wet sauce, I prefer a more integrated texture plus I just love these rich local potatoes. And then I decided I wanted vinegar anyway so I added it via the onions (more than the original recipe called for--if you're going to call it "sour cream and onion", there should be more onion PLUS I love the sweet crunchy texture. The vinegar touch just made them sparkle and being sweet onions, no taming required.

And it was super delicious while being something very different from any potato salad I've ever had. I used Ruffles S&O chips but next time I think I'd go for a kettle type chip whose deep golden color would catch the eye.

One of my other favorite potato salads would be red potatoes and tons of celery plus tiny diced carrot plus fresh jalapenos plus canned jalapenos in escabeche (with LOTS of the brine from same) seasoned with mayo, sour cream, dill and celery seed. Too, I love a floury russet or these skagit yellows dressed with nothing more than white vinegar, mustard oil (an Indian store product), S&P and skads of sliced green onions. This is great cold or served warm as a side dish for fatty grilled fish like salmon. I love warm red potatoes with vinegar, bacon, green onion and chopped hardboiled egg for other things. And for the picky people who detest onions I have made yellow potatoes tossed with just mayonnaise, finely chopped dill pickles, and dill pickle juice instead of vinegar. It's simple but not without attitude. Great with beef.

You say to add chives, but don't list it in the ingredients. How much did you add?

[Jenise]

Ted, thanks for pointing that out. I love chives and went heavy with about 2 tblsp. Others may prefer less. I'll amend the recipe to show "2 T or to taste".

I love chives and went heavy with about 2 tblsp. Others may prefer less.

I like them too, and since they're threatening to completely take over the greenhouse (although not as much as the sage does), I always use more than I need.

[Jenise]

Yesterday I stretched the remaining potato salad to get two nice lunch portions with two diced celery stalks, several chopped green onions and another scoop of sour cream. YUMMMM. All gone now, I'm going to miss it!

Not at all familiar with pickled jalapeños in escabeche. Looked it up and wondering if you ever pickle your own rather than use canned and what canned brand do you recommend ?

Pickled jalapenos: the only brand that I'll buy is Clemente Jacques. Da bomb!

[Jenise]

Not at all familiar with pickled jalapeños in escabeche. Looked it up and wondering if you ever pickle your own rather than use canned and what canned brand do you recommend ?

Herdez. By far the better of the two I can get up here, cant get Larry's brand. I really like them. not sure I'd want to make my own as I'm so happy with canned.