Dad's German Potato Salad
Ingredients
4-6 medium potatoes
6-8 slices of bacon
1/2 cup green onions (can substitute regular white or yellow onion)
1/2 cup green pepper (can substitute red or orange for a little color)
1/3 cup celery
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp dill weed
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup vinegar (can use any clear vinegar that you like, white, red wine or cider vinegar)
2 rounded tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup warm water
A German potato salad recipe with a punch.
Directions
Peel the potatoes and slice them into 1/4 inch slices. Cut each slice in half.
Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Boil for 5 minutes. Don't over cook the potatoes or they will fall apart when you mix everything together.
Once cooked, drain all the water from the potatoes and set aside for later.
Chop bacon into pieces and set aside.
Finely chop the green pepper, celery, and onions. Set aside.
In a large pot that will hold all your ingredients, cook the bacon on medium until crisp.
Once crisp, remove the bacon, leaving as much of the fat in the pot as you can. Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside.
Add vegetables to the bacon fat.
Cook the vegetables on medium until they form a glaze of bacon fat. Don't over cook. You want them to retain a little crispness and not be overly soft.
Add the celery seed, oregano, dill weed, sugar, salt and pepper and stir until mixed well.
Add vinegar and continue to cook until the mixture is warm. This should only take a minute or two.
Dissolve corn starch in warm water.
While gently stirring vegetable and vinegar mixture over medium heat, slowly pour the dissolved corn starch into the mixture. Be sure to continue to stir while adding so that the corn starch does not clump. The resulting mixture should have the consistency of gravy.
If the mixture is too thick, thin by adding either vinegar or water. Vinegar will add some additional tartness to the salad, while water will mellow the tartness. If using vinegar, add a little extra sugar.
Add potatoes and stir to cover potatoes with the vegetable mixture. Continue to heat over medium heat until potatoes are warm. An additional 3-5 minutes should be enough to warm the potatoes.
As the potatoes warm, adjust the seasonings to your taste.
Crumble the bacon and add to the potatoes.
Serve warm.
Additional Notes
This is an interesting potato salad that my dad likes to make. My dad's roots are German and he combined this recipe from a number of different family recipes. The use of vinegar provides a tartness that blends incredibly well with potatoes while the bacon adds a salty crunch. Depending on your taste, you can use a white vinegar, that gives the salad a fuller, tarter taste, or a cider vinegar, that gives the salad a gentler, less tart taste. It's a salad that can withstand the heat of a summer day without having to worry about going sour as with mayonnaise. It's also a nice hearty side dish for a cold winter day.
If you can chop and stir, you can make this salad. For more or less, use a one-to-one ratio -- one potato for one person. Add an additional 1/4 cup of vegetables and vinegar for every two potatoes and increase the seasonings to taste. In season, use fresh dill weed and oregano for a brighter taste. If you don't have bacon or want an even hardier salad, you can substitute finely cut sausage. Leftover salad can easily be reheated in the microwave. Served warm or cold, you'll find Dad's German Potato Salad is a new favorite when looking for something different.
