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Ever-Popular Potato Salad
4 servings

[ INGREDIENTS ]

Potatoes ¹
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon Juice, or Lime Juice, or Vinegar
Dijon Mustard
Salt
Black Pepper
Scallions

[ INSTRUCTIONS ]

1. Cover :
   
   2 Pounds Potatoes;
   with water in a large pot with a lid.
2. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn the heat down to medium and set the lid askew so that steam can escape.
3. After about 25 minutes, try piercing the largest potato with a fork. If the fork pierces the potato easily, it’s fully cooked. If not, boil for 5 more minutes. It’s fine if they’re a little overcooked, but under cooked potatoes are awful.
4.  Drain the water.
5. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle safely ( but still warm ), roughly chop them into bite sized pieces, if you haven’t already.
6.  In a large bowl, mix ² :
   
   2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil;
   2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice, or Lime Juice, or Vinegar;
   2 Teaspoons Dijon Mustard;
   Salt, to Taste;
   Black Pepper, to Taste;
7. Throw the potatoes into the bowl and stir to coat them in the dressing.
8. Add a generous amount of salt as you stir. Potatoes are very bland without salt! Then let them marinate for 10 minutes.
9. Chop a handful of :
   
   Scallions;
   and sprinkle them over the potatoes.
10. Toss the salad once more, then taste and adjust the :
    
    Salt, to Taste;
    Black Pepper, to Taste;
    Vinegar, to Taste;
    as you see fit. This keeps very well and travels nicely to a picnic or potluck.
11. For variation add :
    
    Fresh Dill, Chopped;
    Fresh Parsley, Chopped;
    Paprika;
    Fresh Chilies, Finely Chopped;
    Pickles, Finely Chopped;

[ NOTE ]

¹ Smaller potatoes are best. If using very large potatoes, chop them into halves or quarters to speed up the cooking - or dice them into bite-sized pieces. Otherwise, keep the potatoes whole.

² Whisk it briskly until the liquid is blended. If you don’t have a whisk, simply whip with a fork.

If you have leftover roasted potatoes or other root vegetables, the same idea works great. Just skip the cooking part and go straight to the dressing.