Potato salad isn’t always thought of as a winter dish.
When most people think of potato salad, they think of picnics and BBQs.
Potato salad happens to be one of my favorite sides in the world, so I’m always upset when it disappears around September.
What I’ve learned, though, is by subbing sweet potatoes for the regular Russets, this salad becomes very winterized! The potatoes are sweeter and there’s just more flavor in the dish. It’s somehow heavier, which is welcome in the winter months.
To start your sweet potato salad, you’re going to need two big sweet potatoes. The ones I picked out weighed about a pound apiece so if you find smaller ones, you might need three of them to equal the weight.
Sweet potatoes can be a bit unwieldy sometimes due to their size. I recommend cutting off the ends and then peeling them.
Once they are peeled, cut them into planks, which is the hardest part. Sometimes it helps to slice off an end of the potato so they sit flat on the cutting board.
Once your potatoes are cut into large planks, you can slice them into sticks and finally cube them up. At the end of the day, you’re looking for (roughly) ½ inch cubes of potatoes.
Add these guys to a large pot of salted boiling water and let them simmer for about 15 minutes until they are fork tender.
Then drain them and they are ready to use!
While your potatoes are boiling, you can prep the rest of this salad.
You could add a lot of veggies to this salad actually, but I kept this version simple. Remember the rule for potato salads: crunchy veggies work best!
Just mince up the vegetables and stir them in with the mayo and Greek yogurt. You don’t need a lot of the dairy for this salad. The last thing you want is a big goopy bowl of stuff floating in mayo.
About a quarter cup of mayo and yogurt should be a perfect amount of dressing. You can always add a bit more later if you want.
Add in all your other spices to this mixture. I recommend some paprika, apple cider vinegar, and a dash of hot sauce.
The one ingredient that’s definitely not in your standard potato salad that really kicks this up a notch is orange zest.
There’s tons of nice acidic flavor in this. Just be sure to only zest off the outer orange part. The white pith part starts to get a bit bitter.
Once all of that is stirred together, just add your potatoes, season it with salt and pepper, and stir everything together!
While you could serve this at room temperature, I thought it was a lot better after chilling in the fridge overnight.
So that’s what I recommend—make it the day before for best results.
And just like that, potato salad becomes a perfectly acceptable holiday side dish!
Nick is a firm believer that almost any potato dish can be subbed with sweet potatoes. Except maybe normal mashed potatoes. Don’t mess with a perfect thing. Check out his blog, Macheesmo, and his Tablespoon profile.
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