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Italian Potato Salad is a lightened up twist on traditional potato salad. Red potatoes are coated in peppery olive oil and tossed with crunchy cucumber, tender tomatoes, briny olives and capers, buttery boiled eggs, then spiked with vinegar, oregano and slivers of fresh basil.
This Italian style potato salad recipe is easy to assemble and adding a can of good quality tuna makes it a meal!
Recipes are nomads in our home; all but a few stay for a meal and then never return. There are just too many new things to try. Who knows why some recipes decide to stick around, but this salad is one of them. It’s the simple flavors that keep me coming back.
With a bit of choreography, each bite can be different: cool, crisp cucumber; sweet, tangy chunks of tomato; briny, oil-cured olives; creamy eggs and salty tuna, fresh basil hinting of licorice and mint.
This salad came from a collectors edition of Bon Appetit, highlighting Islands of the Mediterranean. It was published in 2002 (!) and has floated among my cookbooks ever since.
Typically I boil enough potatoes and eggs to last for 3 or 4 days of this salad. Then at lunch time or for a light dinner, I can assemble the salad in just a few minutes. It’s portable for a picnic or a weekday lunch at your desk.
More Main Course Salads to Try
Italian Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds medium red-skinned potatoes scrubbed
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large english cucumber quartered lengthwise, cut into cubes
- 4 plum tomatoes cut into quarters
- 1/2 red onion very thinly sliced
- 24 black oil-cured olives pitted, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup slivered fresh basil plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons capers rinsed and drained
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 hard-boiled eggs peeled, quartered
- 2 6-ounce cans tuna drained (ideally canned in olive oil or its own juice)
Instructions
- To a large pot add potatoes, a small handful of salt and enough cold water to cover by an inch or two. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 20-30 minutes. (A sharp knife should meet little resistance when piercing a potato.) Drain potatoes and let stand until cool enough to handle.
- Cut potatoes into rough, 1-inch cubes and place in a serving bowl. Add olive oil and toss to coat. Add cucumber, tomatoes, onion, olives, basil, and capers.
- Whisk vinegar and oregano together in small bowl; add to salad and toss lightly to combine.
- With your fingers or a fork, separate tuna in to bite size chunks and sprinkle over salad. Arrange boiled egg quarters over salad. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with basil sprigs and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just looking at this makes me happy! A burst of flavor with every bite!!
Yes! Thank you so much, Annie!
This salad is BEYOND similar to a Nicoise Salad minus a few things! Never the less, I LOVE this combo!
This is right up my alley. Great salad, Marissa!
Thank you, Sabrina!
I would love to structure the perfect bite with a little bit of everything from this salad! The colors and textures going on in here are gorgeous!
A big ol’ high five to you and Bon Appetit! Mediterranean cuisine is my jam and love all the flavors in this salad. I could definitely make this recipe and eat on it all week! Thanks for sharing it and happy Friday!
Isn’t it the best when you can cook once and have a few meals? I love to cook (obviously 🙂 ), but it’s nice to have a break. Happy Friday to you too!!