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Potato Salad
1 quart new potatoes 1 tablespoon oil 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 onion 2 stalks celery Lemon 1 tablespoon capers 1 tablespoon chopped parsley Salt and pepper Thin mayonnaise or boiled dressing Cut beets Lettuce Boil potatoes until done, but not too soft, slice them when cooked and add oil and vinegar. Chop onion and celery very fine, and add, with capers, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour a thin mayonnaise over the potatoes, mixing thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Garnish with lettuce, a few pieces of lemon and cut beets.
A dressed-while-warm potato salad in the older style, where the oil and vinegar go on first and the mayonnaise is only the finishing coat.
- The hinge: dress them hotThe hinge: dress them warm -- The recipe adds the oil and vinegar directly after slicing the cooked potatoes, so the slices are still warm and will absorb it rather than sit in it. It says nothing about cooling, but letting them cool before the mayonnaise goes on will keep the dressing from thinning and sliding off.
- A quart of potatoesMeasured as sliced or whole small potatoes in a quart measure, this is roughly 1.25 to 1.5 lb, serving four or so as a side dish.
- New potatoesWaxy, thin-skinned potatoes are meant here; they hold their shape when sliced. Red-skinned or fingerling potatoes work; a floury baking potato will crumble into the dressing.
- "Until done, but not too soft"Boil whole and unpeeled, 15 to 20 minutes for small ones, until a knife slides in with slight resistance. Slice while warm, peeling or not as you prefer.
- Thin mayonnaise or boiled dressingBoiled dressing is the period's cooked egg-and-flour dressing, sharper than mayonnaise. To thin bought mayonnaise to a pouring consistency, slacken it with a little vinegar, lemon juice or cream.
- Onion quantityOne onion chopped fine is a great deal for two pounds of potatoes if it is a large yellow one. A small onion, a couple of shallots, or the white of a few scallions gives a better balance.
- Cut beets and lemonThe beets are cooked beets, cut into shapes or dice, used for color against the pale potato. Add them at the edge of the platter rather than mixing in, or the whole salad turns pink.
- Wooden spoonThe recipe specifies wood rather than metal; whatever the reason, folding gently with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula keeps the warm slices intact.