First I washed and scrubbed the potatoes. I wanted to leave the skin on, so wanted to make sure I got all the dirt off! In this picture you can see the more vibrant skin with pink streaks.
Although Farmer Tom had suggested steaming, I thought briefly about boiling them instead. But, I pulled out my steamer and went ahead and steamed them. My sister-in-law says I have more specialized, dedicated cooking appliance than anyone she knows.
Maybe, but this Rival Steamer was a wedding gift (almost 32 years ago! And steams corn on the cob and asparagus perfectly every time, and it keeps the kitchen cool and doesn't take up a burner when I am making other things. I liked it so much that when my first one died after 20 some years, I bought another.
Perfectly steamed, I put them in the fridge until later.
Tom also suggested garlic oil in the dressing. Well, you guessed it, I don't have any garlic oil. So I sliced a few cloves of garlic and put them in two tablespoons of olive oil to let the garlic infuse the oil all day.
Then an online friend suggested that I warm the oil with the garlic, not letting the garlic brown, to get even more garlic flavor. And so I did.
Later I cut the potatoes into chunks. And tasted a few. Steaming was the better idea after all (Thanks Tom!) because the potatoes were perfectly cooked and not soggy. And seriously, if you ever see Purple Vikings, buy them. These potatoes need nothing. Not salt, not butter, nothing. They are so good!
For the dressing Tom suggested 2 Tablespoons brown mustard, 2 Tablespoons Mayo, 2 Tablespoons garlic oil, and salt and pepper. I didn't have brown mustard but I did have a small jar of Maine Made Champagne Mustard that was given to me as a Christmas gift. It was really good, and that is what I used.
Whisked, it made a flavorful dressing for the salad. It was hard to not lick the bowl. So I used a spatula instead.
Walla Walla sweet onions were in the CSA share the last few weeks, so I took a medium onion and sliced it in thin slivers per Tom's instructions. I didn't have the cutting celery he listed, so I used fresh parsley from the share instead. Okay, so I made a lot of substitutions. it's still delicious.
All mixed together, and in the fridge now, letting those flavors meld.
Purple Viking Potato Salad
2 - 2 1/2 lbs Purple Viking Potatoes
1 medium Walla Walla onion
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Dressing
2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise (I used Hellman's)
2 Tablespoons brown mustard, or Dijon mustard, or, I used Stonewall Kitchen's Champagne mustard2 Tablespoons garlic oil
Freshly ground salt and pepper
Steam the potatoes in their skin. Let them cool, and cut in chunks--not too big and not too small.
Halve, then quarter the onion, then slice into thin slivers.
Chop parsley or cutting celery.
Whisk together dressing ingredients.
Fold everything together, cover, and put in the refrigerator to let those flavors meld.
Thanks again Farmer Tom!