This potato salad recipe offers a fun twist on the classic picnic side, bringing together a great mix of flavors, colors, and textures. It starts with tender red potatoes, which serve as the perfect base for a medley of crunchy veggies like celery, red onion, and green onion. A hard-boiled egg and fresh tomato offer additional substance, and the dressing made from a blend of mayonnaise, honey mustard, and tangy ingredients coats everything in a rich, savory-sweet flavor. Fresh dill and parsley, along with a hint of celery seed and a dash of pepper, complete the salad.
What’s a Calico Salad?
A calico salad is a visually appealing dish named for its resemblance to the multi-colored patches of calico fabric. It is not a single recipe, but a type of salad defined by its use of at least three distinct, colorful ingredients. This can be a combination of different beans like kidney, navy, and black beans, or a mix of colorful vegetables such as bell peppers, corn, and onions. Some variations may also include grains to make the salad more substantial. Just as with this potato salad, the ingredients are brought together with a simple, flavorful dressing, typically a vinaigrette, and the salad is chilled to allow the flavors to fully meld before serving.
This potato salad gets is calico pop of color from its red tomato, onion and potato skins; its green onion, celery, parsley, and dill; with just a touch of yellow from the egg and dressing.
Our family plans to enjoy this salad alongside BBQ pork loin, with a simple kale salad added to round out the menu. It’s summer’s last hoorah! Happy Labor Day!
Calico Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1½ lb red potatoes, diced
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- ¼ cup red onion, sliced
- 1 egg, hard boiled and chopped
- 1 tomato, diced (or a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved)
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, minced
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp honey mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- salt to taste
Directions
- Cook the Potatoes: Place the 1 1/2 pounds of red potatoes in a large stockpot and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. This should take about 16-20 minutes, depending on the size of your potato chunks.
- Prepare the Salad Base: While the potatoes are cooking, chop the celery, green onions, and red onion, dice the tomato, and chop the hard-boiled egg. Roughly chop the fresh dill and parsley. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and let them cool slightly. Place the cooled potatoes in a large serving bowl along with the chopped celery, green onions, red onion, hard-boiled egg, diced tomato, and fresh dill. Set this mixture aside.
- Make the Dressing and Combine: In a separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients: 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon honey mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon honey. Add the 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon celery seed to the dressing as well. Add salt to taste. Pour the dressing over the potato mixture in the serving bowl. Gently toss everything together until the potatoes and other ingredients are fully coated.
- Serve: For best results, chill the salad in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld together. Before serving, you can garnish with the fresh parsley.
Clover and Thyme 