Why Your Potato Salad’s Missing Something (and how to fix it)

These two potato salad recipes showcase the incredible versatility that can be achieved with this world-famous comfort food. Both dishes demonstrate how the right techniques can transform simple potatoes into something truly special, using gentle cooking methods that ensure perfectly tender results without waterlogged or broken pieces. Whether you’re looking for a fresh, herb-forward salad perfect for social gatherings or a deeply flavorful traditional dish that showcases centuries-old German culinary wisdom, these recipes prove that potato salad can be so much more than a basic side dish.

The first recipe features a vibrant combination of fennel, fresh herbs, and spring onions that creates a light yet satisfying salad ideal for networking events and social occasions – no worries about lingering onion breath here. The second takes you on a journey into Southern German tradition, where I show you an ingenious warm dressing technique that allows the potatoes to absorb and integrate flavours in a way that seems almost magical. Both recipes rely on my proven gentle cooking method that works regardless of potato size, ensuring consistent results every time while maximising flavour and texture in completely different but equally delicious ways.

Quick Herbed Potato Salad with Fennel

This potato salad recipe demonstrates an unusual approach to cooking potatoes evenly, regardless of their varying sizes. The technique begins with placing mixed-size new potatoes in a large saucepan with cold water and salt, bringing them to a boil before reducing to a simmer for just 3-4 minutes. The key lies in the gentle, passive cooking method, by turning off the heat and letting the potatoes finish cooking in the hot water with the lid on for 15-20 minutes. This approach prevents the outer layers from overcooking while ensuring the centres are perfectly tender, resulting in potatoes with intact skins and a firm yet cooked texture throughout.

The salad builds on this perfectly cooked potato base with fresh, vibrant ingredients that create both flavour and textural contrast. Thinly sliced fennel provides a crisp, fresh element similar to raw onion but without the lingering breath concerns, making this an ideal choice for social gatherings.
The final assembly is simple, combining the warm potatoes with the prepared fennel, seasoning with salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil before folding in the fresh herbs and spring onions. The recipe emphasises tasting and adjusting as needed, whether adding more oil as the potatoes absorb it, more lemon juice for acidity, or additional seasoning to bring everything into perfect balance.

Quick Herbed Potato Salad with Fennel

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Ingredients

• 1kg large waxy potatoes
• 1 bunch of spring onions, cut on a biased
• Shaved fennel
• Dill
• Parsley
• 1 lemon juiced
• 50-100ml extra virgin olive oil
• Salt

Instructions

1. Add 1kg of new potatoes to a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and add a little salt to the water.
2. Place the pan on the stove over high heat and cover with a lid.
3. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. After 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat, put the lid back on, and let the potatoes sit in the hot water for 15-20 minutes.
5. While potatoes cook, thinly slice half a bulb of fennel.
6. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the fennel to prevent browning, then mix and set aside.
7. Pick the leaves from a small handful of parsley and a small handful of dill, removing the woody stems.
8. Roll the parsley leaves into a tight bunch and slice finely, then give the pile a90° turn and chop through a few more times.
9. Tear the dill fronds into smaller pieces with your fingers.
10. Trim and finely slice the green tops of 3 large spring onions.
11. Save the parsley and dill stems, fennel trimmings, and spring onion scraps.
12. Add the saved herb and veg scraps to the saucepan with the potatoes (still sitting in hot water).
13. After about 15-20 minutes total in hot water, check doneness by piercing a medium and large potato with a fork - they should be cooked but firm.
14. Drain the potatoes and let them cool for 5–10 minutes until they can be handled.
15. (Optional) If you don’t like skins, scrape them off gently with a small knife.
16. Cut the potatoes into large chunks.
17. Add the potatoes to a bowl with the sliced fennel.
18. Season with a little salt, cracked black pepper, and 50-100ml extra virgin olive oil.19.
19. Mix thoroughly to coat all potatoes with seasoning and oil.
20. Add the chopped parsley, torn dill, and sliced spring onions.
21. Mix everything together gently.
22. Taste and adjust seasoning - add more olive oil, lemon juice, salt, or pepper as needed.

German – Swabian Potato Salad

This traditional Southern German potato salad showcases a unique approach, creating a dressing that becomes one with the potatoes rather than simply coating them. Using fully grown waxy potatoes that I cook whole with their skins on, I simmer them gently before finishing in residual heat to achieve perfectly cooked, non-waterlogged potatoes. Once they’re cooled enough for me to handle, I easily scrape away the skins and cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces, creating the ideal foundation for absorbing my flavorful dressing.

The magic lies in my warm dressing technique that transforms simple ingredients into something extraordinary. I create a mixture of finely diced onion, beef stock, white wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard, bringing it to a boil and simmering briefly to soften the onion and mellow the vinegar’s harsh edge. I then pour this hot dressing over my still-warm potatoes, creating the perfect conditions for absorption. What initially appears sloppy and loose gradually transforms over two 15-minute resting periods, during which the potatoes absorb the liquid while releasing their own starch to naturally thicken what remains of the dressing.

The final result is a potato salad where the dressing doesn’t sit on top but has been completely absorbed and integrated into each piece. I finish with a seasoning of salt, pepper, and a small amount of oil to create an emulsified coating, while fresh chives provide a bright finishing touch. This technique demonstrates how traditional cooking methods can create textures and flavours that seem almost impossible – a potato salad where every bite is infused with flavour rather than simply dressed, showcasing the ingenuity of German culinary tradition that I’ve come to love.

German - Swabian Potato Salad

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Ingredients

• 1 kg waxy potatoes
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 250 ml beef stock
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 4 tbsp rapeseed oil or sunflower oil
• 1 bunch of chives
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Add 1kg of a waxy, fully grown variety of potato to a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and add a little salt.
2. Cover with a lid and place on the stove over high heat.
3. Once boiling, reduce to a very gentle simmer.
4. Let the potatoes simmer for 20-30 minutes, depending on size.
5. Meanwhile, finely dice 1 small brown onion (or use half a large white onion if needed).
6. Add the diced onion to a small saucepan with the beef stock, the white wine vinegar and the dijon mustard.
7. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer for 1 minute to soften the onion and mellow the vinegar.
8. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan to keep the dressing hot.
9. Check the potatoes - they should pierce easily with a knife, with slight resistance in the centre.
10. Drain the potatoes, but keep them in the hot pan.
11. Place the lid back on and let them finish cooking in the residual heat for about 20 minutes, until cool enough to handle.
12. Once cool enough, scrape off the skins with a knife - they should come away easily.
13. Cut the peeled potatoes into large, bite-sized pieces.
14. Place the potatoes into a bowl.
15. Pour the hot dressing over the warm potatoes.
16. Mix gently but thoroughly.
17. Cover the bowl and let sit for 15 minutes to let the flavours mingle.
18. After 15 minutes, stir again - the dressing should begin to thicken.
19. Leave for another 15 minutes to allow more dressing absorption.
20. Stir once more - the potatoes should now be coated with a thickened dressing.
21. Season with a little salt, cracked black pepper, and a few tablespoons of oil.
22. Gently mix to emulsify the oil into the dressing.
23. Serve with chopped chives sprinkled over the top.