Onward with summer salads…Julia Child, in Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home (Alfred A. Knopf, 1999) recommends reserving some of the potato cooking water and tossing it with the warm cooked potatoes, a wonderful technique that results in tender, flavorful potato salad and allows you, if you so desire, to use a lighter hand with the mayonnaise. I’ve adapted it with this super-basic recipe. Naturally, you may add whatever garnishes—chopped hard-boiled egg, olives—you desire, but I prefer to keep it simple, selecting a few garnishes for color, texture, and flavor variation. Keep in mind that the flavor of chives, scallions, and chopped onion will increase as the salad is stored.

Recipe

1-1/2 to 1-3/4 pounds small creamer potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
6 cornichons or 1 small pickle (sweet or dill), minced
2 teaspoons yellow or Dijon mustard
3/4 to 1 cup mayonnaise

Directions

1. Place the potatoes, whole, in a large saucepan and add cold water to cover them by about half an inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and reduce the heat so that the water simmers robustly. Cook the potatoes until they are easily pierced with the tines of a dinner fork (cut a slice from one potato and taste it to make sure). Reserve 1/4 cup of the potato cooking water and drain the potatoes.

2. When cool enough to handle, coarsely dice or slice the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Stir the vinegar into the reserved potato cooking water and drizzle it over the still-warm diced potatoes. Allow to cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile, stir together the mustard and mayonnaise. While the potatoes are still warm, add about half of the mayonnaise mixture, along with the scallions, red pepper, and pickle. Toss to coat. Add salt and black pepper to taste, along with as much of the mayonnaise mixture as desired. Serve immediately or chill and serve out of doors while wearing flip-flops and enjoying an icy beverage.

Serves 4 to 6.