Potato Salad with Green Olive Tapenade
This Greek potato salad is tossed with olive tapenade and seasoned generously with oregano, making a bright and simple side dish to serve guests.
Introduction
This dish takes a humble ingredient – the potato – and dresses it in bold, sun-drenched flavours. Instead of being tossed with mayonnaise, it’s coated in a briny green olive tapenade that instantly evokes the groves of the Peloponnese and Crete. If you can’t find ready-made olive tapenade, you can simply blitz stoneless olives in a small blender and loosen with a little olive oil, if needed. If you have access to it, use Greek oregano in this recipe: very fragrant and peppery, it gives an aromatic lift you simply can’t get from ordinary oregano. In Greece, this herb is often wild-gathered on rocky hillsides and dried in bunches, and is probably the most important herb in our cuisine.
Ingredients
| 800g (1lb 12oz) | waxy potatoes (baby or salad potatoes) |
| 3 tbsp | green olive tapenade, or more to taste |
| 3 tbsp | extra virgin olive oil |
| juice of ½ | lemon (or 1 tbsp red wine vinegar) |
| 2-3 | spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced |
| 1 tbsp | fresh oregano leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp dried Greek oregano) |
| sea salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| a few | whole olives and oregano sprigs, to garnish |
Method
Scrub the potatoes and cut any large ones in half. Boil in salted water until tender but not falling apart, about 15–20 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly.
In a bowl, whisk together the olive tapenade, olive oil, lemon juice(or vinegar) and some salt and pepper.
While the potatoes are still warm, toss them gently with the spring onions and oregano, then add the dressing, toss and leave to stand so the potatoes can absorb the flavours.
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with a few whole olives and extra oregano sprigs, if you like. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Reviews
Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.
Our team will respond to any queries as soon as we can - this may take longer over weekends. You do not need to resubmit your comment.
Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use.
