Austrian-Style Potato Salad

By LaLaCooks

The finished salad should be creamy and loose, with chunks of potato that keep their shape but are very tender. If you can’t find cornichons, chopped kosher dill pickles can be used in their place. To maintain its consistency, don’t refrigerate the salad; it should be served within 4 hours of preparation

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 large), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• Table salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 small red onion , chopped fine (about 3/4 cup)
• 6 cornichons , minced (about 2 tablespoons) (see note)
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
• Ground black pepper

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

1. Bring potatoes, broth, water, 1 teaspoon salt, sugar, and 1 tablespoon vinegar to boil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until potatoes offer no resistance when pierced with paring knife, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove cover, increase heat to high (so cooking liquid will reduce), and cook 2 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes in colander set over large bowl, reserving cooking liquid. Set drained potatoes aside. Pour off and discard all but ½ cup cooking liquid (if ½ cup liquid does not remain, add water to make ½ cup). Whisk remaining tablespoon vinegar, mustard, and oil into cooking liquid.
3. Add ½ cup cooked potatoes to bowl with cooking liquid mixture and mash with potato masher or fork until thick sauce forms (mixture will be slightly chunky). Add remaining potatoes, onion, cornichons, and chives, folding gently with rubber spatula to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
TECHNIQUE
SECRETS TO LIGHT, CREAMY POTATO SALAD
1. COOK IN BROTH
Chicken broth adds more flavor than boiling water.

2. REDUCE LIQUID
Concentrated cooking liquid forms base for dressing.

3. MASH SOME SPUDS
Small amount of mashed potatoes thickens dressing.

4. STIR INTO REMAINDER
Mashed and intact potatoes create unique consistency.
TECHNIQUE
SPUDS GONE SOUR

When boiling sliced potatoes for our Austrian-Style Potato Salad, we found that adding vinegar to the water helped foolproof the recipe by expanding the window of time during which the spuds go from properly cooked to mushy and broken. What’s the ideal amount of vinegar to create this window?

EXPERIMENT
We boiled three 2-pound batches of peeled, cut potatoes in a quart of water, adding 2 teaspoons, 2 tablespoons, and 4 tablespoons of vinegar to each batch, respectively, and compared them to potatoes cooked in a quart of plain water. We timed how long it took for each batch to go from just tender to overcooked and broken.

RESULTS
In the batches with no vinegar and just 2 teaspoons, the potatoes reacted virtually the same, taking about 12 minutes to start turning tender. After two more minutes, both these batches were overcooked. With 4 tablespoons of vinegar per quart of water, the potatoes never fully softened, even after simmering for half an hour. The potatoes with 2 tablespoons of vinegar softened after 15 minutes, but maintained structural integrity for almost five minutes more.

EXPLANATION
Potato cells are held together by pectin, a large molecule that acts as a glue. This glue weakens when heated in water, allowing the cells to come apart, which first softens the potato and then breaks it apart. Vinegar’s acidity slows the breakdown of pectin, expanding the window of time between the point when a potato softens and fully breaks down.