Potato Salad

From the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis

Serves	6
Yield	7 cups

Introduction

Here’s a classic potato salad—simple, easy to make ahead, great for a family, and readily doubled or even tripled for a crowd. It’s a perfect accompaniment to grilled burgers or spareribs in the summer and to a good corned beef sandwich or meatloaf sandwich in the winter.

Ingredients

	4	large red potatoes (about 1½ pounds total)
	2	large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
	¼	cup diced scallions with about 2 inches green part
	1	large green or red bell pepper (about 8 ounces), seeded, deveined, and cut into ½-inch dice
	1	cup mayonnaise
	½	tsp. salt
	½	tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Steps

Peel potatoes and rinse them. Place in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes feel tender but not mushy
when pierced with a knife, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain potatoes and let them cool.
In the meantime, combine eggs, scallions, bell pepper, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Combine with the other ingredients and stir gently but thoroughly to mix. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Be sure to keep this salad cold until serving time. Mayonnaise-based salads, along with eggs, are very susceptible to growth of bacteria that cause food poisoning. Do not leave it in the sun or on a buffet for hours.
If you don’t like onion in your potato salad, then leave it out. If you like more crunch than just green pepper, add 1/4 cup diced celery.
If you like your potato salad to have some kick, add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or a dash of hot pepper sauce.

This content is from the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis.