Kartoffelsalat (Potato Salad) the Queen of salads!

Thanks to the wonderful warm, sunny weather, it is time to part with the old time favourite, the Queen of Salads,
Kartoffelsalat.
There isn't a family in Germany which does not have their own recipe of Potato Salad.
One of the most  common snacks in a German Pub used to be, and still is in the more traditional Pubs, "Würstchen mit Kartoffelsalat" a hot dog with potato salad.
The type of Salad changes depending in what part of Germany you are in. In the North, West and East it is mainly made with Mayonnaise, whereas the further South you go, it is without Mayonnaise.  Depending whether you are in the Southwest of Germany or in Bavaria, croutons of crisp bacon are added.
There is a common consensus in our family that the Potato salad tastes best with home made Mayonnaise,
but if you could not be bothered or you are pregnant ( raw eggs in the home made mayonnaise) use the commercial mayonnaise you like best

The traditional Potato Salad.

   

Ingredients

1 kg of salad potatoes or hard boiling potatoes

2 portions of the normal vinegar dressing ( see salad dressings)

Salt  and pepper to taste

1 large onion

Mayonnaise, the amount depends on the potatoes and your taste (start with 2 Tbsp)

Some fresh cream ( optional for a less "mayonnaisy" taste)

Bundle of fresh chives

Some parsley for decoration

Hard boil eggs for decoration

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in their jackets, let cool and peel

2. Cut into slices

3. Add the vinaigrette, the onion and chives, mix well

4. Add mayonnaise and cream and mix

Note: For best result let the salad stand for a few hours before serving

Homemade Mayonnaise

Ingredients

1 free range egg

approx. 1/4 l rapeseed/or sunflower oil

fresh lemon juice to taste

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 tsp (unbleached) sugar

1/2 to 1 tsp mustard ( depends how much you like mustard)

Method

1. Put the whole egg (egg white and egg yolk in a food processor.

2. Whisk for 2-3 minutes

3. Start adding the oil drop by drop ( while the egg mixture is whisking around) and then in a slow steady stream. The mixture should be thickening quite quickly

4. When you have the right consistency, add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until they are well mixed.

Bavarian or southern German Potato Salad

For the people who do not like mayonnaise  in their Potato salad 

 Ingredients

Basically the same ingredients as for the traditional potato salad except for

1/4 l hot chicken stock ( amounts can slightly vary depending on your potatoes)

Method

The same as above, except that you add the chicken stock while the potatoes are still warm.

the finished result

Guten Appetit

More Salads

More Salads (Summer Salad and Coleslaw with a difference)

Seeing the time of the year that is in it, I think it is time to write a little more about salads.

Having been brought up in Germany, first in the East and then in the West, Salads have been always been part of our daily eating.

I was reminded of that when I met an old German friend not so long ago, who bemoaned the fact that one could not get a decent mixed salad with a meal in Ireland.

What did he mean by that. Well, there are certain dishes in Germany that are served with a mixed salad. On a German Menu it would appear as , for example:

excerpt from a Bavarian Menu

Rumpsteak mit Pommes Frites und gemischtem Salat. 
You will find this dish on a lot of  Gastro Pubs Menus in Germany.

 The "gemischter Salat", meaning mixed salad, would have, lettuce in a vinaigrette sauce or a cream sauce; cucumber salad; Krautsalat (cabbage salad; not to be mistaken for coleslaw), green or yellow bean salad; often celeriac salad; carrot salad. More often there isn't a tomato in sight.

Germans make  salads out of just about any vegetable and fruit

depending on the season. In May you will always get some white asparagus tips as part of the mixed salad.

Mixed salad leaves

In the summer, you will find fruit, like strawberries, Raspberries etc.  Come  autumn, the root vegetables will come to the forefront and the different cabbages. In  winter instead of hothouse lettuce, lambs salad is used which tastes best after the first frost.
Most supermarkets now have a vast variety of different salad leaves, from the normal head of lettuce, via the Lollo Rosso as far as the bitter Radicci.


Now to some recipes.

The following salad can be done as a side or as a main


Summer Mixed Salad

Ingredients (adjust the amounts to the number of people you want to serve)

a summer salad

lettuce leaves

spring onions

tomato squares/slices

avocado slices

red/yellow peppers slices
beet root slices ( optional)
red onion rings ( optional)

hard boiled eggs, quartered

fresh herbs (chives. parsley, basil) 

the amount and mixture depending on your taste

some grated cheese (optional)

some cooked ham ( optional)

Method

Arrange the salad ingredients on a large plate. Serve the Salad Sauce separately so that the salad will be crispy fresh when eating. 

Salad sauce/Dill Sauce

1 helping of the normal vinaigrette

2 Tbsp crème fraîche ( or sour cream

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp mayonnaise

fresh dill or 1/2 Tsp dried dill

Mix all the ingredients until you have a smooth sauce

Fresh Dill Sauce

Coleslaw with a difference

Ingredients ( 4-6 persons)

1/2  head of white cabbage (shredded)
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1 crispy apple ( gala etc)
1 shredded carrot
chives
parsley (optional)

Salad  Cream Sauce
Use the recipe for the dill sauce, just leave out the dill

Method

Mix all the shredded and cut vegetables and toss in them in the Cream Sauce

                                                 Guten Appetit