I’m not really a traditional potato salad guy. They can be kind of gummy and flavorless with very little texture other than a little bit of celery. But I do love potatoes (I’m from Idaho after all), and I wanted to give this side a chance to redeem itself by creating a potato salad that features some special guests. This recipe has changed my mind about potato salad, and it’s turning out to be a new summer staple for our get-togethers.

White Ruffled Bowls | Honey Pot and Dipper (similar) | Striped Cloth Napkins | Silverware

The foundation of the recipe is infusing the potatoes with salt and vinegar while they’re cooking to give them a lot more flavor. So I season a pot of water with salt like you would with pasta — I want it to almost taste like the ocean. And then I add a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar. Any kind will do.

While I bring the water up to a boil, I prep the potatoes. I like to use new potatoes in the standard size and cut into quarters, but you could use baby or fingerling potatoes; you just want them to be around 1″ each. These get dropped into the boiling water for approximately 15 minutes until just fork tender. Take out the potatoes but keep the cooking water hot so you can drop in the asparagus tips.

Next I slice half a red onion and add that into a large bowl so you add the potatoes right after draining. This is a good trick to cut the harshness of an onion — if you combine it with warm ingredients, that introduces just enough heat to keep the crunch but tame the tang.

Boil the asparagus tips for two minutes and then add them to some ice water to shock them and stop the cooking process to keep them crisp and the color bright green.

Mixing Bowl | White Bowls | Lemon Squeezer | Cutting Board

To make the dressing, I add a bit of mayonnaise, coarse-grain mustard, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and honey to a bowl and whisk until blended. The combo of lemon and honey has a tart, bright flavor that goes beyond the classic sweet pickle juice that’s often added to potato salad. It makes people take notice!

Now here’s a key takeaway: Don’t overdress the salad. I start by adding about half of the dressing and give it a minute or so to start absorbing into the potato starches, which thickens the dressing up. If you like a little more sauce (or if you’re refrigerating it to serve later), make sure you have that extra dressing handy in case the potatoes absorb more than you’d like.

Add some roughly chopped dill while the potatoes are warm (not hot!) so the herbs give off a big burst of flavor but don’t completely wilt. Once that’s stirred together, I use a mandoline to thinly slice a radish on top to add extra crunch and a pleasant peppery note.

Chefs Knife | Cutting Board | Tall Glass Mixing Bowl

White Ruffled Bowl | Silverware | Kitchen Sources

It’s easy to put this together for a dinner of pulled pork or for a outdoor picnic. Trust me, even people who say they don’t like potato salad will want to give this a try. I can’t wait to hear what you think — let me know when you’re making this over the summer.