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YIELDS:

12 servings

PREP TIME:

0 hours 20 mins

COOK TIME:

0 hours 20 mins

TOTAL TIME:

1 hours 40 mins
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ingredients

1-½ Lbs. red, white and blue baby potatoes, cut in half length wise, then sliced across into thirds.

32 Oz. carton of chicken or vegetable stock

2 Tsps. Kosher salt, plus more to season the finished salad

1 ½ Tbs. apple cider vinegar

4 Green onions sliced, dark green separated from the white and light green parts
(save about 1 tablespoon of the dark green tops for garnish)

2 Celery stalks, finely chopped

½ Red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 Gherkins sweet pickles, finely chopped

3 Tbsp. chopped chives, separated

3 Slices of bacon-cooked crisp, crumbled

¼ Cup light mayonnaise

¼ Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Salt and Pepper to taste

Baby Bibb lettuce or other mixed lettuces to serve (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1.Place the cut potatoes and 2 teaspoons of salt into the cold or room temperature stock. Put the heat to medium high and cook until the potatoes are just cooked through. About 20-30 minutes. (See notes below) 

2. Cut and chop your celery, red bell pepper, green onion, chives and pickles. Put 1 tablespoon of the dark green tops of the onion, 1 tablespoon of the red bell pepper and 1 tablespoon of the chives to the side. You’ll use that to garnish the salad at the end. Put the rest of the mixture in a bowl.

3. Mix the mayonnaise and yogurt in a mixing cup or small bowl and put to the side.

4. Scoop out a cup of the cooking liquid (stock) from the pot and put it to the side. Drain your potatoes well and add to a large bowl.  

5. Mix 4 tablespoons of the reserved cooking stock and the cider vinegar in a small bowl and add to the potatoes. Stir so all the potatoes are well coated. Let that mixture sit for at least ten minutes to let the potatoes absorb the liquid. After that time, if there is any excess liquid in the bowl, drain it off.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste. The key here is to taste. Then, add all the chopped veggies & pickle (except the vegetables you put to the side for garnish). Toss everything again (carefully so you don’t break the potatoes). Taste again. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

7. Add the mayo and yogurt mixture a couple of heaping tablespoons at a time and mix. While you can use the entire mixture, I find that sometimes I don’t need all of it (depending on the size of the potatoes). So, add and taste until satisfied. Season again if necessary.

8. Put in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

9. Cook the bacon until super crispy. Drain on paper towels. Crumble into small pieces.

10. Place the lettuce on a platter and the potato salad on top. Garnish with the bell pepper, the green onion and the chives. Sprinkle the bacon on top. Enjoy. 

NOTE: I grew up in NYC and enjoyed deli style potato salad all the time. While I still love it, I’ve learned to really lighten it up using light mayo and fat free Greek yogurt (FAGE is my go to yogurt) as my base and by using a lot less of it. I load up the salad with lots of good for you veggies and use tri color potatoes for a nice dose of color. Cooking my potatoes in stock really ups the flavor and becomes my secret ingredient here. A little trick: cut your chives with a scissor! It makes the job so much easier and you can just snip those chives right over the salad.

There are several twists in the recipe starting with the tri color potatoes, the smaller cut of potatoes, cooking in stock and lightening it up with fat free yogurt and light mayo. As with all my recipes, feel free to use full fat products, different veggies or all white potatoes. While I’m lightened this up by just using bacon as a garnish, if you don’t eat pork or want to lighten it up more, just omit it. It tastes just as great without it. The same goes for the stock used. If you are vegan, use vegetable stock. Don’t have stock at home? Just use water and add a little more salt.

TIPS: watch those potatoes as they cook and test often. You just want the potatoes to be cooked through. You don’t want them soft, mushy or falling apart. So, once your fork can go through them fairly easily, taste one to be sure it isn’t hard (you might have to taste a couple of times). This is the key to the perfect potato salad. Also, taste, taste, taste. Check your seasoning several times throughout the preparation so you know if you need more salt and pepper. This is a great recipe so put in the little extra time and stand back for the applause!)