Roasted Garlic Potato Salad
A new twist on an old favorite. The combination of roasted garlic and balsamic vinegar creates a rich, earthy flavor that will make your guests come back for more.
Roasted Garlic Potato Salad
Ingredients:
5 pounds Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, scrubbed
8 eggs, boiled, peeled and separated
2 heads garlic
2 1/2 cups real mayonnaise
2/3 cup prepared yellow mustard
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups chopped celery, including leaves
2 cups chopped red onion
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Olive oil
Coarse (sea or kosher) salt
Freshly ground black pepper
White pepper
Directions:
First, roast the garlic: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lay a large piece of aluminum foil over a pie pan or baking sheet. Cut off the top 1/2-inch of the heads of garlic and remove most of the outer papery husks. To do this easily, lightly moisten your thumb and forefinger and briskly rub the head of garlic. The husks should adhere to your fingers and peel off. Do not separate the individual cloves. Place on the foil, and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap foil up and around garlic, forming a tightly sealed packet. Bake for 1 hour. Turn oven off, and leave the garlic in the warm oven for another 30 minutes (do not open the door). Remove, carefully open packet and let cool.
Remove the garlic from the jackets and place in a medium bowl. A knife is handy for slitting open the jackets, and if you keep the meat intact, they should slip right out. Pour any olive oil left in the foil packet into the bowl as well. Mash with a fork.
Meanwhile, while garlic is cooking and/or cooling, boil the potatoes: Bring a large (enough to hold the potatoes and water to cover) stock pot of water to a brisk boil. Add potatoes, whole, and boil over medium-high heat until just fork-tender (about 20 minutes). Do not overcook! Drain potatoes in a colander, rinsing with lots of cold water. When cool enough to handle, peel and chop into bite- sized pieces. Place in a large mixing bowl. Chop egg whites, and add these along with celery and onion to the potatoes. Toss to evenly distribute.
Place egg yolks in the same bowl you mashed the garlic. Mash the yolks and garlic together, forming a paste. Add mayonnaise, mustard, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp white pepper. Stir to mix thoroughly. Fold into potato mixture, making sure everything is coated evenly. Check the seasonings and chill for at least two hours or overnight.
Notes: Do not boil the potatoes already peeled and/or chopped. They absorb too much of the cooking liquid, and your salad will become a watery mess. And besides, the whole potatoes are much easier to peel after they are cooked! Although this recipe is some work (baking, boiling, chopping, peeling) it tastes best when cooked all in one session, as the warm potatoes absorb more flavor than chilled potatoes, and the freshly-cooked egg yolks mash better than cold ones. You may chop the celery and onions ahead of time.
