Kartoffelsalat

Ingredients

Potatoes

• 1 kgwaxy potatoes, of even size
• water, for boiling
• salt

Southern dressing

• 250 mlhot beef or vegetable broth
• 4 tbspwhite wine vinegar
• 4 tbspsunflower oil
• 1 tbspmedium mustard
• 1onion, very finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• chives, chopped

Northern dressing

• 200 gmayonnaise
• 100 gsour cream
• 1 tbspmustard
• 2pickled gherkins, chopped
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 3hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 2 tbspgherkin pickling liquid
• salt and pepper
• dill or parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Use a waxy variety, since floury potatoes disintegrate in the bowl. Wash them but do not peel them before boiling. Boiling them in their skins keeps them from taking on water.
2. Put them in cold salted water and bring them to the boil. Starting in cold water cooks them evenly from the outside in. Simmer them gently rather than boiling them hard. Cook them for twenty to twenty-five minutes depending on size. Test with a skewer: it should meet slight resistance at the centre.
3. Drain them and let them steam dry for two minutes. Now peeling them, which is done while hot. Hold each potato in a cloth and pull the skin off with a knife. Hot potatoes peel far more easily than cold ones.
4. Work quickly, since the next step also depends on them being hot. Slice them about half a centimetre thick into a wide bowl. The potatoes must be hot when the dressing goes on. Heat the broth in a small pan until it is steaming. Whisk in the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour it over the hot sliced potatoes.
5. Add the finely chopped onion and turn everything gently. Use a spoon and fold rather than stirring hard. Let it stand for twenty minutes so the broth soaks in. The potatoes will look wet at first and will drink most of it up.
6. Pour the oil over and fold it through. Adding oil first coats the potatoes and stops them absorbing anything. Taste it and adjust the vinegar and salt. It should taste sharp, since it mellows as it stands. Scatter chopped chives over just before serving.
7. Serve it warm or at room temperature, never chilled. Now the northern version, which is assembled cold. Let the sliced potatoes cool completely first. Warm potatoes will make mayonnaise split and go oily.
8. Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard and pickling liquid in a bowl. Season it with salt and pepper and taste it. Add the chopped onion, gherkins and hard-boiled eggs. Pour the dressing over the cold potatoes.
9. Fold it through gently with a spatula. Do not stir hard, since the potato edges break down. Cover it and refrigerate it for at least two hours. Take it out thirty minutes before serving, since fridge-cold dulls it. Taste it again before serving and adjust the salt. Scatter dill or parsley over the top. Serve it with sausages, schnitzel or cold meats.

Technique

• Southern style needs hot potatoes so they absorb the broth; northern style needs cold ones so the mayonnaise does not split.
• Boil the potatoes in their skins so they do not take on water.
• Add the oil after the broth in the southern version, never with it.

Substitutions

• Vegetable broth in place of beef, which makes it vegetarian.
• Crème fraîche in place of sour cream.

Variations

• Swabian, with more broth for a very moist salad.
• With crisp fried bacon folded through.
• With chopped apple and gherkin, in some northern households.

History

German potato salad, prepared in two main regional styles, a warm version dressed with vinegar, oil and often bacon found predominantly in southern Germany, and a creamier, mayonnaise-based cold version more common in northern Germany, documented across the country for many generations as an essential side dish. This clear regional split in preparation style, tied loosely to a broader north-south divide in German culinary preferences regarding butter and cream versus oil and vinegar-based dressings, reflects genuine and longstanding regional culinary identity within Germany rather than a single unified national recipe. Kartoffelsalat remains one of the most commonly prepared side dishes across German households, particularly associated with barbecues, picnics and festive meals.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kartoffelsalat?

Kartoffelsalat is a salad & side from Germany: potato salad dressed with broth-vinegar in the south, mayonnaise northward. German potato salad, prepared in two main regional styles, a warm version dressed with vinegar, oil and often bacon found predominantly in southern Germany, and a creamier, mayonnaise-based cold version more common in northern Germany, documented across the country for many generations as an essential side dish. This clear regional split in preparation style, tied loosely to a broader north-south divide in German culinary preferences regarding butter and cream versus oil and vinegar-based dressings, reflects genuine and longstanding regional culinary identity within Germany rather than a single unified national recipe. Kartoffelsalat remains one of the most commonly prepared side dishes across German households, particularly associated with barbecues, picnics and festive meals.

How long does Kartoffelsalat take to make?

Kartoffelsalat takes 25 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kartoffelsalat?

Yes, within limits. Vegetable broth in place of beef, which makes it vegetarian. Crème fraîche in place of sour cream.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kartoffelsalat?

Use a waxy variety, since floury potatoes disintegrate in the bowl. Wash them but do not peel them before boiling. Boiling them in their skins keeps them from taking on water.