Fried Potato Salad

A nice alternative to the traditional mayo based potato salad I’ve made in the past, is something my dad used to make when we were kids – a fried potato salad tossed in a homemade vinaigrette dressing. I don’t think the Greek community would get upset if I said that a good vinaigrette dressing to us is like a good mayo in American cuisine. We use it for everything, whether as a dressing, a sauce or a marinade.

We weren’t the type of family that kept a million different condiments around — in fact, I would venture to say that if we ever bought a jar of mayo, it would have taken forever for us to use it all up. Whenever we needed it, my dad used to make our own mayo recipe and usually served it next to grilled fish or shellfish. To go along with this, he would steam potatoes, finely dice some raw sweet onion, seed and dice tomatoes and then toss everything together with some fresh parsley and an olive oil based vinaigrette. It was a nice accompaniment to just about anything.

Then one day he turned the tables on us and I’ve never been the same since. He cubed and fried the potatoes, then tossed them in his prepared vinaigrette dressing. I have no idea where he got the inspiration for this, I’m just glad he gave us this delicious rendition that I continue to eat today .

You might not think that the extra little step of frying the potatoes makes much of a difference, but you would be very wrong. Frying them creates enough of a barrier around the potato to help keep it intact so it can absorb the vinaigrette dressing without becoming mealy. It’s warm, creamy, salty, and vinegary — something that I definitely file in the comforting food category. Over the years I’ve added different things — it just depends on what mood I’m in or what I have on hand. I’ve added a few optional suggestions for you below, so feel free to experiment and discover putting this together using extras that your family enjoys the most.

Try it beside your fried chicken, grilled meat, fish or BBQ and treat your taste buds to something very different from the norm.

Fried Potato Salad (serves 4-6 people)
2 large potatoes, cubed
1 large onion, diced to use fresh or thinly sliced for sautee **optional
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely diced
¼ cup seeded and diced tomatoes**optional
¼ cup diced cucumbers**optional
¼ cup diced kalamata olives **optional
2 tablespoons feta or blue cheese crumbles**optional

Vinaigrette Dressing (makes about 6 tablespoons)
¼ cup good quality olive oil
1 heaping teaspoon spicy brown whole grain mustard ** or use your favorite
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar **or white, champagne or apple cider vinegar
S&P to taste

Prepare your vinaigrette by adding the olive oil, vinegar and mustard to a small bowl and whisk it together. Balance the flavors out with the addition of some salt and pepper then set this aside.

Prepare all of the other ingredients you would like to add to the potato salad. If you plan to add sautéed onions, make those first and set aside.

Peel, dice and fry your potatoes until golden brown and drain them on a paper lined platter. Lightly salt the potatoes and place them in a medium sized bowl.

Add in all of the other ingredients you would like in your potato salad (ie onions, crumbled feta, olives, parsley etc) and then gently spoon on 4-6 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and gently toss. I usually add just enough vinaigrette to coat everything well. The potatoes should not be swimming in too much of the dressing. If I’ve got just a little bit extra, I will usually add it all because it will be absorbed by the potatoes. The quantity of dressing I’ve provided should be just right. Serve warm.