Salt and vinegar potato salad a healthier riff on chips

This crowd-pleaser complements other dishes at cookouts, picnics.

If you love the puckery flavor of salt-and-vinegar potato chips as much as I do, this salad is for you. In it, boiled new potatoes are cut into bite-size pieces, then doused in white wine vinegar while they are still warm so the acid can infuse them optimally. That covers the vinegar side of the flavor duo — the salinity comes not only from the salt itself, but also from dill pickle, which also brings a measure of tangy acidity.

You might be wondering how a recipe featuring salt and potatoes could possibly be good-for-you, so let me explain. For one, potatoes are more inherently healthful than you probably realize. They are an excellent source of fiber, vitamin C and potassium, plus they have vitamin B6, and minerals such as iron and calcium. Keeping their skins on, as in this recipe, retains about half the potatoes’ fiber.

A big reason potatoes get a bad rap is because they can cause spikes in blood sugar, but this recipe helps keep that in check two ways. First, the vinegar adds enlivening flavor, and it helps reduce the glycemic impact of starches (in potatoes and other foods) by slowing their absorption. Second, while you can enjoy this salad warm or chilled, when refrigerated, some of the starch in potatoes (and in other foods, such as rice and pasta) turns to a type called resistant starch, which is “resistant” to digestion, so it has a lower blood sugar impact, and actually becomes food for healthy gut bacteria. As for the salt, there is enough in the recipe to wake up the other flavors and justify the recipe’s name, but it’s still a modest amount as potato salads go.

But don’t just make this salad because it’s healthful. Make it because it is so darn delicious. Those satisfying, skin-on spuds, brightened with vinegar, salt and pickles, get tossed with a drizzle of olive oil for balancing richness, crisp slices of red onion and fresh dill fronds to complete the picture for a crowd-pleasing salad that is sure to complement the other offerings and bring smiles to any picnic or cookout.*

SALT AND VINEGAR POTATO SALAD

Storage Notes: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

1 ½ pounds medium new red potatoes, or other waxy potatoes, scrubbed and left unpeeled

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon white

wine vinegar

½ teaspoon fine salt

¼ cup finely chopped dill pickle

¼ cup thinly sliced red onion (halfmoons)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh

dill fronds

Place the potatoes in a medium pot and add cold water to cover by about 1 inch. Set the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer until the potatoes are easily pierced with a knife or skewer but still have some resistance, about 15 minutes. Drain and when the potatoes are cool enough to handle but still warm, cut into bite-size wedges and transfer to a large bowl.

Sprinkle the warm potatoes with the vinegar and the salt and toss to combine. Add the pickle, onion, oil and dill and toss to combine.

Serve warm, at room temperature or refrigerate until needed. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information (3/4 cup): Calories: 143; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 270 mg; Carbohydrates: 19 g; Dietary Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 2 g; Protein: 2 g

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.

PHOTO FOR THE WASHINGTON POST BY TOM MCCORKLE.