A Twist on Potato Salad

There are a million ways to make potato salad but most of them boil (pun intended) down to the same basics—potatoes and mayo. But I have fallen in love with a spice and it's delish in potato salad. It's smoked paprika. I think Penseys sent it as a freebee in my last order. I had ignored it until I was making fried chicken for an upcoming book. On a whim, I used the smoked paprika. There was no going back. Life would never be the same. I have been adding it to everything.

Smoked paprika adds a huge punch of flavor. In fact, I emailed Lucy right away because while I used salt in this recipe, it's so flavorful that it could compensate for lack of salt in a lot of dishes.

There are two other things that I love about this recipe. No peeling the potatoes! What a time saver. Cut them up and pop them into the water to cook. How easy is that? Not a soul even mentioned the fact that the peels were still on.

And this recipe really should be made a day ahead so the smoked paprika can do its thing. I love that! It makes life so much easier when we can cook major dishes a day ahead of time. That means more time to spend with guests and less to worry about the next day.

Smoked Paprika Potato Salad

(makes enough to feed a small crowd)

6-7 large red potatoes (about 4 pounds), leave peel ON
salt
3-4 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 large onion
1 cup sweet and sour pickles (adjust to taste)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup pickle juice (from pickle jar)
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon sugar

Put on a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into small cubes. When it boils, add the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt. Turn the heat down and simmer about 20 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the potatoes. Drain and allow to cool.

Chop the eggs, onion, and pickles. Add to cooled potatoes and mix. Whisk together the mayonnaise, pickle juice, mustard, paprika, and sugar. Pour over potatoes and stir.

This should be made ahead. Simply cover and refrigerate overnight.

Cut the potatoes, no need to peel them.

Add chopped eggs, onion, and pickles.

Mix mayo, pickle juice, paprika, sugar, and mustard.

Pour over potatoes.

Potato salad does not make a pretty picture but it sure tastes great!