Three Generation Oregon Potato Salad

My maternal grandmother, Margaret Kurth Schubring, was a terrific cook. She rarely used a recipe, and potato salad was one of her classics. James Beard, in his study of regional American cooking, identified Oregon potato salad as having its own unique characteristics. His recipe calls for vinegar to make it tangy, but Grandma used sweet pickle juice as did my mom, and now me.  I’ve lightened the calorie load a little by replacing half of the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt. I also replaced the black pepper with white pepper, and the paprika with dill weed.

Even though this recipe makes a large bowl of salad, it doesn’t take long to disappear, it’s so delicious. Make the salad the day before eating.

Servings: 8  Serving size: 1/2 cup  Preparation time: 50-60 minutes

Ingredients 4 medium potatoes boiled and peeled 4 large eggs, boiled ¼ cup celery, diced ½ cup green onion, chopped ¼ cup sweet pickles, chopped *¼cup mayonnaise ¼cup plain Greek yogurt ¼ cup prepared yellow mustard ¼ cup milk ​¼ cup sweet pickle juice 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt Dash white pepper 2 Tablespoons dill weed ½ cup curly or flat-leaf parsley sprigs ​for decoration

Directions 1. Coarsely dice cooked potatoes and place in a large mixing bowl. 2. Slice eggs.  Set aside enough nice-looking slices with which to decorate the top. 3. Add chopped celery, onion, and pickles. ​4. In a separate bowl, mix together the mayo, yogurt, milk, sweet pickle juice, mustard, brown sugar, salt, and white pepper to make a dressing. 5. Pour the dressing over the potato mixture and stir until all the potato pieces are moist. 6. Chill the salad overnight as well as the sliced eggs and parsley. 7. The next day, adjust seasonings (I usually add more pickles juice and salt), and turn into a serving bowl. Decorate with the sliced eggs, sprinkling of dill weed, and sprigs of parsley.

​I hope you enjoy this recipe. Let me know if you’ve tried it and how it turns out. 

Good cooking to you,

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