This hearty dill and potato salad is like grandma’s: it’s packed with fresh herbs and seasoned with olive oil and vinegar.
Dill is often overshadowed by basil, but it’s one of the tastiest herbs out there. Every year we grow dill in our garden and I always look forward to finding ways to use it. And this Dill Potato Salad is a hit. Think flavorful potatoes dipped in a naturally creamy olive oil and vinegar sauce, crunchy fresh herbs and salted capers to top it all off. Like the German potato salad I grew up with, this dill potato salad comes with no dairy to speak of, which also makes it vegan and plant-based. And man is it delicious! He disappeared from us very quickly. Here are our secrets!
The secrets of a good potato salad with dill
Alex and I modeled this Dill Potato Salad on our Julia Child-inspired French Potato Salad. It’s a potato salad without mayonnaise: a simple sauce made with olive oil and vinegar. Well, the way the spice is added to the potatoes makes for a naturally creamy, gooey texture. Here’s what Julia Child taught us about the best way to make a strong-flavored dill potato salad:
- First boil the whole potatoes until tender. Drain and let cool, then when cool enough to touch, cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Place the hot potatoes in a bowl and toss them with white wine vinegar, shallot, kosher salt, and here’s the kicker: ½ cup lukewarm water. Leave this mixture on for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The potatoes soak up the water and a liquid sauce forms! (If you didn’t add water, the potatoes would just dry out.)
- After the resting time, add the olive oil, capers and herbs and stir. The potatoes will continue to break down a bit and form a sticky texture.
How to grow herbs
Dill is a fantastic herb to grow at home. When it’s growing season and you have room for pots on a sunny ledge, you can grow dill! Or if you have a garden, even better. Dill needs full sun: it’s easy to add it to a pot with other herbs like basil, chives, oregano, and thyme (our favorites!). For more information on growing herbs, see How to Grow Herbs.
The best dill recipes
As I mentioned above, Alex and I are huge dill fans! It’s grassy, it’s summery and the flavor evokes feelings of flip flops and hot summer afternoons (at least for me)! Aside from that Dill Potato Salad, here are the best dill recipes we have:
- Pickled cucumber salad: The true definition of summer! This salad consists of sliced cucumbers and onions in a flavorful vinegar sauce punctuated with dill leaves.
- Quick dill pickles from the fridge: What’s a more classic dill recipe than pickles? It’s our favorite pickle from the fridge that makes a snap.
- yogurt and dill sauce This yogurt dill sauce is based on the traditional Greek tzatziki but without the pickle for simplicity. It’s perfect for dipping veggie balls and topping falafel burgers.
- Dill Green Bean Potato Salad: Here’s another potato salad with dill; This contains green beans and feta cheese.
- Bean salad with dill: Another great summer salad: bean salad garnished with dill.
- Cucumber and dill sandwiches: What’s better for a picnic than cucumber and dill sandwiches? These mini sandwiches are topped with cream cheese and garnished with cucumber sprigs and dill.
This Dill Potato Salad recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free and vegan.
The description
This hearty dill and potato salad is like grandma’s: it’s packed with fresh herbs and seasoned with olive oil and vinegar.
- 3 Pound small yellow potatoes
- ¼ cup chopped shallot (approx 1 large)
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 3 Green onions, optional
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup capers, drained
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Ground fresh pepper
- Fill a large saucepan with cold water and add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Add the whole potatoes and bring to a boil. When it boils, cook for about 5-8 minutes, depending on size. Cook until tender with a fork (taste test to confirm).
- Chop the shallot. Finely chop the dill and parsley. If using, thinly slice the spring onions.
- When the potatoes are done, drain. When cool enough to touch, cut into bite-sized pieces. Place the potatoes in a bowl and gently mix together the chopped shallot, white wine vinegar, kosher salt, and ½ cup warm water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes, stirring gently from time to time. The potatoes absorb the water as they are.
- Add dill, parsley, scallions, drained capers, olive oil and a few black peppercorns. Taste and add additional salt if needed (we added ¼ tsp more). Serve warm or at room temperature.
Remarks
Inspired by The way to cook by Julia Kind
- Category: salad
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: American
Keywords: Potato salad with dill, potato salad with vinegar
Looking for more salad recipes?
Aside from this chopped salad recipe, here are some of our favorite salads from A Couple Cooks:
