Merah Hati Cintaku: Dill Potato Salad

Tuesday 27 August 2019

Dill Potato Salad

This tasty dill potato salad is just like Grandma’s: it’s bursting with fresh herbs and flavored with olive oil and vinegar.

Dill is often dwarfed by basil, but it’s one of the tastiest herbs around. Every year we grow dill in our garden and I’m always itching to find ways to use it. And this dill potato salad is a knock-out. Think: tangy potatoes, drenched in a naturally creamy sauce made with olive oil and vinegar, punchy fresh herbs, and savory capers to round it out. Like the German potato salad I grew up with, this dill potato salad has no dairy to speak of, making it vegan and plant-based too. And man is it flavorful! It disappeared very quickly at our house. Here are our secrets!

The secrets to a great dill potato salad

Alex and I modeled this dill potato salad off of our French potato salad, inspired by Julia Child. It’s a potato salad with no mayo: it features a simple sauce of olive oil and vinegar. Now, the way that the seasoning is added to the potatoes makes it into a naturally creamy, gooey texture.

Here’s what we learned from Julia Child on the best way to make a dill potato salad that’s full of serious flavor:

First, boil the potatoes whole until they’re fork tender. Drain and allow them to cool, then when they’re cool enough to touch cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Place the warm potatoes in a bowl and mix them with white wine vinegar, shallot, kosher salt, and here’s the kicker: 1/2 cup warm water. Let this mixture stand for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The potatoes will absorb the water and and a runny sauce will form! (If you didn’t add water, the potatoes would simply dry out.)
After the rest time, then add the olive oil, capers and herbs and mix to combine. The potatoes will continue to break down a little and form a gooey texture.

How to grow herbs

Dill is a fantastic herb to grow at home. If it’s growing season and you have space for some pots on a sunny ledge, you can grow dill! Or if you have garden space, even better. You’ll want full sun for dill: it’s easy to mix in a pot with other herbs like basil, chives, oregano and thyme (our favorites!). For more on how to grow herbs, see How to Grow Herbs.

Best dill recipes

As I mentioned above, Alex and I are huge dill fans! It’s herbaceous, it’s summery, and the flavor conjures up feelings of flip flops and warm summer afternoons (to me, at least)! Outside of this dill potato salad, here are the best dill recipes we’ve got:

Cucumber Salad with Vinegar: The true definition of summer! This salad features thinly sliced cucumbers and onions in a tangy vinegar sauce, punctuated by fronds of dill.
Quick Refrigerator Dill Pickles: What’s a more classic dill recipe than pickles? This is our favorite refrigerator pickle that comes together in no time.
Yogurt Dill Sauce This yogurt dill sauce is based on the traditional Greek tzatziki, but without cucumber for simplicity. It’s perfect for dipping veggie balls and slathering on falafel burgers.
Green Bean Potato Salad with Dill: Here’s another dill potato salad; this one features green beans and feta cheese.
Dill Bean Salad: Another great summer salad: the bean salad–dressed up with dill.
Cucumber Dill Sandwiches: What’s more picnic friendly than cucumber dill sandwiches? These mini open faced sandwiches are spread with cream cheese and topped with cucumber and dill sprigs.

This dill potato salad recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free, and vegan.

Dill Potato Salad

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Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 8

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Description

This tasty dill potato salad is just like Grandma’s: it’s bursting with fresh herbs and flavored with olive oil and vinegar.

Ingredients

3 pounds baby yellow potatoes
1/4 cup minced shallot (about 1 large)
1/4 cup fresh dill, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
3 scallions or green onions, optional
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup capers, drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh ground pepper

Instructions

Fill a large pot with cold water and add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Add the whole potatoes and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, boil for about 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size. Cook until fork tender (taste test to check).
Mince the shallot. Finely chop the dill and parsley. Thinly slice the scallions, if using.
When the potatoes are done, drain them. When they are cool enough to handle, slice them into bite sized pieces. Place the potatoes in a bowl and gently mix in the minced shallot, white wine vinegar, kosher salt, and 1/2 cup warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. The potatoes will absorb the water as they stand.
Add the dill, parsley, olive oil, and a few grinds black pepper. Taste and add additional salt if necessary (we added 1/4 teaspoon more). Serve warm or room temperature.

Notes

Inspired by The Way to Cook by Julia Child

Category: Salad
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

Keywords: Dill potato salad, Vinegar potato salad

Looking for more salad recipes?

Outside of this chopped salad recipe, here are a few of our favorite salads on A Couple Cooks:

A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, Vegetarian Recipes

* This article was originally published here