COOK: Dill-Yogurt Nordic Potato Salad

• Nordic Potato Salad Ingredients
• Kitchen Equipment Needed
• How to Make Dill-Yogurt Potato Salad
• Storage & Serving Ideas
• Dill-Yogurt Potato Salad

This dill-yogurt potato salad has a light, tangy flavor and a creamy sauce. Potato salads like this one are very popular in Scandinavian countries, and when you make it you’ll see why! The homemade creamy dressing is lightened up with yogurt (though you can use sour cream for a truly decadent side dish) and accented with fresh herbs, lemon, and just a touch of Dijon or brown mustard.

It’s a simple side dish that is fantastic with poached, smoked, or grilled fish, cold cuts or gravlax, quiche, grilled vegetables, and other effortlessly elegant meals. Serve this dill-yogurt potato salad with a green salad for a light lunch, or as part of a whole spread for a BBQ or celebration dinner. Pair with lamb or venison burgers or meat loaf, or even grilled meats. However you serve it, it’s sure to be a hit with your guests!

Nordic Potato Salad Ingredients

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Potatoes:

The best potatoes for potato salads are the thin red-skinned or golden varieties (or any other waxy potato). These keep their shape better when boiled, and have a nice texture that is a good contrast to the creamy dill yogurt dressing and crispy vegetables.

If you use red or Yukon gold potatoes, you can also skip peeling them, which is a big time-saver and adds fiber and vitamins that you would lose if you peeled the potatoes. If you substitute russet potatoes, you should peel their thicker skins. Potato salad made with russets will have a softer, starchier texture.

Yogurt:

You can use plain homemade yogurt, or any unsweetened Greek or regular yogurt in this potato salad. If you don’t have yogurt or want an even richer, creamier potato salad, you can substitute sour cream or creme fraiche. Any of these will add a pleasant tang and creamy texture to the dressing.

Mayo:

Some people have VERY strong opinions about a condiment as mild-mannered as mayonnaise. I grew up with Hellman’s being the gold standard for “the good stuff”, though if you grew up in the southeast, Duke’s is king. Since this is a relatively simple recipe, the quality of ingredients matter, so don’t go the cheap route if you can afford it!

Homemade mayo is also a delicious choice, but keep it simple, using a light, neutrally flavored oil like canola or safflower, plus lemon and mustard. Olive oil mayo can be delicious, but will also overpower the other ingredients here or at least change the flavor profile significantly. Make sure you’re using pasteurized eggs, or very fresh eggs from a trusted source, and warn anyone who might need to know that there’s uncooked egg in your mayo if you go this route (it can be a concern for folks who are pregnant or immunocompromised, even if it’s relatively safe for most people). Be especially diligent about keeping your potato salad cold if you are using freshly made mayo!

Eggs:

My mom always used a generous amount of hard-boiled eggs in her potato salads, and that’s how I make mine too. You can reduce this slightly if you like, though if you also have chickens like we do, you’re probably always looking for recipes that use a lot of eggs!

They add protein and the cooked yolks add an extra creamy texture to the dressing. Some people grate or finely chop the eggs, but I prefer them diced, with discrete chunks of egg in the salad.

Celery:

The celery is essential, so don’t skip it or skimp on it! The small diced pieces of crunchy celery contrast with the softer potato and creamy dressing. It’s also an important flavor element in the salad.

I like to thinly slice skinnier pieces of celery into little half-moon shapes, but larger pieces I cut first into sticks (halves or thirds of a stalk, lengthwise) and dice finely. I include the inner celery leaves as well, but only use the nicer inner parts of the celery for your salad.

Trim any tough outer stalks and leaves, and save those, the trimmed base, tips, and very fibrous pieces of celery for the stockpot (or your freezer bag of trimmings for stock).

Make sure that you wash the celery well before chopping to remove any grit or dirt, especially from the base of the stalks.

Scallions:

Some people use minced or grated regular or sweet onions, but to my mind, green onions are key for a classic potato salad. They add a nice bright color along with a mild, bright onion note.

Wash them well, trim and discard the root ends and any tough or papery outer layers, and then slice them very thinly. You want a hint of subtle green onion flavor throughout the salad, not chunks! I use all of the whites and most of the green tops, saving any tough or wilted bits for the stock pot.

Lemon:

I love adding a bit of preserved lemon pickle to my potato salads, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute a tablespoon or two of lemon juice. If you are using fresh lemon, grate the zest before juicing the lemon, and add the finely chopped zest to the salad as well for an even brighter flavor.

Fresh Herbs & Seasonings:

Dill, chives, parsley, or a blend of these are all at home in this salad. I like to add a few spoonfuls of capers, but you can leave those out if you prefer.

Mustard:

Many potato salad recipes use yellow mustard. However, for this potato salad, you’ll want to use a more grainy, home style mustard or a mild Dijon instead to complement the fresh herbs and yogurt.

Kitchen Equipment Needed

Stock Pot & Strainer:

You’ll need a large pot to boil the potatoes, and a strainer to drain them. You’ll need another pot to boil the eggs (or to boil them first), or a steamer basket or tray that will fit over your potato pot if you’re steaming your eggs.

Large mixing and/or serving bowl:

You can mix and serve the salad in a large mixing bowl, or mix it in a large bowl and transfer it into another smaller bowl for serving.

How to Make Dill-Yogurt Potato Salad

wash and prep the potatoes:

• Scrub the potatoes and trim any green or soft spots. If you prefer, you can peel them, though I like to leave the peels on red or gold thin-skinned waxy potatoes.
• Rinse the eggs, or scrub them well if you are using farm-eggs and steaming them over your cooking potatoes.
• Wash the celery, herbs, and green onions, and let drain or pat dry with a clean towel.

cook potatoes and eggs:

• Boil potatoes in salted water & steam the eggs over the pot of boiling potatoes (or hard boil the eggs if you prefer).
• Steam the eggs for 9 minutes over the boiling potato pot, then shock them with cold water. Peel the eggs under gently running water.

chop eggs and make dressing:

• While the eggs and potatoes are steaming, prepare the veggies, herbs, and dressing.
• Dice the celery, herbs, and green onions, mince the herbs, and place them in a large salad bowl.
• Combine these the bowl with the mayo, yogurt or sour cream, mustard, herbs, and capers.
• Roughly chop the cooked and peeled eggs, and gently fold them into the dressing.

mix & chill potato salad:

• Drain and quickly rinse the potatoes with cold water to shock them and stop them from overcooking.
• Quarter or halve the potatoes to make bite-sized pieces, or cut into sixths if the potatoes are very large.
• Fold the potatoes gently into the large bowl with the veggies, eggs, and dressing until they’re well combined.
• Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
• You can serve this salad warm, but it’s best well-chilled. If you’d like a cold salad, make it at least two hours in advance and make sure to shock the potatoes well with cold water after cooking.

Storage & Serving Ideas

Chill the salad quickly and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Your homemade Nordic potato salad will be best if you can make it a day ahead of time, as this lets all of the flavors come together, and the dressing has time to soak into the potatoes.

You can make and refrigerate this dill-yogurt potato salad up to 4 days before serving. I have kept leftovers for up to a week, as long at they have always been refrigerated. This does not freeze well.

Chill the salad quickly after mixing, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving to make sure it’s thoroughly chilled. You can also serve this salad warm.

Discard any leftovers that sat out un-refrigerated on a buffet for more than two hours. If possible, keep your salad bowls on ice or in a cooler if you’re serving this at an outdoor BBQ or picnic!

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