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Memorial Day perfect for perfecting a summer salad classic

Summer's just a few short weeks away and Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner, which got me to thinking about what is my absolute favorite summer salad.

What is it? Potato salad, of course, like my Mom used to make.

Mom's potato salad was a straightforward recipe: cooked red-skin potatoes, diced celery, and onion, mayonnaise, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper. Easy.

Over the years I've learned a lot about making potato salad and even though I might be following the ingredients list for my Mom's salad; my version is not the same.

To change things up before making potato salad this year I ran a quick internet search for potato salad recipes, and in less than one second I found 1.7 million paths to potato salad recipes.

Some recipes were like my Mom's (one nearly matched, from a mayonnaise bottle's label). Others included cheese, bacon, green olives, tahini, fennel, tomatoes and smoked trout.

One intriguing recipe I came across: "Best Potato Salad," originated in a five-year-old cookbook: "New York Street Food;" showcased on David Leite's website leitesculinaria.com.

The author's recipe was similar to my Mom's; and added fresh herbs (basil, marjoram and thyme) to the salad. The method wasn't tricky; that's a plus. And, I had all the fresh herbs growing in my garden.

Leite's uses recipe testers who make and comment on their results. About this salad, Leite's tester's made comments such as: "The best I've ever had." "A++" and "Perfect potato salad taste and texture," sent me to my kitchen to hard-boil some eggs and see if I had enough of the right potatoes (red skin). I did.

The recipe includes little explanation for the potato salad issues I've learned about over the years. Let's begin with the potatoes. I always go organic with potatoes; it doesn't matter what type or what I'm making.

According to the USDA's Pesticide Data Program (www.ams.usda.gov/datasets/pdp), there have been 37 pesticides found on conventionally-grown potatoes. Because potatoes grow under the soil, conventionally-grown potatoes may require the use of fungicides. The best path to cooking skin-on, whole potatoes is to put them in a pan filled with cold water and bring that water to a boil. Since potatoes cook from the outside in, dropping them in boiling water overcooks a potato's outside before the middle is cooked. A mainstream brand of mayonnaise used to be my go-to mayo until I stopped having anything to do with soybeans (it's made with soybean oil, as are most mayo's). Even though it's pricey, today my go-to no-added-sugar mayo is made with good-for-me, non-GMO avocado oil. Leaving the potato skins on is my preference, for looks, nutritional value and preparation ease. Finally, I've never been a fan of hard-boiled eggs in a potato salad, as Mom never used them. My partner, Nan, doesn't think it's "real" potato salad without adding hard-boiled eggs. Hard-boiling half dozen eggs, even though I needed just two, left me with four. I see egg salad stuffed tomatoes in my future.

If you're looking for a different, but most-excellent take on potato salad, give this one a try this coming holiday weekend.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at don@ theleanwizard.com.

Sure Ain't Mom's Potato Salad

Fresh basil provides a bright sprig of color to this updated potato salad. Courtesy of Don Mauer
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