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Julia Turshen’s potato salad is the perfect recipe for your summer BBQs

Potato salad in a bowl.

Julia Turshen wears many hats.

Cookbook author, chef, podcaster, food equity advocate, and cooking teacher, she is one of the most dynamic voices in the culinary world today. Her 2021 cookbook, "Simply Julia: 110 Easy Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food," gained national success and earned praise from publications like The New York Times and Vogue.

This potato salad recipe from “Simply Julia” is Julia’s no-frills take on the cookout classic. Using all the traditional potato salad fix-ins, this recipe stands out for its delightful balance of flavors and textures and one crucial hack: dressing the potatoes while they’re still warm! The result is a delicious and spud-tacular app that might end up stealing the show at your next backyard bash. So, give it a try! The proof is in the potato salad.

Author: Julia Turshen

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds [680 g] baby yellow potatoes (about 30 small potatoes)

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1 large celery stalk, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 large handful fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped (a little stem is fine)

Instructions

Place the potatoes and a very large pinch of salt in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Set the saucepan over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer until the potatoes are tender (test with a paring knife), about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them rest until they're just cool enough to handle, but still warm.

While the potatoes are cooking and resting, place the mustard, vinegar, and pepper in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon salt and whisk well to combine. Stir in the celery and onion.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle (but still warm—don't forget!), cut them in half and stir them into the mustard mixture. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and then stir in the mayonnaise and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days (season to taste again if serving from cold).

Hudson Valley-based chef Julia Turshen is a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, esteemed food writer and committed food equity advocate. Her latest cookbook, “Simply Julia,” is a National Bestseller and has received praise from The New York Times, Vogue, Eater, and many more. 

She hosts, produces, and edits the IACP-nominated podcast “Keep Calm & Cook On,” has co-authored numerous cookbooks, and has written for The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Saveur, and more. Julia sits on the Kitchen Cabinet Advisory Board for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, is a member of the God’s Love We Deliver Culinary Council, and is the founder of Equity At The Table (EATT), an inclusive digital directory of women and non-binary individuals in food.

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