Sunday Salad: The potato salad everyone asks us for

Creamy + packed with herbs — it disappears fast!

Hi, Food Friends!

We’re so grateful to have so many new faces here—welcome! We’re Sonya Sanford and Kari Lauritzen, former personal chefs, avid home cooks, and friends for over 15 years. We started Food Friends in 2022 with a simple goal: to make home cooking easier, more inspiring, and more fun for you.

This week, we’re switching gears over here from soups to salads! Every Sunday, we’ll be sharing our favorite recipes for salads that celebrate seasonal produce, or are great for meal-prep, or are perfect for hosting and feeding a crowd. Since we’re nearing picnic/potluck/outdoor-eating season, we’re starting off with our favorite take on potato salad (full recipe below).

But first…

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This potato salad is one that Sonya regularly made at her former restaurant and during her catering days. Now, it has become a staple for warm-weather entertaining. When she says “herby” she really means herby; all the added greenery provides a fresh-lift to the classic mayo-based dressing. If you don’t care for one of the herbs swap it with something you love— like tarragon for dill, or chives for scallions.

This recipe is ideal when made with small, fresh new potatoes that start showing up in farmers’ markets (and grocery stores) in late spring and early summer. When potatoes are young, tender, and naturally sweet, they are a welcome friend to the sharp freshness of parsley, dill, celery leaves, and scallion. The dressing is creamy and tangy, and it can also be used for coleslaw! This is the kind of potato salad that disappears in minutes, and is ideal for any BBQ, potluck, or picnic.

RECIPE: HERBY POTATO SALAD

Serves 6-8
Time: 30 minutes

For the salad-
3 pounds new potatoes (any variety), preferably small and uniform in size
3-4 medium stalks celery, sliced thin (leaves too if you have them!)
3-4 medium scallions, sliced thin
½ cup chopped dill, or more
½ cup chopped parsley, or more

For the dressing-
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup plain yogurt (optional), can substitute with more mayonnaise or swap with sour cream
2 Tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar, or preferred sweetener
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Rinse and scrub the potatoes well. When using new or small potatoes, you do not need to peel them. You want all the potatoes to be roughly the same size before cooking them. If any are much larger, halve or quarter them, or simply allow the larger ones to simmer longer when you boil the potatoes.

Add the potatoes to a large pot and fill with cold water. Season the water with a generous amount of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, or until you can easily pierce a knife through the center. Drain the cooked potatoes.

Once the potatoes are still warm, but cool enough to touch, slice or dice them into bite-sized pieces. Add the potatoes to a large bowl with the celery (and any celery leaves), scallions, dill, and parsley.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt (if using), mustard, apple cider vinegar, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the dressing while the potatoes are still warm so they can absorb all the flavors.

Refrigerate the salad for at least one hour before serving. This salad will keep up to one week in the refrigerator stored in an airtight container.

A colorful mix of freshly harvested potatoes from the Portland Farmers’ Market!

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