Many of our recipes have been passed down from grandparents or earlier, but as time passes, we recede farther from those generations, and the originals are becoming lost to time. To supplement our collection, we have featured some from cookbooks compiled from the originals. Others are from current sources that capture the vibe but are from material like recent magazine articles. Moving forward, we may from time to time rely on our members' memories or personal experimentation to help fill this gap.

Steve Lamberty and his mom were searching Internet recipes and found a variation of potato salad which was very similar to what his family used to make. To provide due credit, the original recipe, along with additional photos and notes, can be found on foodie Aleksandra's website Everyday Delicious at this link.


AUSTRIAN POTATO SALAD
(suggested by Steve Lamberty)

Ingredients:
  • 2 lbs (900g) salad potatoes, preferably uniformly sized
  • 1-1/3 cups good quality beef broth or chicken broth
  • 3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. tarragon mustard or Dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • chives to garnish
Instructions:
  1. Wash the potatoes and add them to a pot (don't peel them). Cover with water, salt the water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork. Make sure to not overcook them (or they will fall apart).
  2. While the potatoes are cooking, cook the broth in a small pot until reduced in half so you should end up with 2/3 cup of broth. Set aside.
  3. When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and leave to cool down slightly - they should be cold enough to handle but still very warm.
  4. If the broth got cold, heat it again until very hot, take off the heat. Add the vinegar, mustard, and sugar. Whisk until combined. Add finely chopped red onion. Add the sauce to a large bowl.
  5. Now you need to combine the sauce and the potatoes - both should be warm!
  6. Peel one potato, cut it into slices and add to the sauce, stir with a wooden spoon. Repeat for the remaining potatoes, adding them to the sauce and stirring after every added potato. The salad will look soupy at first, but it will thicken.
    7. (continued on page 2)
  7. Now leave the salad for 30 minutes to rest and stir it every 10 minutes with a wooden spoon. After this time the potatoes should absorb some of the sauce and the remaining sauce should thicken.
  8. Add the vegetable oil, season the salad with salt and pepper, stir everything together.
  9. Garnish with finely chopped chives and enjoy! It tastes good warm and cold.
Notes:
  • The best potatoes for a potato salad are waxy potatoes or all-purpose potatoes (white, red, fingerling, Yukon Gold). Do not use starchy/mealy potatoes, such as Russets, for this salad.
  • The potatoes should be uniformly sized - they will cook evenly.
  • Use neutral-tasting vegetable oil such as canola oil or sunflower oil, not olive oil.
  • If you don't have a good-quality beef broth, it's better to use chicken broth.
  • Tarragon mustard is traditionally used in this recipe and can be found in every grocery store in Austria. It tastes more mild and herby than Dijon mustard. You can use Dijon mustard instead but the salad will taste a little bit different.
  • Sugar is necessary to balance the sourness from the vinegar and mustard.
  • You can add some caraway seed to the potatoes while they're cooking.