Homemade Potato Salad - Simple Summer Dish with Baby Potatoes and Apple - Perfect for Grilling

Potato salad is a classic side dish in many European kitchens, especially for summer meals, barbecues, and cold meat dishes. This version is a simple homemade potato salad with baby potatoes, mayonnaise, mustard, chives, and apple.

Ingredients

400 to 500 g baby potatoes
Salt for boiling water
1 egg
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1.5 to 2 dl rapeseed oil
1 small pinch of salt
A bit of cayenne pepper
About 1 dl sour cream or crème fraîche
2 to 3 tbsp homemade mayonnaise
1 to 2 tsp coarse mustard
1 small apple
A small bunch of chives
Black pepper
Optional: a bit more salt to taste
Cured meats for serving, such as Westfalia or salami

Instructions (mise en place)

Mise en place: Rinse the potatoes, gather an immersion blender, cup, knife, cutting board, bowl, and serving dish.
Boil the baby potatoes in well-salted water until tender. In the video, this takes about fifteen minutes.
Drain the water and let the potatoes cool slightly. The potato salad is best made with warm potatoes.
Make mayonnaise with the egg, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, salt, rapeseed oil, and a bit of cayenne pepper. Blend with an immersion blender until the mayonnaise thickens.
Place sour cream or crème fraîche in a bowl.
Stir in some homemade mayonnaise and coarse mustard.
Finely chop the chives. Stir in about half and save the rest for topping.
Peel the apple and cut it into small cubes. The apple should add freshness without overpowering the dish.
Stir the apple into the dressing.
Season with black pepper and possibly a bit more salt.
Cut the warm baby potatoes in half. Keep the skin on if desired.
Gently fold the potatoes into the dressing. Do not stir too hard, or the potatoes may break apart.
Top with the remaining chives.
Serve with cured meats or as a side dish for grilled food.

Flavor Profile

Creamy, mild, and fresh potato salad with a hint of mustard, light acidity from the apple, and a subtle warmth from cayenne pepper.

Serving Suggestions

Serve as a side dish for grilled food, cured meats, sausages, chicken, or a cold lunch.
In the video, the potato salad is served with Westfalia.

Homemade potato salad doesn't have to be complicated. In this version, I use baby potatoes that are boiled until tender before being folded into a creamy dressing.
I prefer to use warm potatoes. This allows them to absorb more flavor, giving the potato salad a softer and more homemade feel.
The dressing is made with homemade mayonnaise, a bit of sour cream or crème fraîche, coarse mustard, and chives. The apple adds freshness and a bit of acidity without making the potato salad too sweet.
I do not use onion or garlic in this version. This is intentional. Garlic can easily become very dominant when the potato salad sits for a while, and here I prefer a milder and rounder flavor.

Finally, gently fold in the potatoes. Do not stir too hard, especially if the potatoes are well-cooked. They can easily break apart.
This is a potato salad that pairs nicely with grilled food, cured meats, or a simple summer lunch.