STELLA'S COOKBOOK
FOOD & ART
Potato Salad Rhodes Island-Style
Salata de patatas y huevos
About the Recipe
Every culture has its own treasured potato salad recipe. The Rhodes Island-style potato salad is a lighter, no-mayonnaise version to the classic potato salad and bursting with Mediterranean flavours. The cooked baby potatoes are tossed with black olives, capers, hard-boiled eggs and sliced red onions, and perked up with an extra-virgin olive oil, lemon and garlic dressing redolent with loads of fresh parsley and dill. Try this vibrant salad as a fabulous side to grilled fish and meat dishes.
Ingredients
1kg (21⁄4lb) baby potatoes, scrubbed 2 tsp salt 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered 1 small red onion, thinly sliced lengthways 1 cup caper berries, drained or 1 tsp capers, preferably salt-packed, and rinsed
1⁄2 cup brined or oil-cured black olives, pitted 1⁄2 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley (use leaves and tender stems)
1⁄4 cup roughly chopped fresh dill
For the dressing: 1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup fresh lemon juice 1⁄2 tsp sugar 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 small clove garlic, grated sea salt a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Put the unpeeled potatoes in a large pan and cover them with water. Add the salt and bring to a boil over a medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until knife tender, about 20-25 minutes. Drain the potatoes and peel when cool enough to handle (or leave the skins on if you prefer) and cut them in half. Transfer to a salad bowl.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
Pour the dressing over the potatoes while they are still warm. Add the eggs, onion, capers, olives and herbs, and toss through gently until the potatoes are evenly coated with the dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for about an hour before serving to absorb the flavours. Taste for salt.
Serve at room temperature.
Stella’s Hint:
The salad can be kept overnight in the fridge. Return to room temperature before serving. Near serving time, drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil over the salad if the potatoes have soaked up too much dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning.