Erdäpfelsalat

Erdäpfelsalat is thin-sliced potato marinated warm in a vinegar-and-broth dressing rather than mayonnaise. It is Austria's potato salad, and it is genuinely a different dish from the mayonnaise-bound version common just across the border — sharp and light rather than creamy and rich.

What it really is

Waxy potatoes are boiled whole, peeled while still warm and sliced thin — warm is not incidental, since a still-warm slice absorbs a dressing that a cooled one would only sit in. That dressing is a hot mix of vinegar, mustard and a little broth, whisked with finely diced onion and poured straight over the sliced potato so it has time to soak in as the salad cools to room temperature.

No mayonnaise ever enters the classic version. Where it is a defining ingredient of most other potato salads, here its absence is the actual point — the dish leans on the sharpness of vinegar and the body of the broth instead.

How it is served

• At room temperature, never chilled straight from the fridge.
• As a side to Backhendl, schnitzel or Tafelspitz, one of Austria's most common pairings.
• Simply, without a heavy garnish beyond a little scattered chive.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the mustard in the dressing.
• Say that no mayonnaise is used, since guests expecting a creamy potato salad should know before ordering.
• It is naturally vegan when made with a vegetable broth, a straightforward flag alongside heavier meat sides.