In this video, give your potato salad a bold upgrade with Chef John’s Chimichurri Potato Salad! This vibrant side dish swaps out traditional mayo for a fresh, garlicky chimichurri sauce packed with herbs, vinegar, and olive oil. Tossed with tender potatoes, it’s the perfect balance of tangy, herby, and savory—great for picnics, barbecues, or weeknight dinners.
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00:00Hello, this is Chef John from Foodwishes.com with Chimichurri Potato Salad.
00:09That's right, we're going to use this famously delicious Argentinian sauce to create one of the tastiest potato salad you've ever had.
00:16And while this gorgeous side dish would work in any setting, as I'll explain later, it's especially perfect for outdoor cookouts and picnics.
00:24But before we get to any party planning, we've got to peel some potatoes, which for me are going to be some russet, which I think is the best potato salad potato.
00:33Alright, once in a while I'll use Yukon Gold, but no potato variety soaks in a dressing quite like the russet does.
00:40And that's it, once we have our potatoes peeled and in some cold water, we will clean off our board and then cut these potatoes in half, and then each half in half to make quarters.
00:50And we want to take our time here and get these nice and uniform, since what we're going to do next is take each half, and we're going to start slicing across with our knife, cutting these pieces anywhere between a quarter and a half inch thick.
01:03Alright, for me personally, three-eighths of an inch is perfect.
01:07And for a lot of the potato salads we've posted, we've simply quartered the potatoes, and then cooked them, and then cut them up into bite-sized pieces.
01:14But for this style of potato salad, we're going to cut the potatoes first and then cook them.
01:19And the advantage of that is that our potatoes are going to cook faster, plus once cooked, they'll be ready to mix into our dressing without any further prep.
01:27But the disadvantage is, they're easy to overcook, so we're going to have to really pay attention to the cooking time.
01:34And that's it, once cut, we'll transfer those into a saucepan containing some nice cold fresh water.
01:40And then before we head to the stove, we need to do one of the most important steps of all.
01:44And that would be adding a couple tablespoons of kosher salt to the water, so our potatoes get a head start on the seasoning while they cook.
01:52And then what we'll do is place this on high heat and wait for it to come to a simmer.
01:56And once it does, we will back our heat down to medium-low, or whatever setting gets us a nice, slow, gentle simmer.
02:03Okay, when we're cooking potatoes this size, we don't want a rolling boil, since that can sometimes cause the corners of the potatoes to break off.
02:11And then as I mentioned earlier, we've got to be very careful not to overcook these.
02:14So we're going to want to test early and often.
02:18And what we're trying to do is catch these when they're just perfectly tender, but not yet falling apart.
02:23And we want to feel the tip of that knife going in with almost no pressure.
02:26And right here, those were feeling perfect to me.
02:29And once they do, we'll go ahead and drain those very well.
02:33And then we'll simply let them sit in the strainer cooling down until they're just barely warm.
02:37Which is the perfect temperature for mixing with the dressing.
02:41Which, by the way, is what we'll make while we wait for our potatoes to cool.
02:46And for that, we will add three, or four, peeled garlic cloves to a blender cup, or a regular blender.
02:52Followed by some dry chili flakes.
02:55Some cumin.
02:56Some freshly ground black pepper.
02:59Some kosher salt.
03:00As well as some dried oregano.
03:02And then besides that, we're going to need a good amount of olive oil.
03:05As well as some kind of wine vinegar.
03:08And I'm going to use champagne vinegar.
03:10Even though red wine vinegar is more traditional with chimichurri sauce.
03:14But I love that little bit of sweetness the champagne vinegar features.
03:17Which is why I think it works so well in this.
03:20And that's it.
03:21We'll finish up with a few shakes of cayenne.
03:23Before we go ahead and blend this smooth.
03:26And then once that's set, we'll finish our dressing up with some nice fresh herbs.
03:30Which, for me, will include some fresh oregano.
03:33Followed by some nice fresh cilantro.
03:36And for this, we can use the leaves and the stems.
03:39And then the same thing goes for the Italian parsley.
03:41And we will be adding an entire bunch.
03:44Which, as you're about to see, is just barely going to fit into this cup.
03:47But that's fine, because once we start blending this, it's going to break down.
03:52And we will eventually have plenty of room.
03:54And by the way, if there's other things you put in your chimichurri sauce that you'd like to add to this, go ahead.
03:59I mean, you are, after all, the ava perone of what's going on.
04:04But I will say this came out so perfectly, I would probably not mess with the recipe too much.
04:09And that's it once we have our fresh herbs mixed in.
04:12And everything's been fairly finely pureed.
04:15We will take that and pour it over our now just barely warm potatoes.
04:20And then we'll grab a spatula and give this a thorough mix.
04:23And you know how some recipes where you use a fresh herb sauce look super nice and super green and very vibrant when you start.
04:29But then by the time you serve, that nice bright green color has faded, and things are looking kind of drab.
04:36Well, that is not going to happen with this.
04:38This salad's going to stay beautifully green for at least a day, and maybe even longer.
04:44Which probably won't matter, since this is probably going to be gone in a day.
04:48But anyway, once that's mixed, we can give it a quick taste before we wrap it up.
04:53Just to make sure we're kind of close with the salt content.
04:55But like pretty much all potato salads, we will do our final tasting and adjusting right before we're going to serve this.
05:02Which could be immediately, but personally I do prefer to wrap this up and refrigerate it for a couple hours.
05:08Just to give our ingredients a little bit of time to mingle and develop their flavors.
05:13So that's what I did.
05:14At which point I pulled it out and unwrapped it, and we'll give it a taste.
05:19And while it was very, very close, I did think it needed another pinch of salt.
05:23So I tossed that in, along with the last ingredient, which is a couple tablespoons of freshly sliced chives.
05:30And we'll go ahead and mix that in.
05:33And by the way, pro tip, this is not a salad I would serve ice cold.
05:37So I'm going to suggest we do this at least an hour before we serve.
05:41So our dressing has a little bit of time to warm up slightly.
05:44Which I think improves the texture and flavor.
05:46But anyway, once that's been mixed up, we'll give it a final taste, or two to double check.
05:53And once we do determine it's perfect, and this was, we can transfer that onto our serving dish,
05:59and garnish with some flowering herbs, and maybe scatter a few more freshly sliced chives over the top.
06:05And that's it.
06:06Our chimichurri potato salad is ready to enjoy.
06:09And that, my friends, if you like chimichurri sauce, and you like potato salads,
06:15and if you don't, it's very strange that you're still watching.
06:18But assuming you enjoy those two things, or you just like anything with lots of garlic and herbs,
06:23this is going to be one of your new favorite foods.
06:26Okay, this is comforting and satisfying like all potato salads.
06:29But at the same time, the flavors are very vibrant, and obviously herbaceous, and very garlicky,
06:36with that little hint of pepper in the background.
06:38And as I mentioned earlier, that little touch of sweetness in the champagne vinegar,
06:42I think perfectly balances all these bold ingredients.
06:46Oh, and I should mention, if you just have to have mayo in your potato salad,
06:49you could certainly mix a big old spoon into this,
06:52and it would become a little richer and a little creamier, but still very delicious.
06:56But having said that, I really don't think it needs it.
07:00And since this doesn't contain any mayo, or other perishable ingredients,
07:04it is absolutely perfect for any warm-weather picnics or cookouts,
07:08since this salad tastes great chilled, room temp, or even a little bit warm.
07:13And above and beyond that, this would be perfect paired with anything you'd serve at a cookout or a barbecue or picnic,
07:19like a grilled chicken churrasco, which I really should show you how to make in an upcoming video.
07:23But no matter what you serve this with, it is beautiful, delicious, and easy to make.
07:29And I really do hope you give it a try soon.
07:32So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts,
07:35a printable written recipe, and much more info as usual.
07:39And as always, enjoy!
07:43Thank you for listening!
07:59Thank you!