Potato salad: so simple, yet infinitely adaptable to anyone's tastes. While you may have a recipe you always stick to, the Barefoot Contessa herself, beloved chef Ina Garten, has an unexpected potato salad hack that's sure to change the game for your next summer picnic. (We're talking about classic, creamy American potato salad here, so please take the debate elsewhere.
) In her 2022 cookbook "Go-To Dinners," Garten passes on a potato salad tip learned from no less than the legendary Julia Child. To set up a comparison real quick, when boiling pasta, it's common keep a bit of the leftover pasta water in reserve (except in the case of lasagna, as Garten herself recommends that we ). The starchy water, when incorporated into your sauce, helps to bind it together and make it smooth, enabling it to effectively coat the cooked noodles.
Using similar logic, Garten reserves the water left over from boiled potatoes when making homemade potato salad. The result is a creamier salad dressing that perfectly complements the potatoes, guaranteeing flavorful bites from start to finish. Potato water is the key for creamy salad dressing Step one for potato salad worthy enough to serve to Ina Garten's beloved husband, Jeffrey: Be sure to properly boil the potatoes to yield the perfect starchy water for your dressing.
Starchy water comes from starchy potatoes (as opposed to creamy or "waxy" kinds), so look for a classic Idaho or Russet potato to get the most out of Garten's hack. Once you've pic.
