Czech potato salad

The Czech Christmas-table potato salad — potatoes, carrots, peas and pickles bound in mayonnaise with egg; creamy, tangy and best made a day ahead.

Ingredients

• potatoes600 g
• mayonnaise150 g
• carrot1 pcs
• green peas100 g
• pickle100 g
• eggs2 pcs

Method

1. Boil potatoes and carrot. Place the whole, unpeeled potatoes and the carrot in a pot of salted cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15–20 minutes until a knife slides through the potatoes with no resistance, then drain and leave to cool completely — rushing this step makes the salad watery and mushy.
2. Cook the eggs. Lower the eggs into a small pan of boiling water and cook for 10 minutes for a fully set yolk. Transfer straight to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking, then peel once cool.
3. Cook the peas. If using fresh peas, simmer in salted water for 2–3 minutes until just tender; if using frozen, pour boiling water over them and leave for 2 minutes, then drain. They should be bright green and slightly firm — not grey or mushy.
4. Dice everything evenly. Peel the cooled potatoes and carrot, then cut them into roughly 1 cm cubes. Finely dice the pickles to a similar size, and chop the eggs into small chunks. Uniform pieces mean every forkful has a bit of everything.
5. Combine and dress. Gently fold the potatoes, carrot, peas, pickles and eggs together in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise and stir carefully until everything is evenly coated — you want the potatoes to hold their shape rather than break down.
6. Season and chill. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight — the flavours mellow and meld together beautifully by the next day.
7. Plate and serve. Give the salad a gentle stir before serving as the mayo can settle. Spoon into a serving bowl or onto plates straight from the fridge — this salad is at its best served cold.

Safety & hygiene Important

• Cool potatoes before mixing. Make sure the potatoes are fully cold before adding the mayonnaise. Mixing mayo into warm potatoes raises the temperature of the dressing into the bacterial danger zone (5–60 °C) and, if the salad then sits, bacteria can multiply rapidly — especially a concern if making ahead.
• Refrigerate promptly. Don't leave the finished salad at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Keep it covered in the fridge and consume within 3 days.