#FallFest: Our Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish

Nothing says the holidays in the Dominican Republic more than potato salad. Now living on Martha’s Vineyard, I only see potato salad once July rolls in. Today I’m sharing with you my Mom’s basic recipe, with a few twists of my own and sharing it with Food Network’s Fall Fest. 

A classic side dish and it isn’t the holidays in my family if we don’t have potato salad. As a side to festive rice and a whole roasted pork, as well as empanadas, cabbage salad, corn custard, and more, this recipe will pop out to your guests at your holiday table.

Our basic recipe just includes potatoes, carrots, and hard boiled eggs, tossing it all with lots of vinegar and mayonnaise. This recipe starts out just like my Mom’s basic recipe, but I’ve decided to add a few fall-inspired ingredients:

• Pears: Bartlett pears are a great choice to add to this salad; sweet and crispy pears add great texture to it. Leave the skin on for added color contrast.
• Figs: I decided to just top this salad with the figs, not wanting to lose their gorgeous essence by covering them up you mayonnaise. Be sure each of your guests gets a little fig on their plate by having additional quartered figs in a bowl on the side.
• Rosemary Mayonnaise: My most recent discovery, a company based out of Brooklyn, NY and making some of the best small batch mayonnaise on this coast – Empire Mayo. Used in this recipe was their Rosemary Mayo, giving this salad that woodsy and herbaceous flavor it needed. If you don’t have this available to you, just add some crushed, dried rosemary to the salad. 

Rosemary & Pear Potato Salad

As the recipe states, it serves two but is easily doubled, tripled, or quadrupled. Also, if you like more acidity in your salads, just add extra vinegar! It's a basic recipe that will have your creative juices flowing. What's going to happen next time? Maybe a warm white truffle potato salad!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 large potato peeled and cubed
• 1 small carrot peeled and diced
• 1 large egg hard boiled
• ½ Bartlett pear cored and diced
• 2 tablespoons Hellman's mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Empire mayonnaise in Rosemary
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 fig quartered

Instructions

• Cook potato and carrot in simmering water until tender. Chop egg and refrigerate while you make the dressing.
• Whisk together both mayonnaise, vinegar, olive oil, and salt to taste. Pour dressing over chilled potato, carrot, and egg. Fold in the diced pear. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Serve topped with fresh figs.

Servings: 2 servings

Looking for more inspiration for your holiday table? Be sure to check out the food bloggers that came together this time to bring you some of their favorite side dishes:

Feed Me Phoebe: Five Spice Winter Squash Soup
Chez Us: Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Virtually Homemade: Brussels Sprouts Salad With Avocado and a Tangerine Vinaigrette
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Spicy Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes
Red or Green?: Bolitas Bean Salad
And Love It, Too: Potatoes Au Gratin (Gluten and Dairy-Free)
Devour: Thanksgiving Yam and Sweet Potato Sides That Are Almost Desserts
The Heritage Cook: Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing or Dressing
FN Dish: Old School Sweet Potato Soufflé