Take your potato salad to new heights with this easy and delicious Austrian Potato Salad (Erdäpfelsalat). This vinegar based side features crunch and color from red onion and added tanginess from mustard. Serve it with schnitzel or any other protein you like!
2pounds(900 grams) waxy potatoes, preferably Yukon gold or other yellow/gold potatoessmall to medium in size
Kosher salt
1 ⅓cupsgood quality chicken broth or stockor beef or vegetable broth
¼cupwhite wine vinegar
1tablespoontarragon mustard (estragon-senf) or Dijon mustard
2teaspoonssugar
1cupfinely diced red onion
¼cupneutral flavored oil like vegetable or sunflower oil
Freshly ground black or white pepper
2tablespoonsminced fresh chivesplus more for garnish
Instructions
Wash the potatoes well, but don’t peel them. Add them to a pot, cover with cold water, and salt the water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes (depending on the size of your potatoes) or until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork. Do not overcook them or they’ll fall apart.
Meanwhile, add the broth to a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer uncovered until approximately reduced by half, about 20 to 25 minutes (may vary depending on surface area of saucepan,etc), yielding about ⅔ cup. This will help concentrate the flavor. Immediately stir in the vinegar, mustard and sugar. Keep the mixture hot until ready to use.
Drain the potatoes and set aside to cool slightly. Once they are just cool enough to handle but still warm, peel them and cut them into ¼-inch thick slices. Transfer the sliced potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
Add the hot vinegar-broth mixture, the finely diced red onion, salt and pepper to the still warm potatoes in the mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine. Add the oil and stir again so the potatoes start to release some of their starch into the dressing to thicken it. The mixture will look soupy at first, but give it time.
Set the salad aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring it every 10 minutes so the dressing absorbs evenly. The mixture will thicken as time goes on. Stir in the minced chives, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Garnish with more chives if desired.
Serve warm (after 30 minutes of resting), at room temperature or cold. You may refrigerate this Austrian potato salad for up to 3 days.
Notes
The best potatoes for potato salad are waxy potatoes such as white, red, yellow, Yukon Gold, or fingerling. I prefer Yukon Gold or other yellow or gold-fleshed potatoes for this recipe. Don’t use starchy potatoes, such as Russets, as they tend to fall apart and won’t hold their shape as well. Even within the range of waxy potatoes mentioned above, some will hold their shape when sliced better than others.
For the best results, look for potatoes that are small to medium but also quite uniform in size so they will cook evenly.
It’s fine and acceptable if your potatoes break up a bit when mixing this Austrian potato salad. In my research many of the photos from Austrian restaurants (arguably the most authentic source) had a more broken down looking salad rather than a salad with perfect unbroken slices.
Use a neutral-tasting oil, such as vegetable, canola, sunflower, or grapeseed oil. Avoid using olive oil which has a stronger flavor and is not traditional in this recipe.
Tarragon mustard is the traditional mustard component in erdäpfelsalat. Although it can be found in grocery stores throughout Austria, it can be harder to find in the United States. Dijon mustard is an acceptable substitute, though it will yield a slightly different flavor. I actually am not a big fan of tarragon so I am happy using the less traditional Dijon.