Potato Salad

Several people have asked for the secret to the No-Mayo Potato Salad of late, so here it is with all its approximations:

A couple pounds of potatoes
About two spoonfuls of chopped dill
Four ounces of wine (red, white, whatever)
A spoonful of wine or rice vinegar
Eight tablespoons of olive oil
A spoonful of Dijon mustard
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of thyme
Diced garlic or rings or onion or both
Three hard boiled eggs, sliced thinly

Fill a big pot with warm water and two spoonfuls of salt. Add potatoes and eggs and bring to a boil. Cook eggs another eight minutes, then remove and slice. Keep cooking potatoes until tender enough to cut, then drain the pot and fill with cold water.

Mix the wine, mustard, dill, vinegar, salt, pepper and thyme. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Slice the potatoes and add them to the mix. Then add the sliced egg and onion/garlic.

The big difference from more common versions with mayonnaise is that these egg yolks are cooked thoroughly before they are mixed with oil. Most interesting, perhaps, is that even with mayonnaise the right amount of vinegar will push the pH high enough to be acidic and prevent harmful bacteria from forming. But I still like to say a picnic without mayo is safer. My recipe also avoids the danger of running afoul with European Federation of the Condiment Sauce Industries rules, which state that a sauce maintain at least 70% oil and 5% liquid egg yolk. As far as I can tell a boiled egg recipe has no such restraint.