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Warm Potato Salad with Sizzled Mustard Vinaigrette

Warm Potato Salad with Sizzled Mustard Vinaigrette

I’m pretty sure that at this point, we’ve all had more than enough of those heavy, mayo-forward potato salads. Don’t get me wrong, I am pro-mayo, I just think potato salad can be a LOT more interesting, so it’s time to step it up! To do this, I like to dress my potatoes in a warm vinaigrette that’s packed with savory, umami flavors. I use not one, but two mustards here: whole grain, which goes straight into hot olive oil so that the seeds sizzle, pop, and infuse everything with tangy mustard flavor, then dijon, which helps emulsify the vinaigrette, and adds even more zingy punch to the dish. I decided to get a little bit fancy with the other additions to this potato salad, so I swapped onions for shallots and dill pickles for cornichons. When all the ingredients come together, they’re finished with a generous sprinkle of fresh parsley, and the taste is 10 TIMES what you get from a sad, yellow, store-bought, mayo-based potato salad. Really, this recipe should serve as your reminder to always wonder whether a classic recipe could use some updating; sometimes the answer is no, but when the answer is yes, like in this warm, mustardy potato salad, the flavors are out of this world!


1. Warm Vinaigrette?

We’re all used to seeing vinaigrettes as room temperature dressings, because they’re most often used to dress salads, and anything warm would wilt the greens. But! When dressing a food like a potato, the warm vinaigrette is ideal, because the potatoes soak up the flavors like little sponges. Plus, did you know warm food actually tastes better? Our taste buds literally send a stronger signal to our brain when food is warm rather than cold!


2. Which Potato Is Best

Any small, creamy potato will work in this recipe; ideally you want something that you don’t have to cut down into bite size pieces. I love the tricolor potatoes because they’re beautiful AND they taste great!

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3. Ingredient Swaps

Many of the ingredients in a recipe like this can be subbed for what you already have at home. Don’t have cornichons? Almost any pickle will taste delicious. Don’t have shallots? A sweet onion or even scallions would work in its place!