Mediterranean Potato Salad

If it’s 4th of July, then there must be homemade potato salad. That was true when I was growing up and I am bringing back the tradition with this recipe for Mediterranean potato salad. So much about the food we love is the food we grow up with and boy does this taste good!

I love potato salad, and this recipe is a another twist on the classic. Make it a day ahead.

Potato Salad Ingredients

The best potatoes for potato salad are gold potatoes. They are creamy, buttery tasting, and thin-skinned with golden flesh. They hold up beautifully for potato salad and don't fall apart like drier potato varieties. Here's your shopping list:

• Gold potatoes (2 pounds for 6 people)
• Celery
• Shallot
• Capers
• Fresh dill
• Vegenaise or mayonnaise
• Lemon
• Dijon
• Garlic

How to Cook Potatoes

Scrub whole potatoes, then simmer covered with cold water until tender when pierced with a paring knife. Cook until they are tender all of the way through, but don’t let them fall apart.

Cool potatoes and then refrigerate until cold. Cold potatoes are much easier to dice into clean cubes, making for a nice presentation. Either leave those skins on (they are good for you) or peel them.

How to Make

After the potatoes are cooked and cold, chop them into cubes. To the cubed potatoes, add crunchy celery, shallot, rinsed capers and fresh chopped dill. Tarragon is nice too.

How to Finish

To finish the potato salad, fold in a dressing of your favorite mayonnaise mixed with lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. For a vegan dish, use this as it is egg-free. Or try homemade mayo, it's delicious.

For more herbal flavor, add chopped Italian parsley. For brighter lemon, use the zest too. Sometimes we like it with the addition of fennel seed for a light, sweet licorice flavor. All flavors of the sunny Mediterranean.

Potato Nutrition and Resistant Starch

Potatoes get a bad rap as a starchy vegetable, especially for those on a low-carb diet but gold potatoes are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and fiber. When cooked and eaten cold potatoes provide something called resistant starch.

Resistant starch is a unique kind of fiber that's important for gut health and if your gut is healthy, so are you. Resistant starch resists digestion, feeding the trillions of helpful bacteria in your gut. Read more about it here.

And seriously, can you live without potatoes? Not in this house. Potatoes are part of a varied and healthy diet.

Make Ahead Tips

To save time, simmer your potatoes, chill and dice a day or two ahead. Chop your celery and shallot, rinse the capers and ready your herbs. You can make the dressing completely if you want and fold together with the potatoes the morning of serving. Serve chilled.

More Recipe Ideas

For more Mediterranean flavors try my Mediterranean chicken recipe.

Mediterranean Potato Salad

Sally Cameron

A classic summer side, this potato salad  borrows from flavors of the Mediterranean with dill, lemon and capers. Cook potatoes a day ahead for easy assembly. If you don’t like dill, try thyme or tarragon. For more herbs, add chopped parsley and even a little fennel seed for more Mediterranean flavor. For brighter lemon flavor, use zest as well.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Chill time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 35 mins

Course Side Dish, vegetables

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Calories 143 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  A large pot to cook potatoes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes about 5 large
• ▢ ½ cup finely chopped celery 2 large ribs
• ▢ ⅓ cup finely chopped shallot substitute onion
• ▢ 1 tablespoon capers rinsed and drained
• ▢ 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill thyme or tarragon
• ▢ 4 tablespoons mayonnaise or Vegenaise
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1 clove garlic finely minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• Scrub potatoes then peel or leave peel on. Place potatoes in a medium pot and add a little salt. Cover with cold water and bring to just under a boil. Turn down heat and simmer until completely tender when pierced with a paring knife, about 20-25 minutes. Drain potatoes, cool and refrigerate until cold. You can do this a day ahead.
• When potatoes are cold, dice into approximately ¾″ cubes and place in a medium bowl. To the potatoes, add celery, shallot, capers, dill. In a small bowl, stir or whisk together the vegenaise, lemon juice, garlic, and mustard until smooth, then gently fold into the potatoes until the they are well coated. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed, and add extra lemon or dill if preferred.

Notes

We love capers, so when I make this I double the capers. 

Nutrition

Calories: 143kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 174mgPotassium: 535mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 38IUVitamin C: 24mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!