Funny how a humble potato salad turned out to be the unlikely star of my American-Israeli fusion kitchen. This Classic Israeli Potato Salad with Dill Pickles is savory and maybe different than American potato salad recipes which have relish, vinegar pickles, or even added sugar.
The reason is because many Israeli salads originated in the Middle-East (brought over by Jews to Israel), and Middle-Eastern cooking cuisine most often will prefer savory over sweet. So, American salad recipes might be altered in an Israeli kitchen to reduce their sweetness.
Whether you’re making this Classic Israeli Potato Salad with Dill Pickles to join comfort food as this dairy mushroom quiche or leek patties for a cozy meal, or you’d like it to be part of an Israeli salad mezze to join an Israeli spicy salad for example, this potato salad will fit in because it has fairly neutral ingredients.
2 Ways to Cooking the Potatoes for this Classic Israeli Potato Salad with Dill Pickles
Technique No. 1 – Precision Potato Salad – The potato cubes are more defined. The texture is less mushy. Here’s how it’s done:
We cook uniform cubes of peeled potatoes. This ensures a consistent texture, while the uniform cubes enhance the presentation, contributing to an aesthetically pleasing culinary experience for dinner guests.
We first trim the round sides of potatoes. We are left with asymmetric rectangular prisms, which are then cut into cubes and cooked just until initially smooth.
Cook the uniform cubes until initially knife tender. Strain in a colander, place under running water to rid of excess starch (to cool and to create a less mushy Classic Israeli Potato Salad with Dill Pickles), and spread out on parch paper to cool.
Refrigerate for half hour. Chop the pickles, add to the potato cubes, mix in the mayonnaise, spice and refrigerate in an air tight container.
No worries, the potato trimmings don’t go to waste. They are used to prepare air fried French fries:
or casual mashed potatoes for one or two people. In which, all you do is toss the trimmings into salted/seasoned water or broth with a few tablespoons of oil, boil, and then simmer them for around 10-15 minutes, mash and serve.
Technique No. 2 – Potato salad with different size cubes, which end up a bit mushier. Here’s a rundown:
We cook whole medium-small potatoes with their skins on, and then peel, cool, and slice the whole potatoes into different size cubes.
Some pieces end up so small that they break up and contribute to a semi-mushy mashed potato salad.
This technique is perfect if this is your desired potato salad texture, and if you don’t want any left over potato slices that were trimmed off.
Ingredients
Waxy potatoes like red potatoes, Yukon Golds , or Fingerling potatoes. These hold their shape well during boiling and tossing, preventing a mushy salad.
Mayonnaise
Brine Dill Pickles
Kosher Salt
White Pepper
Optional Ingredient Additions
Freshly chopped parsley leaves
Chopped green onions/scallions
Minced garlic
Mustard
Instructions
Prepare the Potatoes:
Peel and trim the potatoes, removing the rounded edges. Cut into uniform cubes.
Cook the Potatoes:
Boil the potato cubes in salted water until fork-tender, about 10–12 additional minutes after coming to a boil. Drain and let cool slightly.
Assemble the Salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooled potatoes, chopped dill pickles, mayonnaise, salt (or garlic salt), white pepper, and minced garlic (if using). Mix gently to combine.
Garnish and Serve: Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley before serving, or mix into the salad itself.
Storage
Potato salad should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and kept below 4°C (40°F).
Let it cool slightly before refrigerating, but don’t leave it out for more than two hours—or just one hour if it’s hot outside.
It typically stays fresh for 3 to 5 days.
Freezing is not recommended because it has mayonnaise. It can ruin the texture and cause the dressing to separate. If it smells off, feels slimy, or tastes strange, it’s best to discard it.
I hope you enjoy this Classic Israeli Potato Salad with Dill Pickles.
Write Honey’s Pantry in the Comments section below for any questions or comments.
Israeli Potato Salad with Pickles
Delicious classic Israeli Potato salad with Dill Pickles, no hard boiled eggs, carrots, or peas.
Ingredients
For Cooking the Potatoes
- Type of Potatoes for Potato Salad:
- Waxy potatoes like red potatoes, Yukon Golds, or Fingerling potatoes.
- These hold their shape well during boiling and tossing, preventing a mushy salad.
- 1½ Kilos (3⅓ pounds) medium-large potatoes (with peels on) peeled and trimmed into:
- 1/2-inch-3/4-inch potato cubes of 6-7 medium-large rinsed, peeled and trimmed potatoes 600 C (21 ounces) (See the Notes section below)
- 1½ cups water in which to cook the potato cubes
- 1/5 teaspoon Kosher salt for cooking
Seasoning
- 3-4 dill pickles, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- Table salt (or garlic salt), to taste
- White pepper, to taste
- Add 1/2-1 teaspoon mustard for more of an American flavor.
- Fresh parsley leaves, chopped for topping (optional)
Instructions
Preparing the Potatoes:
Peel and trim the potatoes, cutting off their rounded edges.
Set the potato trimmings aside for later.
Then, cut them into rather uniform 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch cubes.
Cooking Potato Cubes (Boiling Method):
On a small burner set to a high heat, bring the cubes to a boil (4-5 minutes) in a covered pot with 1½ cups water and 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt,
Remove the lid and continue cooking until easily pierced with a fork but not overly soft:
- about 10 minutes for ½-inch cubes and
- about 12 minutes for ¾-inch cubes.
If you are uncertain about their doneness, or prefer not to keep cooking them, just cover the pot again and set aside for 2-3 minutes.
Cooling the Potato Cubes
Transfer the cubes to a colander under
cold running water to stop their internal cooking.
Spread the drained cubes out onto a
parchment-lined pan and let the steam release for a few minutes.
Transfer to a covered large bowl and refrigerate for around 40 minutes.
Assembling the Salad:
Mix together gently the cooled potatoes, chopped dill pickles, mayonnaise, salt (or garlic salt), white pepper, and minced garlic (if using). Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley before serving.
What You Can Do with the Potato Trimmings:
You could be left with 400 grams (14 ounces).
Here are the options:
Make Mashed Potatoes:
Cook in 1½ cups salted water/broth with 3 tablespoons neutral oil on the stove for 10-15 minutes, monitoring the water level, and stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When soft, rid of excess water and mash manually.
Make crispy French Fries:
Toss the potato trimmings with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and bake at 200°C (400°F) until golden and crispy.
- In the air-fryer:
Toss the potatoes with 3 tablespoons neutral oil (Safflower, Sunflower, Canola, Grapeseed oil), 1/2 tablespoon of Hungarian Paprika, 1/4 teaspoon natural date syrup to neutralize bitterness, and add a bit of sweetness and nice glaze, 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt, granulated black pepper, or ground black pepper to taste.
Set air-fryer to Fry on 200 C (392 F) with the timer set to 15 minutes. Yummy!
Notes
Type of Potato
Either waxy potatoes like red potatoes, or Yukon Golds, or Fingerling potatoes
Weight of Peeled Potatoes
The potatoes weigh 21 ounces (600 grams) after removing the peels and after cutting off the rounded edges.
My Way
The way I love to prepare potato salad, it's not something that's Israeli style, and not everyone likes these flavors and textures within the salad.
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves to mix into the salad and 1 medium minced garlic clove.
Uniform size Cubes
The reason they should be uniform is because the cubes are small and have a lot of surface area, so they become soft pretty quickly, to the point where they could fall apart while mixing in the mayonnaise. So, if they are not uniform in size, some could be overly cooked while other cubes would be undercooked.
That being said, even in the case of the potato salad which you see in the feature image, some cubes were, in fact, larger than others. And some were over-cooked, while a few were still a bit impenetrable.
Nutrition Information
Yield
5Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 387Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 6mgSodium 537mgCarbohydrates 65gFiber 7gSugar 4gProtein 8g
Nutrition values are estimated.