Mustard in the Potato Salad!

Tim Scallon/Nutritionist

My mother’s maiden name was Keim, and her family of 11 siblings was very proud of their German heritage. Every Thanksgiving, aunts and uncles and their kids would gather for a family reunion. They would travel from many different states to enjoy each other’s company. These gatherings characterized by lots of food and merrymaking were a great time for us kids to bond and play together. The Keim family was a hard-working people with many good traits. We kids noticed early on another trait. They loved to argue. The Keims could argue about anything. One of the more memorable recurring arguments was about potato salad. 

Potato salad is widely believed to have originated in Germany, spreading throughout Europe, the United States, and later Asia.  In Northern Germany, potato salad is served cold. It is typically made with mayonnaise, hard-boiled eggs and sweet or sour pickles. American-style potato salad is likely to have originated from this version brought to the U.S. by German immigrants during the nineteenth century. American-style potato salad is served cold. Ingredients often include mayonnaise or a comparable substitute such as yogurt, herbs, raw vegetables such as onion and celery and sometimes a little yellow mustard.  In Southern Germany potato salad is served warm and is made with a vinaigrette, rather than a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing, and typically includes bacon. This style of potato salad has a tart flavor from vinegar and mustard that is balanced by sugar.   This is what Americans would call German Potato Salad. Asian-style potato salad is similar to American-style, but has a sweeter and eggier flavor.

 In developing my German Potato Salad recipe, I am looking to replace the traditional bacon to reduce sodium, saturated fat and cholesterol without compromising flavor. The first choice is to replace the fatty, salty bacon with a lean center cut pork chop. The fresh pork has good flavor and is not cured with sodium. Next, I replace the bacon fat with olive oil to maintain flavor and provide a base for the dressing. In the dressing, I’m looking for a balance between the tart vinegar and mustard and the sweet honey or sugar. The amount of honey or sugar used can be adjusted to individual tastes. The key is balance. If you use sugar instead of honey which works well in this recipe, recall that honey is sweeter than sugar. Two teaspoons honey is equal to three teaspoons of sugar. In the end the recipe is still a little high in sodium although much reduced by replacing the bacon. However, the potatoes provide lots of potassium which offsets sodium in controlling blood pressure. And I think you will agree that the lean pork in the balanced vinaigrette is perfect with the fresh potatoes.

Although the Keim family had heated arguments about whether their mother put mustard in the potato salad, when the time came for goodbyes, all dissension was forgotten and everything was hugs and kisses until the next time. In honor of my maternal grandmother and of the traditional lively argument that was never resolved and further for future generations to know, I hereby state that I did put mustard in my potato salad!

Tim Scallon is a registered dietitian nutritionist with years of experience practicing nutrition therapy in local hospitals and clinics, teaching nutrition and developing healthy recipes. 

German Potato Salad

• Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe 
• Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 pounds red potatoes (4-5 medium size)
• ½ teaspoon salt for boiling potatoes
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 center cut pork chops (~10 oz), diced ¼ to ½ inch
• Dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder to season the pork
• ½ medium onion, diced
• 1-2 sticks celery, diced
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons honey (or 2-3 T sugar)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• ½ cup fresh parsley, diced

Directions:

Cut the potatoes into roughly 2-inch pieces of uniform size.  In a large pot of cold water and ½ teaspoon of salt, boil the potatoes just until barely fork tender, about 15-18 minutes.  Drain off the water, turn off the burner and return the potatoes to the hot burner uncovered to dry.  In a separate large pot or Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers.  Season the diced pork with salt, pepper and garlic powder and stir it into the hot oil to coat it and prevent it from sticking together.  Sauté, stirring until it is light brown and a little crispy, and all the liquid has evaporated off, ~10 minutes.  Reserve the pork to a plate leaving the flavorful drippings in the pot.   Add enough olive oil to bring the volume with the drippings to ~4 tablespoons.  Add the onion to the pot and sauté until soft, ~3 minutes while deglazing the pan scraping up bits of pork.  Add the celery and sweet pepper and sauté 1 minute more.  Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute.  Slowly stir into the onion sauté the vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper.  Cut the cooked potatoes into ½ inch slices.  Gently stir the potato slices into the sauté being careful not to break up the potatoes.  Mix carefully so that the potatoes are coated and absorb the flavor of the dressing.  Carefully stir in the pork and parsley.

Notes:  Lean pork replaces the traditional bacon.  Gold potatoes work well also.  Start the potatoes in cold water to promote uniform doneness.  Adjust the amount of honey to balance with the vinegar to suit your tastes.

Exchanges per serving: 1 Lean Meat, 2 Starches, 1 Vegetable, 2 Fats

Nutrients per serving: Calories:  299; Calories from fat:  112; Total Fat:  13g; Cholesterol:  26mg; Sodium:  481mg; Total Carbohydrate:  33g; Dietary Fiber:  4g; Protein:  14g