Rustic Italian Potato Salad

Rustic Italian Potato Salad ~ The classic yet utterly simple dish will have you wondering why you haven’t been making it for years.My friend recently turned 40 years old. I will not reveal her name as she already was not wanting to acknowledge this achievement…and I completely understand that as my own exact milestone is rapidly approaching.

Her hubby arranged a surprise party to mark the occasion. He, with the help of another friend, purchased the food and doled it out to various friends willing to make all the birthday girls’ favorite foods. I was assigned potato salad (a post on that is coming in a few days). I was supplied with 24 lbs of yukon golds and all the fixings for basic potato salad.  After being given the party headcount, my spidey sense told me that I had more potatoes than necessary.

I have a lot of experience cooking for large crowds and knew 3-8 lb. bags was just too much. I decided to go against instinct and boil up 16 lbs, but after peeling and cubing just one full bag, I knew I had more than enough to feed all the guests at least 3 servings each of potato salad. In the end, I was left with 8 pounds of cooked and peeled potatoes.

I needed to be creative and have a few potato recipes coming your way. Here’s 2 of those 8 pounds. When making this, use a premium olive oil. 

Rustic Italian Potato Salad

Author: Michelle

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes
• 2 ribs celery; diced
• 1/4 cup premium quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup parsley; chopped
• 1/8 tsp black pepper +/- to taste
• 1/4 tsp salt +/- to taste
• 1 1/2 tbsp diced pimento with liquid

Instructions

1. Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil.
2. Once boiling, add a generous amount of salt and return a boil, add the potatoes and cook over medium-high heat until the potatoes are fork-tender; 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.
3. Drain and cool the potatoes long enough to withstand touching them.
4. Peel each potato and cube them into bite size pieces then place them into a large bowl.
5. Toss the potatoes with celery, parsley, pimento, and salt/pepper, and drizzle the olive oil, mix well.
6. Best served warm. Enjoy.

Since I am still learning more about photography and I often play with lighting and such during the shoots. I took the picture below and while it is too dark, I find it kind of romantic…if a bowl of potato salad can be romantic.

Thank you for sharing!