Potato Salad with Peas and Carrots

There is something indefinably comforting in potato salad, a hearty dish and a combo of creamy and silky textures in your mouth which makes you want to prepare it time and again. This is an old fashioned version that DH particularly likes and it is wonderful as a side dish but if you chunk up cubes of chicken or flake some salmon into it can be a whole meal with some crusty bread on the side.

It’s simplicity itself to make and really? please cook the potatoes, peas and carrots rather than using canned. There’s simply no comparison. Just time all the cooking things together and you can do it all in one pot.

Start by peeling the potatoes and cubing them into the bite size you want, try to make them as uniform as possible so that they cook at the same time. Peel and chunk the carrots into smaller chunks so they will cook at the same time as the potatoes.

Bring the potatoes and carrots to the boil together in salted water. Cover and tilt the pot cover and simmer. Now mind you, you can rinse and gently plunk the eggs in after about five minutes of cooking the potatoes and carrots right into the same pot since the eggs need 15 minutes to hard boil. Check the potatoes and carrots after 20 minutes and if ready, drain the whole lot in a colander, including the eggs letting it drain. If the potatoes need a bit longer, make sure you scoop out the eggs so they don’t overcook.

While the potatoes, carrots and eggs are cooking merrily in their pot, take the frozen peas and let sit in a bowl of tepid water. No need to cook the peas since they are parboiled (partially boiled) before being frozen. It’s enough to defrost them. Drain.

Take the hard boiled eggs and peel, cutting them into slices

Then, chop them coarsely, like so:

Now this is my favorite part of this salad, I sautee onions in some oil till light brown OR caramelized, either way it adds great flavor and this is up to you to decide. Since I nearly always have my Basic Sauteed Onions, A Kitchen Staple stocked in the freezer, I don’t have to stop everything and do this but if you don’t have any to hand, do it, it adds enormous flavor to the salad.

Now add the salt (taste a piece of potato – since you’re cooking the potatoes and carrots in salted water, it absorbs some salt, so check it) and the mayo and gently toss altogether.

And you have a flavorful salad good in hot weather and cold, always a hit.

Potato Salad with Peas and Carrots

8-10 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed into easy eating size
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks
2 teaspoons salt for water
3 fresh eggs
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon salt
3 heaping tablespoons sautéed onions (or 1 small onion peeled, diced and sauteed in 2 tablespoons of oil)
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Directions:

Take a pot large enough to easily hold the potatoes and carrots in it and cover with water adding the teaspoons of salt to the pot. Bring to the boil and cover on a tilt and after about 5 minutes of cooking, add the uncooked eggs and continue cooking with the pot covered on a tilt (to let steam escape) about 15 more minutes. If potatoes are fully cooked, drain the potatoes, carrots and eggs in a colander. If they need a bit more time, remove the eggs with a slotted spoon before continuing to cook the potatoes. While the potatoes and carrots and eggs cook, take the frozen peas and let sit in a bowl of tepid water to cover. When defrosted, drain and place with potatoes and carrots in a large bowl. If you have sauteed onions, great, if not, saute your onion in the oil and add to the bowl. Taste a piece of potato to check level of saltiness, if not too salty, add the salt and add the mayonnaise. Peel the eggs, slice and then coarsely chop. Toss the lot all together in the bowl till all the ingredients are coated. This can be served as a first course in a nice mound on some lettuce, as a side dish or add some cooked cubed chicken or flaked salmon to make a hardier more substantial dish.