Mama always made a potato salad to die for. However, after over fifty years of trying to duplicate it with no success, I turned to other recipes and have found some delightful ones. None of them has come to the level of Cottage Cheese Potato Salad.
How many like cottage cheese…in potato salad? My answer, until I tried this beauty, would have been ‘Are you kidding me?”. Then one day, I found cottage cheese, originally bought for lasagna, sitting in the refrigerator, without another lasagna ingredient in sight. The challenge was on. First I looked up recipes for potato salad and found one. Made it and did not like it.
Using that recipe as a base, adding favorite go tos, I discovered a potato salad that was creamy and luscious and well on its way to becoming the number one potato salad in my recipe folder.
INGREDIENTS:
6 lg unpeeled red potatoes diced small
10 green onions or 2 well-chopped leeks
2 c. mayo
1 Tblsp Dijon mustard
1 24-oz carton small curd cottage cheese
1 lg. tomato, diced fine
Several leaves of fresh basil chopped fine
2 stalks celery chopped fine
3 boiled eggs chopped to taste
3/4 tsp. dill (I adore dill; you might want less)
Bacon crumbles (optional) (I am one of the few who does not like bacon in everything, so I put the crumbles on the side)
Salt and Pepper to taste (for those who watch their salt, have discovered the Mrs. Dash Table Seasoning does a fab job of substituting)
Chop and boil potatoes until almost tender in water. Drain and allow to steam for a couple of minutes. I prefer not to salt the water, but you may like it saltier than my family.
The original recipe suggested layers, which works well if potatoes are sliced instead of diced. I prefer diced and adding all ingredients together, except salt and pepper. Once all ingredients are stirred together, THEN salt and pepper to taste.
REFRIGERATE Overnight. Stir once more when ready to serve. I found cottage cheese does not affect the tastes except to make it much creamier than mayo alone.
This is one of those salads people keep going back to until it’s gone.