Grilled meat with potato salad is a staple for the summer holidays in nearly every household in America! Just in time for the 4th, here is our favorite, much requested, Roasted Potato Salad recipe! I got this recipe from my dear friend, Nancy, years ago - and she got it from a cooking show on TV I think. So I’m not entirely sure who to credit for this but it IS delicious!

It contains bacon and tarragon - both of these are optional but really, should you EVER leave out the bacon in a recipe? I think not, but you do you! I always set aside a serving of this before adding the tarragon because my Mom doesn’t care for the flavor of tarragon, so she gets her own individual tarragon-free portion.

The secret to this, besides the bacon of course(!), is roasting the potatoes until they are golden. The dressing is essentially a homemade mayonnaise - which is super simple if you have a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor OR you need an arm workout, it can be done with vigorous whisking for about 8 minutes. Mayonnaise is made by emulsifying oil into egg, and making your own mayonnaise is addictive because then you can flavor it any way you like! I’ve added different fruit flavored jams (apricot is a fave), or honey and lime when I want something a titch sweet for a chicken salad that includes fruit and nuts. This potato salad uses a tangy mustard and scallion flavored mayonnaise - which would also be a delicious dressing for egg salad or chicken salad, I think!

Roasted Potato Salad Recipe

Ingredients

Potatoes ~ 3 lbs red potatoes or however much you need to feed your crew (this recipe makes more than a cup of the dressing)

1 Vidalia onion, chopped

8 slices bacon (or more!), cooked to crisp and crumbled (optional, but not really!)

fresh tarragon, chopped, 1 tbsp or to taste (optional)

1 egg

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

2 tbsp coarse mustard

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra to roast potatoes

fresh lemon juice from one lemon

salt to taste

Directions

If you use red potatoes or baby potatoes, these do not need to be peeled, just cut into chunks. Toss with a dash of olive oil and some sea salt and roast at 450’ for 30 minutes until brown (turning occasionally).

Try not to eat all the roasted potatoes. They are delicious on their own - you might want to make some extra!

Make the dressing. In the bowl of a food processor, combine egg, garlic, scallions, and mustard and whirl to mix. Combine the oils, with the machine running drizzle in the oil slowly. It will magically thicken and turn to mayonnaise! When it does it is done! Squeeze in a little lemon juice and whirl to combine.

In a large bowl toss potatoes, onion, and bacon. Add a generous amount of dressing. Add tarragon if desired. Add salt to taste.

Enjoy!

Happy Fourth of July!