Mama Rosa’s Potato Salad

The weather was beautiful this past Friday; mid-70’s in February! Since we had to wait on the refrigerator repairman to arrive, we decided to make the most of the beautiful afternoon at home by smoking a beef brisket on the Weber Performer. How dare that repairman to give us a time window on such a beautiful Friday afternoon, right?!?!

The repairman came and upon inspection, he thought that our problem was that we were low on Freon. He topped it off and was on his way. David and I did a small celebration dance that it wasn’t a very expensive repair, but it was short-lived. The temperature inside the refrigerator actually went up and took practically all night to go down just a few degrees. So David called the repairman back first thing in the morning to let him know it was not fixed. Luckily he was able to stop back by Saturday afternoon to take another look.

It turns out that our 5-year old refrigerator needs a new compressor and some other parts he said that would have been over $800 in repairs. David and I had already set a price limit on what we were willing to spend on the repairs, and what he was telling us was way more than we had hoped for. We made a quick decision to not waste any time or money on this clunker. We headed to Winchester, VA to the appliance showroom to pick out a new one before they closed and were credited money we spent on the original service call towards the purchase of a new refrigerator.

David and I had no idea when we woke up on Saturday morning, that we would be heading to the appliance store to buy a new refrigerator. It really sucks, especially given the fact that the warranty expired only a couple of weeks prior. We really didn’t want to buy a new refrigerator, but I tell ya what, I’m excited about the new one and can’t wait for it to arrive this afternoon!

Ok, enough of our refrigerator woes. Let’s talk about Mama Rosa’s Potato Salad.

To me, this recipe makes the best potato salad I have probably ever eaten. It’s our favorite side with smoked beef brisket.

The recipe comes from David’s mama, Rosa. He got the recipe from her many years ago and has made large batches of this potato salad to take to company potlucks. He always comes home with an empty bowl. People eat it up!

The original recipe calls for hard-boiled egg slices, but I do not like hard-boiled eggs. If David makes this potato salad he reserves some without eggs especially for me or he leaves them out altogether, for simplicity.

This crowd-pleasing potato salad features bite-sized potatoes with chopped sweet pickles, and onions mixed together with a dressing of mayonnaise, spicy brown mustard, white vinegar, sugar, and lightly sprinkled with celery seeds.

Mama Rosa’s Potato Salad

THE POTATOES:

Wash and scrub the potatoes. Peel them and cut into large bite-sized cubes.

Place the potatoes inside a medium-sized pot. Add enough water to cover the potatoes with at least one inch of water.

Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce to simmer. Keep the water at a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender (tender all the way through when pierced with a fork), about 8 to 12 minutes. The cooking time depends on the size of your cubes and the type of potatoes.

Drain the potatoes well and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the onions and pickles to the potatoes and gently toss.

THE DRESSING:

In a separate small bowl, stir in mustard and mayonnaise until lumps are smooth. In another separate small bowl, mix vinegar and sugar, until sugar is dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved add it into the bowl with the mustard mayonnaise mixture. Combine well.

THE SALAD:

Pour the dressing mixture over the potatoes, onions, and pickles. Stir carefully, trying not to mash-up the potatoes too much. Sprinkle in the celery seed and stir in until well-combined*.

 Add hard-boiled egg slices, if desired.

* Note: This is a mix to taste recipe and the amount of dressing you make up will depend on the size of the potatoes. You will need to taste the potato salad and adjust seasoning to your taste. Don’t be afraid to add more pickle, onions, dressing or celery seed. Use your best judgment as to how you want it to taste.

I love this potato salad as long as the eggs are left out. Special batches are made just for me, before adding in those stinky eggs. I hope you will love this potato salad as much as we do.

Will you opt for the eggs or not?  Comment below!

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Mama Rosa's Potato Salad

This crowd-pleasing potato salad features bite-sized potatoes and chopped sweet pickles and onion mixed with a creamy, tangy dressing, with a zippy finish.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Potato Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 176kcal

Author The Mountain Kitchen

Ingredients

• 5 cups potatoes bite-sized cubes
• ½ large onion chopped
• ¼ cup sweet pickles chopped
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• ½ teaspoon celery seed
• 3 hard-boiled eggs optional, sliced

Instructions

THE POTATOES:

• Wash and scrub the potatoes. Peel them and cut into large bite-sized cubes.

  Place the potatoes inside a medium-sized pot. Add enough water to cover the potatoes with at least one inch of water.
• Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce to simmer. Keep the water at a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender (tender all the way through when pierced with a fork), about 8 to 12 minutes. The cooking time depends on the size of your cubes and the type of potatoes.
• At this time, boil the eggs, if adding to the recipe.
• Drain the potatoes well and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the onions and pickles to the potatoes and gently toss.
  

THE DRESSING:

• In a separate small bowl, stir in mustard and mayonnaise until lumps are smooth. In another separate small bowl, mix vinegar and sugar, until sugar is dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved add it into the bowl with the mustard mayonnaise mixture. Combine well.

THE SALAD:

• Pour the dressing mixture over the potatoes, onions, and pickles. Stir carefully, trying not to mash-up the potatoes too much. Sprinkle in the celery seed and stir in until well-combined*.
• Peel and slice hard-boiled eggs. Cut into slices and top the potato salad, if desired.

Notes

*This is a mix to taste recipe and the amount of dressing you make up will depend on the size of the potatoes. You will need to taste the potato salad and adjust seasoning to your taste. Don't be afraid to add more pickle, onions, dressing or celery seed. Use your best judgment as to how you want it to taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 589mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2.7% | Vitamin C: 19% | Calcium: 5.8% | Iron: 25.5%

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