
Picnic and BBQ season is almost upon us. Don’t bring just any ordinary potato salad to the party! Show up with creamy Fennel and Shrimp Potato Salad instead. Cool, crisp fennel meets up with plump little shrimp in a creamy dressing that’s freshened up with fennel fronds. Familiar yet deliciously different is why Fennel and Shrimp Potato Salad will become your new picnic favourite.

What’s potato salad to you? For me it’s a combination of summers at the lake and my mother. We only ate potato salad during the warmer summer months and my mother always made a deliciously creamy potato salad. It was on the traditional side, with eggs, celery, radish, mustard, mayo and maybe a little pickle juice. If I had it today, it would taste like a memory from my teenage years and fun at the lake. Who knew a bowl of potato salad could mean so much!

Skipping forward a couple decades, I still love a traditional potato salad, but here I wanted to keep the same creaminess but sub in cool and crisp fennel and meaty little shrimp for a lovely riff on a childhood favourite. Enjoy!

Recipe source for Fennel and Shrimp Potato Salad: Â Compelled To Cook
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes with skin cut into 1" chunks
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 4 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp whole grain mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 large fennel bulb and fronds
- 1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp without tail 71-90 shrimp per pound size
- 3 each green onions chopped
Servings: people
Instructions
- In a large pot, cover potatoes with 1" of salted water. Simmer until potatoes are just tender, approximately 10-12 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool to the touch. Drain well and chill potatoes until completely cold.
- In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, white wine vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
- Trim bottom off of fennel bulb and pluck off fronds. Cut bulb in half, removing outer layer if needed to clean it up. Cut each half in half again and thinly slice each quarter including stems until you have approximately 1 1/2 cups. Save a few fronds for garnish and coarsely chop remainder.
- Pat shrimp dry with a paper towel and combine with potatoes, sliced fennel, fennel fronds and green onions. Add dressing and toss to combine. Chill for at least an hour and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fennel fronds and serve.
Recipe Notes
Makes a generous 4 cups of salad.