I love a good potato salad but am so particular about what quantifies as good to me. I’m not a fan of sweet pickles or too rich and heavy. I adore a french style, light with vinegar, oil, and herbs. I love a richer German style with bacon but sometimes I still crave that creamy American style without all of the traditional rich and sweet ingredients. This recipe hits the cream base but adds the tanginess of a French or German style. The key is to macerate the onions in vinegar and salt first. This cuts their intensity, leaves the crunch, and adds to the tangy hit of each bite. Combine this with fermented pickles and it is heaven.

Ingredients:

• Red potatoes (5-6 medium, and uniform size)
• 1 medium onion (any type is fine)
• handful of garlic scapes (or cloves of garlic if you can’t access scapes)
• 1/2-3/4 cup dill pickles – fermented preferred like the Garlic Pickles from Fair Share Farm
• Fresh Dill
• Paprika
• Homemade mayonnaise (avocado oil, egg, mustard, lemon, salt)
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Salt

1. Peel potatoes and add to cold pot of water with a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and boil until a knife easily slides through but not so long that it will get mushy. Start checking around 10 minutes.
2. Slice your onion into thin slivers. Cut onion in half, then follow the natural grooves on the onion to achieve a good size and shape. If a large onion, you can cut the slivers in half. In the bowl you plan to serve your salad in, add about 1/4 cup vinegar and a very big pinch of salt with the onion slices. They should be fully covered and you may need to adjust your amount to the shape of bowl you use. They don’t need to be swimming, but all need to touch the vinegar.
3. Make your Mayo – In a medium bowl or jar (Bonne Maman jam jars are the pefect size), add 1 egg, 1 cup avocado oil, a squeeze of dijon or stone ground mustard, juice from about 1/2 lemon, and a big pinch of salt into the jar. Using a immersion blender, blend the mixture directly in the jar, pulling the blender up and down slowly until fully blended. This keeps for about a week in the fridge. Alternatively, you could use store-bought mayonnaise or hand whisk the mixture slowly, one ingredient at a time.
4. When the potatoes are fully cooked, drain the water and allow to cool.
5. While the potatoes cool, slice your garlic scapes (or cloves pressed or very finely chopped) into about 1/4 inch lengths and add to onions. You can also add your chopped fresh dill (or dried), into the onions.
6. Slice the potatoes into half or quarter moon shapes. I like to halve, the halve again if they are big, then slice into about 1/4 inch widths. This creates a beautiful look and I love the size of potato bite. Enough to taste things besides starch in one bit.
7. Last, chop your pickles. We used the wonderful garlic chunk pickles from Fair Share Farm that we sell right there. I cut them into slices. I estimate on the amount based on the balance I want with the potatoes. But it ends up being about a 1/2 -3/4 cup.
8. Finally, add the pickles and potatoes into the bowl with the onions. Toss to coat, then add about 3/4 cup of your mayonnaise and toss well. If you want it a little creamier, add more mayo! Last, top with some paprika for color and a little warmth of flavor.
9. Enjoy!