Potato perils are a real thing when you are making a classic potato salad . Undercook your potatoes, and they are crunchy — and not in a good way — and have a strong, starchy taste. They also won't absorb the dressing the way perfectly cooked potatoes do.
Overcook your potatoes, and they become mushy and fall apart when you mix them with all the other ingredients. Neither outcome is the result you desire. Luckily, Ina Garten has a tip to help you up your cooking game and overcome this obstacle, and it involves steaming your potatoes.
Per Food Network , the Barefoot Contessa revealed she brings her potatoes to a boil in a pot of salted water and lets them cook for 10 to 15 minutes at a simmer. She drains them in a colander, then places the colander over the empty pot, covers them with a clean kitchen towel, and allows them to steam for another 15 to 20 minutes. The result is a potato with a soft, fluffy texture that maintains its integrity.
Potatoes soak-up flavor The beauty of Ina Garten's technique is that, by allowing the potatoes to cook in the cold water as she brings it to a boil, the entire potato cooks more evenly, inside and out. Additionally, boiling allows the salt to do its job and soak into the potatoes to add flavor. This is important because if you wait for your potatoes to cool down before you give them a shake of salt, the starch turns solid and makes it impossible for the seasoning to penetrate this tuber.
Finishing them off by steaming ensures they are c.
