Smashed Fingerling Potato Salad with Whole Grain Mustard

The Germans understood something about potato salad that Americans forgot somewhere along the way. They dressed their potatoes warm, when the starch was still receptive, when the vinegar could penetrate and the mustard could cling. Then we buried ours in mayonnaise and called it progress.

This recipe reclaims that wisdom and adds an American flourish: we smash the potatoes first and crisp them in a hot pan. Those shattered edges turn golden and caramelized, creating texture that no boiled potato can match. When the warm dressing hits those craggy surfaces, it finds purchase in every crack and crater. The result is potato salad with architecture.

Fingerlings are the potato for this job. Their waxy flesh holds together under pressure while their thin skins crisp beautifully. Look for them at farmers markets from late spring through fall, or in the specialty section of better groceries year-round. Yellow Finns or Russian Banana varieties work particularly well, though any fingerling will serve you honestly.

I've served this at countless summer gatherings, and it disappears faster than anything else on the table. Make it the morning of your cookout and hold it at room temperature. Unlike its mayonnaise-laden cousins, this salad improves as it sits, the flavors deepening and melding into something greater than their parts.