Potato salad with pickled celery and hard-boiled egg

I received a few new cookbooks this holiday season, including Jerusalem, Heart of the Artichoke, Bean by Bean, and Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream at Home. I've already had a chance to try a couple recipes from these books and I can't wait to try more. No matter how many recipes I make, there's always so many more creative ideas out there that I have to try. But before I get to recipes from my new books, I want to share this one from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. This potato salad has pickled celery, grated hard-boiled eggs, and a mustardy dressing. If you're a pickle lover like me and prefer your potato salads mayo-free, this is something you should definitely try.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2013!

Potato salad with pickled celery and hard-boiled egg
Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Serves 3-4

Pickled celery
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar for about 1 1/2 tbs of this)
1/4 cup water
1 tbs kosher salt
1 1/2 tbs sugar
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced at an angle

Vinaigrette
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp whole-grain mustard
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 small shallot, finely chopped

Salad
1 lb. fingerling or other small potatoes, boiled until tender and cooled
2 hard-boiled eggs
Chopped parsley
Crumbled bacon (optional)

First, pickle the celery. Whisk together the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a small bowl until well combined. Add the celery and refrigerate mixture for about an hour.

Halve or quarter the potatoes (depending on their size) and arrange them on a platter. Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and drizzle over the potatoes. Grate the hard-boiled eggs with the large holes on a box grater and sprinkle over the salad. Top with pickled celery, parsley, and bacon, if using.