potato salad Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Antipasto Potato Salad

May 20, 2024 by Marie 4 Comments

This is the season for outdoor cooking with BBQ’s, picnic’s, parties, graduations and all sorts of get-together’s. As you can see from my previous few posts lately, I’ve been on a salad kick.

This antipasto potato salad is perfect for any of those occasions, I think you’re going to love it!

This is not your traditional American potato salad made with mayo, which by the way I think is delicious too. This one is called an antipasto potato salad because it’s filled with ingredients you would find on a nice big antipasto platter with the addition of potatoes.

For the potatoes I used a mix of red and white thin skinned potatoes because that’s what I had, but you can use your favorite kind just don’t use a baking potato or a russet. I also left the skin on but you can certainly peel the skin off as well.

This is such a nice Italian twist on traditional potato salad, it’s dressed with a delicious red wine vinaigrette so you can put this out and serve it worry free in regards to spoiling because no mayonnaise is required.

Enjoy!

Antipasto Potato Salad

Think of a nice big Italian antipasto salad, add some cooked potatoes and this is the delicious result. This recipe is adapted from Delish

Author: Marie

Ingredients

2 lbs. of cooked red or white skinned potatoes, cooked until a knife goes through easily, cooled then cut bite size. ( you can peel them if you like)
1 cup of salami, sliced. into quarters or diced
1 can or jar of artichoke hearts, drained of liquid
2 cups sliced cherry tomatoes
1 container of bocconcini mozzarella, or the pearl size, drained of liquid
½ red onion, sliced in half moons
a mix of olives, I like kalamata and castelvetrano, a cup or more
a handful each of fresh parsley and basil, chopped
VINAIGRETTE
½ cup of good extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 small garlic cloves, grated
1 dollop of Djion mustard
oregano and salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Shake the dressing in a jar.
Place the salad ingredients into a big bowl, tossing in the herbs.
Then arrange and place everything onto a big platter and spoon desired amount of the dressing over the top right before serving.
Toss gently.

4 Comments Filed Under: Party Foods, Salads, Summer, Vegetables Tagged: antipasto ingredients, Italian style, no mayo, potato salad, side dish

Side Dish Ideas For Summertime Cookouts

May 26, 2022 by Marie Leave a Comment

Every cookout needs a fabulous spread of side dishes to go with it, it’s not just about the main course. Here are a few of my favorite go-to sides.

For the most part, I’ll just briefly explain how I put them together, you don’t need an exact recipe it’s all about tossing the components together using as much as you want of each, and hopefully the photos will give you a good visual to make it your own.

You can’t go wrong with a caprese salad which I’m sure many of you have made, I layered the tomato and mozzarella on top of a bed of arugula, added some chopped avocado around the center then drizzled it all with olive oil, balsamic glaze and plenty of chopped basil.

This is another version of a caprese salad using sliced colorful cherry tomatoes and small bocconcini balls, chopped cucumber, plenty of basil and a generous amount of olive oil with salt and pepper to taste.

A pasta salad is always welcome at a cookout and because it doesn’t have a mayonnaise base it’s safe to keep out for a while.

I also like changing up different pasta shapes, so feel free to use your favorite, just cook it ahead of time.

My pasta salads consist of chopped cucumbers, red onion, some type of colored peppers, sliced cherry tomatoes, olives and arugula.

Sometimes I add chopped Genoa salami and sometimes not. I also like to add a sharp cheese like provolone, fontinella or asiago which I cube up.

Toss everything together with your pre-cooked pasta and use a homemade Italian dressing to bring it all together.

I like to whisk together 3 parts olive oil to 1 part white balsamic vinegar add in some granulated garlic, a splash of lemon, oregano, salt and pepper. If you want to thicken it a bit add a dollop of Dijon.

Same pasta salad as above with the dressing and all, minus the salami which I replaced with fresh corn kernels.

If you like doing seafood on the grill this is a nice salad to put together. Here I used pre-cooked octopus that I cut up along with calamari and shrimp, everything was tossed in olive oil, lemon rind, oregano, salt and pepper beforehand, I would also add chopped parsley, which I didn’t have that day. Stick it on a grill pan and grill altogether.

Layer the seafood on a platter with an arugula base, some tomato wedges, kalamata olives and oregano with a fresh lemon and olive oil dressing.

Here’s a potato salad minus the mayo that can be prepped ahead of time, cut the potatoes in half and roast them til golden and blanch up your green beans.

Then toss them all together with red onion, fresh parsley, oregano, slices of those tiny colored peppers, a sprinkling of grated pecorino with a dressing of fresh lemon and olive oil.

A tossed Italian salad with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, radishes, olives, red onion, cucumber, provolone cheese and pepperoncini tossed together with an Italian vinaigrette of your choice, always a great side.

We’re big on artichokes in my family and grilled artichokes are a delicious side and labor of love, here’s the link.

Any combination of grilled veggies is always a welcome so colorful healthy and delicious!

Adding some fruit into the mix with balls of cantaloupe and bocconcini drizzled with a light touch of olive oil whisked with a little fresh orange juice.

Wedges of watermelon with feta, blueberries and pistachios drizzled with a balsamic glaze is always fun, and who doesn’t like watermelon.

And last but not least the famous grape salad that was all the rage a couple of years ago. A combination of green and red grapes tossed into a creamy mix of half softened cream cheese and half sour cream but I like to lighten mine up a bit with some Greek yogurt.

Sprinkle the top with some brown sugar and walnuts or pecans, always a hit at a party

Just like Thanksgiving the sides are where it’s at, enjoy!

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Fruit, Grilled Foods, Party Foods, Salads, Side Dishes, Summer, Vegetables Tagged: caprese salad, fruit salad, Grilled Veggies, grilling sides, italian salad, pasta salad, potato salad, seafood salad

Fingerling Potato Salad with Honey, Lemon and Djon Vinaigrette

February 27, 2020 by Marie 5 Comments

Easter is around the corner and I can’t think of a better side dish to have sitting next to your Easter ham. It’s a potato salad made with those pretty colored fingerling potatoes. It showcases a special creamy vinaigrette made with honey, lemon and Djon. The vinaigrette is the perfect compliment to the fingerlings because their light and mild flesh makes the flavors easy to absorb.

The flavors are bright and slightly tangy with a lighter version of a traditional potato salad. This salad can safely sit out and be served at room temperature because it’s made without mayonnaise, so keep this potato salad in mind for future BBQ’s, parties and picnics.

Adding hard boiled eggs, your favorite olives, parsley and sliced green onions round out all the flavors in this hearty potato salad.

Seek out fingerlings that are about the same size because you want them all to cook evenly together, sometimes you’ll see some larger ones in the mix.

Fingerlings boil up fast so be careful not to overcook them. You want the tip of a knife to go through easily but not so much so that the potato falls apart when poking it. Be mindful of that, so keep checking for doneness so they don’t fall apart and get mushy.

The vinaigrette is dreamy, you might want to double the recipe and have extra in the fridge so you can use it for a bunch of other dishes!

A while ago I ordered these balsamic pearls on line but never got around to using them, since they were lemon flavored I thought they would be a nice addition to this potato salad. This is totally optional, no need to add it to the recipe at all, but they are sort of fun!

Look closely, you’ll see them sitting on the surface.

Feel free to make this salad your own with inspiration of seasonal veggies like asparagus, peas, green beans or even corn, and maybe switching up some herbs and adding some arugula, all would go well with the flavors of honey, lemon and Djon.

I hope you seek out some of those vibrant fingerlings and make this delicious potato salad customized by you!

Follow Proud Italian Cook on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week.

Fingerling Potato Salad with Honey, Lemon and Djon

A potato salad you'll eat all year long!

Author: Marie

Ingredients

2 lbs. vibrant colored fingerling potatoes, roughly same size and cut in half lengthwise
3 or 4 hardboiled eggs halved or quartered, your choice
½ cup or so of sliced olives, green or black
3 green onions sliced on the diagonal
balsamic pearls (optional)
Vinaigrette ingredients
1 big shallot or 2 small, finely chopped
chopped parsley, a handful
3 tablespoons of Djon mustard
2 tablespoons, lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon, honey
⅓ cup or so of good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Whisk together all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl, taste to your liking, maybe you want it sweeter, add more honey, more tart, add a splash more vinegar or lemon juice or even more olive oil, then set aside.
Wash your potatoes really well.
Place them into cold water and let them reach a boil, then turn down heat to a medium simmer.
Test potatoes for doneness you don't want them mushy as stated in the post.
When finished cooking drain them and place the warm potatoes gently into a large serving dish.
Sprinkle in the green onions and olives all around the potatoes and arranging the hard boiled eggs.
Spoon the vinaigrette all over the warm potatoes so that flavors can absorb.
Taste and determine if salt and added pepper is needed, maybe sprinkle in more parsley, onions and olives as well.
Serve best at room temperature

5 Comments Filed Under: Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: easter side dish, fingerling potatoes, honey djon, honey mustard vinaigrette, picnic food, potato salad

Perfect Potato Salads for Summer Entertaining

June 26, 2019 by Marie 8 Comments

Way back in 2007 when I started this blog I posted an Italian potato salad, fast forward almost twelve years later ( still can’t believe it’s been that long!) and I still continue to make it.

Italian potato salad is such a classic dish, it’s the perfect side so it’s great for parties, picnic’s and celebrations. There’s no mayo involved so no need to worry about anything spoiling as it sits out at your party.

The photo above is a crowd size amount that I made for a family cookout that I was having. Don’t get caught up on amounts and exact measurements when making this, it’s a simple process it’s all about visual balance and your taste preference as far as seasonings go.

I used those teeny red, white and blue potatoes, I like the different colors, but you can certainly use all red which is more a traditional Italian potato salad.

Since 2007 I’ve changed up my recipe a bit. I always use to boil my potatoes but now I roast them. Don’t get me wrong, boiling is fine but I much prefer the taste of a roasted potato, plus I don’t like the texture of a some what mushy potato, but again, that’s just my preference, but I would encourage you to try it this way by roasting the potatoes, plus I think the presentation looks much nicer.

1. The ingredients in my Italian potato salad are: Roasted potatoes, some sliced, some whole depending on how big they are, roasted at 425F until fork tender.

2. Steamed green beans, I prefer haricort verts, red onion rings, kalamata olives and sliced cherry tomatoes.

3. Place everything into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper, granulated garlic and oregano, taste as you go to your liking.

4. The dressing is: 3 parts olive oil, 1 part red wine vinegar, 1 t. dijon, 1 garlic clove, 1 t.oregano, salt and pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Whisk it up, drizzle and toss. Place the salad onto a nice platter.

Next is my Red, White and Blue potato salad, perfect for the 4th of July! Again I used those teeny colored potatoes and when you cut them in half the vibrant color really shows through.

1.These are roasted as well in a 425F oven, drizzled with olive oil along with chunks of sweet red bell pepper, finished when fork tender.

2. When they become fork tender, which doesn’t take long, toss them into a bowl and add chopped red onion or shallots, snipped chives, sliced scallions, fresh parsley, salt and pepper to taste with lots of grated strands of lemon

3.Whisk up fresh squeezed lemon and olive oil for your dressing and pour it all over and toss, as it sits it just gets better and better as all the flavors start to absorb.

Next up is this Grilled Sweet Potato Salad, If you never grilled sweet a potato you’re missing out. Cooking sweet potatoes this way gives them a crisp charred edge and a slight smokiness that contrasts well with the sweetness of the potatoes, it’s delicious and a nice change.

Preheat grill to medium. Peel sweet potatoes and slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Place on a grill that has been sprayed with olive oil spray.
Also on the grill add some colored mini peppers and a couple of ears of corn because these will all be added to the salad along with the sweet potatoes. Remove when tender and slightly charred.
When everything cools down, shuck the corn, slice the mini peppers and toss them into a large bowl with some chopped parsley, green onion and arugula.
Arrange everything onto a pretty platter and drizzle with the dressing.
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette: 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 T. apple cider vinegar, 2 T. Dijon, 1 T. honey, 1 garlic clove, whisk all together. Feel free to double or triple the recipe.

All of these potato salads are a nice addition to your summer buffet table, they can sit out safely and they all taste delicious at room temperature, so enjoy!

Follow me on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week.

8 Comments Filed Under: Party Foods, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: 4th of July, grilled sweet potato salad, Italian Potato Salad, potato salad, red white and blue potato salad, roasted potatoes, teeny potatoes

Party Worthy Roasted Potato Salad

May 1, 2018 by Marie 18 Comments

This roasted potato salad is a must for summer parties, graduations and backyard BBQs. It’s healthy, vibrant in color with lots of crunch with a much lighter take on the classic potato salad because this one is not ladened down with heavy mayo.

Another benefit of no mayo is that it can sit out on a warm sunny day and you won’t have to worry about it going bad.

Look for the petite sized potatoes, when cut in half they’re a nice bite size. I used red and white, but the tri-color with the purple potatoes would be nice as well

Make sure you don’t over roast them, or dowse them with too much olive oil, they’ll be coated with the dressing later, just toss them into a bowl with a little drizzle to coat them, add in salt and pepper then put them on a sheet pan in a 425F oven.

Mine took about fifteen minutes turning them over once, you want them tender but on the firm side.

The crunch factor comes from sliced rainbow colored mini peppers, sliced radishes, red and green onion along with fresh arugula, olives, chives and parsley.

You don’t really need exact amounts for this depending on how big your platter will be and how many potatoes you’ll be making. I like to mix everything together in a big bowl first, slicing the veggies and adding the rest as I go along making sure it looks balanced with color and crunch, adding the arugula last by handfuls.

The dressing is made with equal amounts of olive oil and fresh lemon juice, a squeeze of dijon and 1 garlic clove, whisked together and spooned over the top.

The potatoes can be roasted the day before or the morning of, they should be at room temp or chilled before adding the other ingredients, not hot from the oven.

It’s colorful and vibrant and it makes the perfect party dish and side to almost anything you’ll be grilling up this season.

Follow along on my Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Party Worthy Roasted Potato Salad

You don't need exact ingredients for this, it depends on how many potatoes you roast, just add the veggies and herbs to your liking making sure it's balanced with everything.

Author: Marie

Ingredients

mini petite potatoes, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, cut in half roasted in a 425F oven for about 15 minutes turning once and making sure they are fork tender but still firm. Let them cool down.
sliced rainbow colored mini peppers
thin sliced radishes
small nicoise olives, drained
chopped red and green onion
fresh arugula
chives and parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Place the roasted potatoes and everything else into a big bowl, add all the other ingredients, tasting as you go along and making sure you have enough to make it look balanced.
Carefully toss with your clean hands and place the salad onto a pretty platter.
Spoon the dressing all over it.
THE DRESSING;
Equal parts of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, one garlic clove, a squeeze of dijon, salt and pepper.
Whisk it up to incorporate.
NOTE: The potatoes can be done the morning of or day before, then mix with everything else shortly before serving.

18 Comments Filed Under: Party Foods, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: potato salad, roasted potato salad, roasted potatoes

Bundt Pan Chicken and Winter Potato Salad

February 26, 2013 by Marie 25 Comments

I love beer can chicken, I make it throughout the summer all different ways on my grill, the meat always comes out moist and juicy and because it’s cooked vertically the bird get’s nice and crispy all the way around. I never attempted to make it inside my oven although I have seen it done.

I was dreaming of spring the other day and wishing it was warm enough to grill outside when I happened to come across bundt pan chicken on Pinterest, sort of the same concept without the beer and it’s made in your oven. I was inspired!

Perfect timing because Whole foods had a one day, half price sale on their organic chickens, so I picked up a few and dusted off my bundt pan which I haven’t used in, I can’t even remember how many years! I also had a bunch of herbs I needed to use up so I made an herby paste and rubbed it all over the outside of the chicken and underneath the skin.

While I was there I also picked up a package of their fingerling potatoes, the heirloom variety. You could place your potatoes right in the bundt pan along with the chicken, most of the pictures I saw showed it done that way but I like my potatoes really crispy so I decided to roast them separately and toss them into a salad.

It was sort of fun and to make it this way, using the bundt pan, although I had to reduce my oven temp from 450 to 400 because my smoke alarm kept going off but other than that it turned out very flavorful, crispy and juicy. I guess it will just have to do until spring gets here!

Bundt Pan Chicken and Winter Potato Salad

Ingredients

For the Paste
2 tablespoons each parsley, basil
1 tablespoon each rosemary and thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 garlic cloves
zest of 1 lemon
olive oil
For the Potato Salad
1 package of fingerling potatoes
1 bag of arugula
tomatoes, either roasted or sliced grape tomatoes
balsamic glaze and olive oil
1 chicken
bundt pan

Instructions

Make a paste by finely chopping your herbs, smashing your garlic, adding the lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste and enough olive oil drizzled in to make it loose
Loosen skin around the breast of the chicken then rub the paste under and all over the whole bird
Spray bundt pan with cooking spray and place bird on top
Place bundt pan on a foil lined baking sheet with rim to avoid any drips
Roast in a 400 degree oven for around 1 hour and 10 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 165
For the potato salad, roast potatoes on a separate baking sheet drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, around 30 minutes on top shelf, same oven temp.
Toss your arugula in a separate bowl with drizzled olive oil and balsamic glaze or a good aged balsamic vinegar. Add tomatoes and toss.
Place salad mixture onto a platter and scatter the crispy potatoes all around.