Swabian Potato Salad (Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat)

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in their skins in salted water until a knife slides in with only slight resistance, 20 to 25 minutes depending on size. Do not overcook them. A potato that falls apart makes mush, not salad.
2. Drain, and peel them while they are still hot enough to be uncomfortable. The skins come away easily now and will not later.
3. Slice into rounds about 4 mm thick, straight into a wide bowl.
4. Whisk the hot broth with the onion, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Pour it over the still-warm potatoes and turn gently.
5. Leave for at least 30 minutes. The potatoes drink the broth, and this is the whole point of the dish. It looks far too wet at first and comes right as it stands.
6. Add the oil and turn again, gently. Taste for salt and vinegar. Finish with chives.

Notes

• Beef broth is the traditional version and is not vegetarian. Most Swabian kitchens use Rinderbrühe, and it does give a rounder, meatier dressing. Vegetable broth is what is listed here so the salad is vegetarian as written. If you use beef broth, make it a good strong one and stop calling the dish vegetarian.
• Warm potatoes and hot broth are not negotiable. Cold potatoes will not absorb, and you end up with dressing in the bottom of the bowl.
• Serve at room temperature, never fridge-cold.
• Some households finish with a spoon of the water from a jar of pickles. It is a good idea.
• This is the salad that belongs beside Zwiebelrostbraten, and it is one component of a proper Schwäbischer Salatteller.

Good with

• Käsespätzle (Swabian cheese noodles)
• Swabian Salad Plate

From Christoph Mayer