I came back a week ago from the very cold Berlin, with the intention of posting winter recipes, but once I landed back our very warm country (Israel), I realized the winter recipes will have to wait. So until the “real” winter arrives, here’s a recipe for the most popular potato salad- aka Kartoffelsalat. The Germans don’t miss a chance to serve this salad as a side dish along with main courses from schnitzel to fish, and there are many different versions of this salad. The one here is my favorite version. If you serve this a side dish along with a main course it should feed up to 6 people, but if the salad is served on its own then it should serve 2-4 people according to their hunger level.

Ingredients for 2-6 servings:

• 2 pound (1 kilo) fingerling potatoes, thoroughly washed. Potatoes are easy to peel after they are cooked- the skin just slides off and the potato stays whole.
• 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced into circles
• ¼ cup chives, roughly chopped or two green onions sliced into thin rings

For the sauce:

• 7 oz. (200 grams) sour cream (using low fat will change the flavor of the recipe)
• ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar. For those who don’t love vinegar you can use only ¼ cup. I like the sweet taste of the vinegar, which adds a nice contrast to the spicy mustard, but you can also use white wine vinegar.
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 heaping teaspoon of mustard powder. Mustard powder can be bought in specialty stores if not found in regular supermarkets.
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a large bowl and set aside for later use. The mustard powder needs time to fully dissolve, and the spiciness of the mustard comes out only after a half hour- so that’s why the sauce is made even before cooking the potatoes.
2. Cook the potatoes in a large pot filled with water and 1 tablespoon of salt until they are soft, but still slightly firm. Transfer potatoes to strainer.
3. Allow the potatoes to chill for few minutes (not too much, they need to stay warm) and then peel the potatoes.
4. Slice the potatoes into 1 cm. circles and place in a bowl and add the cucumbers and chives.
5. Pour the sauce on top of the salad, mix until combined. Taste and season as necessary.