Potato Salad
( Patate all’Insalata – ‘Nzalata ri Patati )
Nothing is easier to prepare than potato salad. It is liked by almost everybody and it is fulfilling, nutritious and healthy if it is not overloaded with condiments. Potatoes can be prepared without complicated cooking techniques or equipment: just boil or bake them to make delicious morsels. When you add olive oil, a few drops of vinegar and salt, it is the birth of a side dish or condiment. As a child, it was my preferred meal as a first and second course.
In Palermo, toward the end of spring and during the summer all fruit stores sell boiled potatoes and next to them they display boiled string beans. Usually, every two pounds of potatoes are paired with one pound of string beans and dressed with chopped onions, olive oil, and vinegar to make a combination salad very popular in my hometown. Boiled or baked potatoes can be combined with eggs to make a complete meal: “frittata di uova e patate”, nothing more complete for nutritional value, economical and convenient. Plain boiled potatoes go well with any dish that comes with gravy.
Most kinds of potatoes are good for boiling. The Idaho potato called “russet” white or red which are common and recommended for boiling, so are the potatoes grown in the Eastern part of the U.S.A. In New York State, Long Island’s farms are big producers of potatoes that are excellent for boiling to make potato salads, mashed potatoes, and potato croquettes.
- Serving Size6-8
- SaladsPotato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 lb. potatoes
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (or to taste) of your preferred vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup chopped parsley (optional)
Variation: POTATO AND STRING BEANS SALAD
- 2 lb. potatoes boiled and cubed
- 1 lb. string beans steamed or boiled, cut the long way in half
- 1 medium sliced red onion
- 8 tablespoons of olive oil
- 4 tablespoons (or to taste) of your preferred vinegar
- ½ clove of garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
In salted water, boil the potatoes with skin on, until tender. Peel Potatoes and slice 1/2 inch thick. Place slices in a dish and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper to taste, and some parsley finely chopped. Serve at room temperature.
VARIATIONS:
BOILED POTATOES AS SIDE DISHES
When using boiled potatoes for “contorno”, do not add any dressing, cover boiled potatoes with the gravy of the dish you are serving. If the course you are serving does not come with gravy, you can serve the potatoes sautéed in a parsimonious combination of a little butter and olive oil.
POTATO AND STRING BEANS SALAD
Blend together olive oil, vinegar, garlic and pepper. Set aside. Place cubed potatoes in a serving dish and on top place the string bean and the sliced onions. Shake over some salt to taste and the chopped parsley. Drizzle dressing over salad. Serve at room temperature.