Egg and Potato Salad

The simplicity of an Egg and Potato Salad is what makes it so delicious and appealing to the masses. You can buy ready-made potato salads from any grocer, but why would you when you can make them so much better at home? Plus, you get to control the amount of preservatives too!

I was born and raised in Newfoundland. Do you know what that means? Among other things, it means that I know potato salad better than anyone! As a food blogger, it is my job to try recipes, and I’ve tried more potato salads that I care to count. To date, I have not found any potato salad that can beat a traditional Newfoundland variety. Is Egg and Potato Salad traditional? No, but it’s very close!

My absolute favourite type of potato salad is the Vegetable Potato Salad. If you travel across the island, you will discover that just about everyone makes it just a little differently. But, there are a few constant staples. For example, almost all Newfoundlanders will use canned mixed vegetables in their potato salad. And, by doing so, they are right!

Some of them will add apples. But, I’d rather be trapped in a butterfly conservatory. Those of you who know me well can just imagine how horrifying that would be for me! Some people add raw onion. I love the flavour of onion, but not raw, and certainly not in a potato salad. It overpowers the whole recipe! Some will add egg. I do. I love the texture and taste of eggs in a Vegetable Potato Salad.

In essence, my Egg and Potato Salad is an exact replica of my Vegetable Potato Salad without the canned mixed vegetables. I started to prepare an egg version more often, because finding the right can of mixed vegetables is nearly impossible lately. Under no circumstances would I use canned peas and carrots instead of the canned vegetable medley.  I only made that mistake once!

Making my favourite potato salad with just egg was the next best option. And, to be perfectly honest, I’m glad I did. Even though I love it, which is most important – ha! – both John.e and McKenna love it too. It always makes me really happy when a recipe is loved by everyone. It just makes life easier. 

MORE POTATO SALAD!

Lord Byron’s Kitchen has a lot of potato salad recipes. Yes, a good percentage of them are prepared in Newfoundland style, but some of them are not. So, basically, there’s a potato salad recipe here for everyone!

Inspired by classic Greek ingredients, with bright and fresh flavours, Greek Potato Salad is a great alternative to regular home style potato salad. Complete with feta, lemon, dill and pine nuts – who could resist!? For the serious dill pickle enthusiast, Dill Pickle Potato Salad is a creamy, dill-packed side dish fit for any summertime meal! Prepared with dill pickles, fresh chopped dill, and dill pickle juice too, this salad is very dilly indeed! Familiar Tex Mex ingredients can be found in my delicious Tex Mex Potato Salad. Doesn’t it just scream summer? Prepared with baby potatoes, black beans, corn, bell peppers, and a mayonnaise and sour cream-based sauce, this potato salad is sure to be a hit!

In terms of Newfoundland-style potato salads, I’ve got you covered there too! I’ve already mentioned my favourite of the three common types, Vegetable Potato Salad. It’s made with chopped hard-boiled eggs, mashed potatoes, and green onions; it’s creamy, comforting, and oh so delicious! Mustard Potato Salad is very similar to regular potato salad, but with tang and zing from yellow mustard. Also, this one doesn’t have eggs. It’s a great way to update your regular salad with a new flavour profile! And, finally, there’s my Pickled Beet Potato Salad which is a sweet and creamy side dish paired perfectly with chicken or roast beef; a perfect summer potluck take-along side dish!

CAN’T DECIDE? HOW ABOUT ALL THREE!?

Cold Plates are a very traditional Newfoundland Sunday night supper. Have you heard of them? Traditional Newfoundland Cold Plates consist of three types of potato salads – there’s the Vegetable Potato Salad, (sometimes called White Salad) Pickled Beet Potato Salad, and the Mustard Potato Salad. There’s also a macaroni or pasta salad, and always a coleslaw too. Depending on who’s preparing the plate, there may or may not be a jello salad.

Then you have your main, which in most cases is a turkey. We only had turkey on special occasions. When mom prepared Cold Plates for a regular Sunday night dinner, she would most likely include roasted chicken, sometimes roast beef, or rarely, glazed ham.

If there was turkey, you could count on there being dressing (stuffing) as well. And lastly, there were the little add-ins, like the slice of black forest ham that had been tightly rolled and pierced with a toothpick; the slice of tomato sitting atop some iceberg lettuce; the cranberry sauce; and, of course, the dinner roll.

All of this created the most popular and most recognized meal on the island. It probably still is! And, more importantly, it created my all-time favourite meal. I could seriously eat this every day and never grow tired of it. My mom would prepare a smaller scale of this meal for every Sunday dinner. But, even though it was scaled back, there was always three types of potato salad. So, you see, Dear Reader, I know potato salads!

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR THIS RECIPE:

• Baby Potatoes – I love using these for potato salads. They cook up quickly and I like to leave the skin on. You can use regular potatoes too. Just chop them into roughly one and a half inch cubes.
• Mayonnaise – You can use any mayo you prefer – even the low fat stuff.
• Eggs – They’re the star of this dish, so you will need a full dozen!
• Sugar – You need just a little bit of sweetness. You could omit this if you want.
• Grainy Mustard – Just two teaspoons of this goes a long way in this salad. It adds just enough zing and so much flavour!
• Green Onions – The freshness of green onions works so well in contrast to the heavy potatoes, eggs, and mayo.
• Seasonings – Salt, ground black pepper, and celery salt.

INCLUDING THE EGG YOLKS

Whenever I make an Egg and Potato Salad, I tend to only use half of the egg yolks. Let me explain. All of the eggs are hardboiled and then roughly chopped. Before I chop them, I cut the eggs in half and remove the yolk from half the amount of eggs. The only reason I do this is that I don’t care for an extremely yellow salad!

I don’t mind a little yellow tint to the finished product, but I don’t want the salad to be completely yellow. Does it matter? Absolutely not! You can include all of the yolks in your salad, but if you do, keep in mind that your salad will be more yellow than the one you see in the photographs.

It’s all in my head, I know! But, how many times have we all heard the expression that we eat with our eyes first? Well, my eyes tell me that I don’t want to eat yellow potato salad. Ha! You do you, Dear Reader!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

First and foremost, potato salad should always be served cold. I make potato salad at least four or five hours ahead of dinnertime and keep it covered in the fridge. I want it to be nice and chilled before serving it. Secondly, despite what my Newfoundland upbringing tells me, potato salads are best served with grilled meats. Sorry, Newfoundland!

I would still rock a Cold Plate every single day of my life if I could, but because I don’t live in a fairytale, I like to serve potato salads mostly in the summer months. And, a really good coleslaw is like the ying to the potato salad’s yang. Try serving both with this barbecue chicken or my Instant Pot ribs! They’re also really good with these beef tips.

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