It’s no wonder that the potato is a staple of many a world cuisine. Other than the top Asian food cultures, the potato is the mainstay of most diets and forms the carbohydrate base for main meals and snacks all over the world. The versatility of this humble tuber is unrivalled in the vegetable world and it makes its way to lunch, tea, dinner and supper tables mashed, boiled, pureed, creamed, chipped, baked, roasted, sautéed, matchsticked, and gratinated.

The sheer variety of potato dishes globally is immeasurable but one that makes a frequent occurrence in many countries is potato salad. A potato salad recipe makes a great presence at a barbecue or buffet and it wouldn’t be surprising that plenty of families have a potato salad recipe handed down through generations.

At it’s very basic, potato salad is potatoes in a creamy dressing but there are many variations of the recipe. Here‘s a selection of potato salad recipes to tickle your taste buds:

Traditional potato salad recipe

3lb waxy potatoes
1 medium onion
1-2 teaspoon onion salt, to taste
½ teaspoon celery salt
1 cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup cider vinegar

• Peel, dice and cook the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water
• Peel and chop the onion
• Drain the potatoes and allow to cool slightly
• In a large bowl combine the potatoes and onion
• Mix together the mayonnaise, cider vinegar, celery salt and onion salt
• Add to the potato mix
• Mix gently to combine all the ingredients
• Add pepper if required
• Cover and refrigerate
• Serve chilled

Red potato salad recipe:

6 large red skinned potatoes
½ cup plain yoghurt
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

• Scrub the potatoes
• Leaving the skin on, cut into large chunks
• Boil potatoes until tender in lightly salted water
• Strain and dry on kitchen towel
• When slightly cool, cut into ½ inch chunks
• In a large bowl put together the potatoes, yoghurt, sour cream and chives
• Mix together gently
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Cover and refrigerate
• Serve chilled

Here’s an updated version of the traditional potato salad recipe for special occasions:

Best ever potato salad recipe:

450g (1lb) Jersey Royals
4 spring onions
50ml (2fl oz) light hot chicken stock
3 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp crème fraîche
2 tbsp chopped parsley

• Boil potatoes until tender
• Finely chop the spring onions
• Drain the potatoes and cut them to your preferred size and shape
• Whilst still warm put them into a bowl with the chicken stock
• Lightly stir
• Leave to cool for just a short time and allow the potatoes to absorb some of the stock
• Whilst the potatoes are still slightly warm, drain off the excess stock
• Add the crème fraîche, mayonnaise, spring onions and parsely
• Season to taste
• Gently mix until it’s well combined
• Serve at room temperature