Southern German Potato Salad (Schwäbische Kartoffelsalat)

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Total: 50 mins

Servings: 4 servings

Yield: 4 bowls

This southern German recipe for potato salad—which uses broth, vinegar, onions, and mustard for flavoring—is a pleasant change to the one more often made using mayonnaise. The warm cooked potatoes are marinated in the beef broth is what adds a distinctive and rich flavor.

The salad can be served lukewarm enlivening the taste, but it tastes even better the next day, having had time to develop. If not eating immediately, don't forget to refrigerate.

Ingredients

• 4 medium unpeeled potatoes, about 2 pounds

• 1 cup beef broth, or vegetable or chicken

• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, or white vinegar

• 2 tablespoons oil

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1 tablespoon mustard

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Chopped chives, for garnish

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients.

   

2. Scrub potatoes. Place whole potatoes in a large pan, add cold water to almost cover, bring to a boil, and cook until just tender checking frequently to avoid overcooking, about 20 to 30 minutes.

   

3. Drain potatoes and rinse with cold water. Using a sharp knife, peel while they are still warm; the skin will come away very easily.

   

4. Cut cooked potato into slices about 1/8-inch thick.

   

5. Place potatoes in a bowl. Pour broth over warm potatoes and mix gently. Let sit for 5 minutes.

   

6. In a second bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, sugar, mustard, finely chopped onion, and pepper to make a vinaigrette.

   

7. Drain any broth not soaked up by the potatoes from bowl, then pour vinaigrette over and mix gently. Potatoes will start to crumble a bit, but that is expected. Allow potatoes to marinate for 20 minutes before serving. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers for the next day when they taste even better.

   

Tips

• Waxy potatoes hold their shape better, but starchy potatoes soak up more broth and flavor. We make the salad using Yukon Gold potatoes, which is in between waxy and starchy.
• The potatoes will fall apart a little when you stir and this is okay. The starch will help thicken the vinaigrette. To keep the potatoes more intact, stir only briefly and watch the cooking time. Remove the potatoes the moment they are done (you can pierce them easily to the core, but there is slight resistance). If they are splitting or crumbling already when you drain them, you may want to use them for mashed potatoes instead.
• Chives are traditional for this salad, but they can be hard to come by in the winter. Feel free to leave them out.