Brazilian Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• 2.2 pounds Idaho® potatoes, washed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• a good pinch of salt, plus enough to taste
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 clove of garlic, minced and mashed into a paste
• ¼ large white onion, finely grated
• ½ cup chopped pitted kalamata or green olives, plus 3 whole olives to garnish salad
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onions, plus more to garnish salad
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 chopped large hard-boiled eggs, optional

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover by several inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, add a good pinch of salt, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Drain in a colander but do not rinse them. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and drizzle with vinegar. Set aside and let cool down completely.
2. In a separate large bowl, combine mayonnaise, lime juice, garlic, grated onion, chopped olives (green olives are usually used in this dish although I used Kalamata olives for mine), mint, cilantro (or parsley), green onions, salt and pepper to taste. Only if desired, combine the chopped hard-boiled eggs (in this case, stir in an additional ¼ cup of mayonnaise into the mixture). Add cool potatoes to the mayo mixture, stirring gently to combine. Chill for 1 to 2 hours or more before serving. Garnish top of the Brazilian potato salad with whole olives and chopped green onions. Enjoy!

Notes:

For this recipe, use either Idaho® Yukon Gold potatoes (a medium-starch potato which is the most similar to the type of potatoes used to prepare potato salad in Brazil) or Idaho® Russet Burbank potatoes (the variety that I used to make this Brazilian potato salad). The choice between these 2 varieties depends on what you are looking for and local availability.

Storage: Don't leave potato salad out for more than two hours (or one hour, if temperature is above 90º F). Refrigerate any leftovers in a covered container.