The 2015 season has been great for our potato crop! The crew is bringing in gorgeous pink and yellow-skinned potatoes and summer is the perfect time for tossing them into simple salads to share. This salad comes together easily with local cottage bacon, we got ours from CSA+, and a tangy warm vinaigrette. Scatter a bit chopped greens over the top to brighten things up and bring to your next barbecue! Come fall we’ll start mashing these up and baking them, but for now let’s enjoy the last days of sunshine.
I remember German potato salad being a hit at family parties, but I never realized how easy it is to make. If you want to make this for vegetarians just scroll down for the variation. I’d add hard-cooked eggs or toasted nuts in place of the bacon. Set the potatoes on to boil while you make the vinaigrette. You can pull this off in less than half an hour. For an easy weeknight meal this would be great with grilled sausage and a green salad.
German Potato Salad
1/2 lb cottage bacon, diced
2 lbs potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the potatoes. Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a big pinch of kosher salt and bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
While the potatoes are cooking, crisp the bacon. Place in a heavy skillet or dutch oven, something you can toss the potatoes into later. Cook the bacon over medium low heat until crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and lay over paper towels or in a metal strainer to drain. Cook the onions in the remaining fat over low heat.
When the onions are starting to turn translucent, slowly add the vinegar and mustard. Whisk in the oil and simmer the dressing for a few minutes until everything is combined. Turn off the heat and gently fold in the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Vegetarian Variation: omit bacon. Add 2 additional tablespoons olive oil. Start by cooking the onions in the olive oil and follow the directions as written from there.
