In some areas of rural Louisiana, you might find something strange in the bottom of your bowl of gumbo: potato salad! Smooth and creamy, unlike Southern-style potato salad, it is a cooling treat at the bottom of a spicy dish.
Makes 12 to 15 servings
3 tablespoons powdered crab boil or Chesapeake Bay seasoning
3-1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
⅔ cup minced white onion
1 stalk celery, minced
2 tablespoons chopped jarred pimiento
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
3 tablespoons Creole-style mustard
1-1/4 cups mayonnaise
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the crab boil or seasoning and potatoes. Cook the potatoes until fork tender. Drain and cool.
2 Place the cooled potatoes in a large bowl. Using a potato masher, mash until nearly the texture of mashed potatoes. Stir in the onion, celery, pimiento, and parsley. Set aside.
3 In a small bowl, stir together the paprika, mustard, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Pour over the potato mixture. Stir until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
4 When the gumbo is ready to serve, place one large ice cream scoop of the potato salad in the bottom of each serving bowl. Ladle the gumbo over the potato salad. Serve immediately.