Somewhere near you there’s probably a German restaurant or beer garden celebrating Oktoberfest, which Americans always think occurs in October. The big festival in Munich was cancelled this year because of Covid but I want some German food anyway. I’m doing bratwurst, braised red cabbage, and warm potato salad with bacon, accompanied with Munich beer.
I already diaried the red cabbage recipe. The brats are poached in beer with some chopped onion and then browned on the grill. I went to my index of salads and was surprised to not find the German version of potato salad so that’s tonight’s recipe.
I looked at several of the recipes at the top of the google search and was reminded yet again that bad information on the net isn’t limited to politics and Covid. You do NOT boil potatoes by adding them to boiling water. You put the potatoes in cold salted water and bring it all to a boil together. This misinformation of course won’t kill anyone, but it will produce inferior potato salad. As with American versions of potato salad, the variations are infinite. After thinking it over I went with Joy of Cooking.
—
German Potato Salad
serves 6 — from Joy of Cooking, 2019 edition
2 pounds red or gold potatoes
4 slices bacon
½ medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup water or chicken stock
¼ cup chopped dill pickles
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon dry mustard, optional
1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika
chopped parsley or chives
Put unpeeled potatoes in a deep pot, add cold water to cover by a few inches, and add ½ teaspoon salt per quart of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until just tender. Drain, peel if desired, and cut into slices or cubes.
Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towel. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet.
Return skillet to medium-high heat and add onion and celery. Cook until golden, about 7 minutes. Add vinegar, water, pickles, sugar, salt, mustard, and paprika. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, crumble in the reserved bacon, and add the potatoes, stirring to coat. Garnish with parsley or chives and serve warm.
-
That was Friday’s dinner so I could take pictures, and there’s so much left over that it’s going to be tonight’s dinner also. What’s for dinner at your place?
What’s for Dinner? is a Saturday evening get-together where friends share recipes, talk about good food and help others answer culinary questions.
We welcome you to our virtual table every Saturday evening 4:30 PT/7:30 ET. If you would like to write a post for an upcoming date just send a message to ninkasi23!