Salads

Hot Potato Salad

Every guy should have a killer potato salad in his lineup. You could go the traditional cold mayonnaise-mustard route (and you’ll find instructions for that potato salad on page 170). But for my money, the best potato salad comes from Germany. Assemble it hot, the bacon blasts it with smoke flavor and vinegar invigorates your taste buds.

Hot Potato Salad

Recipe Notes

Total Time: About 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
Equipment: Your basic kitchen gear including a large saucepan for cooking the potatoes, a colander, and a large (10- to 12-inch) skillet for the bacon.

Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds fingerling or Yukon Gold potatoes
Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
4 slices (1/4 pound) bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slivers
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced crosswise, 2 tablespoons of the green parts reserved for serving
1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (optional)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or to taste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Recipe Steps

1: Scrub the potatoes, cutting any larger ones in half so all of the pieces are more or less the same size (about 1-1/2 inches long). Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add cold water to cover by 3 inches. Season with a good dose of salt. Let the potatoes come to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on their size. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then return them to the saucepan and cover the pan to keep warm.

2: Meanwhile, place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until browned and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon. After about 1½ minutes, add the scallions and brown them along with the bacon. (At this point, the health-conscious among us may wish to pour off a tablespoon or two of the bacon fat, replacing it with an equal amount of extra virgin olive oil.)

3: Stir in the wine vinegar, mustard, and sugar and let come to a boil over high heat, about 1 minute. Pour the vinegar mixture over the potatoes and stir gently to mix. Season the potato salad with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the salad to a platter or bowl and serve warm with the reserved scallion greens sprinkled on top.