As I showed a couple of weeks ago, the raised vegetable beds that my husband built are filled to capacity with fresh vegetables and herbs. The rosemary plant is in a “no holds barred” battle, duking it out with the basil and tomato plants for sunlight. We are impartial judges and are doing our best to disentangle the fighting foliage. In the meantime, the prolific rosemary allows us to make unlimited batches of roasted potatoes and Grilled Lemon Rosemary Chicken. It was time to add another dish to the repertoire so we could use our garden bounty, and this potato salad was just the thing.
A summertime barbecue just isn’t the same without a side of potato salad. Every now and then I like to indulge in a few bites of a traditional mayo-based salad, complete with hard-boiled eggs and sweet pickles. In recent years, however, I’ve steered clear of these creamy versions and moved to lighter fare, such as Potato Salad with Gorgonzola, Sage & Red Chiles or Pesto Potato, Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Salad. This particular version involves layering boiled red-skinned potatoes with chopped tomatoes and a light vinaigrette made of fresh rosemary and capers. Dressing the potatoes while still warm allows the vinaigrette to be absorbed more thoroughly.
The recipe:
Place potato rounds in a large pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool for about 5 minutes.
For the dressing, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, capers, rosemary garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
Layer one-third of the potatoes and tomatoes in a large serving bowl. Spoon over one-third of the dressing.
Repeat two more times with the remaining potatoes, tomatoes and dressing. Cover and let cool in the refrigerator. Serve.
Other potato salad recipes:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Potato Salad with Gorgonzola, Sage & Red Chiles
Cookin’ Canuck’s Pesto Potato, Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Salad
101 Cookbooks’ Grilled Potato Salad
Guilty Kitchen’s Grainy Dijon Potato Salad
My Cooking Hut’s Purple Majesty Potato Salad
Potato Salad with Rosemary & Capers Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes cut into 1/4-inch rounds
Dressing:
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium tomatoes cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Instructions
- Place potato rounds in a large pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool for about 5 minutes.
- For the dressing, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, capers, rosemary garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Layer one-third of the potatoes and tomatoes in a large serving bowl. Spoon over one-third of the dressing. Repeat two more times with the remaining potatoes, tomatoes and dressing. Cover and let cool in the refrigerator. Serve.
Nutrition
Elin says
Jul 29, 2011 at 2:19 amThis is simple to make and yet delicious. Thank you so much CC for sharing this potato salad with us 🙂
Maris (In Good Taste) says
Jul 29, 2011 at 3:31 amI will make this for the dressing alone looks so fantastic! Beautiful photos!
Ruth says
Jul 29, 2011 at 4:43 amThis is so simple and so great at the same time! It’s definitely a keeper!
claudia lamascolo/aka pegasuslegend says
Jul 29, 2011 at 5:02 amJust the way we like it! My mom never used mayo, the rosemary will be a nice addition love it!
Heather (Heather's Dish) says
Jul 29, 2011 at 5:53 amanother great excuse to get more potatoes into my diet!
Chris @ TheKeenanCookBook says
Jul 29, 2011 at 6:04 amAnother simple, light, and delicious summer side dish from you. I love it! I was a huge fan of your Feta Grilled Squash, Tomato & Feta Cheese Salad Recipe so I see myself making this soon. Bookmarking for future taste testing. Yum
Bev Weidner says
Jul 29, 2011 at 6:32 amHeeeeck yes. Love this. Pretty, pretty!
Barbara Bakes says
Jul 29, 2011 at 6:52 amI’ve been wanting to try potato salad with a vinaigrette. Your looks fresh and tasty.
Jenny Flake says
Jul 29, 2011 at 7:43 amBEAUTIFUL! All of my favorite flavors 🙂
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
Jul 29, 2011 at 7:50 amAfter a lifetime of mayo-based potato salads, I’ve really started loving the ones with a vinaigrette lately! And I especially like your adding capers, one of my most favorite ingredients. Gotta try this very soon.
bellini says
Jul 29, 2011 at 7:51 amWe are always looking for special potato salad recipes!
Maria says
Jul 29, 2011 at 8:03 amOur rosemary is doing really well this year. I will have to use some up by making this salad!
KalynsKitchen says
Jul 29, 2011 at 8:37 amLooks delicious and the photos are wonderful.
Nichol says
Jul 29, 2011 at 9:07 amI love this! We are fans of potato salad and love changing it up!
Michelle @ Brown Eyed Baker says
Jul 29, 2011 at 9:14 amWhat a gorgeous potato salad! I love that the potatoes are sliced instead of chopped, and uses a light dressing.
Pretend Chef says
Jul 29, 2011 at 11:03 amI love the sounds and looks of this. I am such a potato salad fan and am up trying it in a new way. The addition of capers makes me absolutely giddy. Yummy!
Barbara | Creative Culinary says
Jul 29, 2011 at 11:24 amAlthough I love the potato salad I’ve made since I was a young girl; I’ve grown more and more fond of a version similar to yours, dubbed French Potato Salad in our house. How easy is this…and how versatile too! On top of the lighter mouthfeel and the fresh taste of herbs…I love that it’s not made with ingredients that spoil in the heat of a BBQ. Capers I’ve not done…but now will; thanks for the idea!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
Jul 29, 2011 at 11:52 amsounds so fresh. I can’t wait to try this caper dressing
Kathleen says
Jul 29, 2011 at 11:58 amDara, this looks amazing! I love potatoes any which way I can have them!
The Food Hunter says
Jul 29, 2011 at 2:22 pmGreat potato salad. The dressing sounds delicious.
Kimby says
Jul 29, 2011 at 3:34 pmMy rosemary plant is still thriving in spite of the heat and I have capers in the fridge… tomorrow morning’s Farmers Market will supply the fresh tomatoes. Thank you for this lighter version of potato salad, Dara!
Krista {Budget Gourmet Mom} says
Jul 29, 2011 at 3:51 pmI love a classic potato salad but it can be so heavy. This sounds so filling but lighter and perfect for summer! Yum!
Miss @ Miss in the Kitchen says
Jul 29, 2011 at 5:44 pmRosemary is my favorite herb for potatoes, sounds fantastic!
Marla says
Jul 29, 2011 at 5:47 pmGreat looking potato salad….dressing while still warm is a very, very smart thing to do. If we lived closer I would be hitting you up for those fresh herbs. Have a great weekend!
kankana says
Jul 29, 2011 at 11:26 pmLove the idea of the rosemary dressing .. and this salad looks so delicious.
Maureen says
Jul 30, 2011 at 7:28 amI love how you’ve cut the potatoes and the rosemary dressing sounds so much better than a tub of mayonnaise.
Elizabeth says
Jul 30, 2011 at 10:34 amMmm, I have a bad bad love of capers. I try to sneak them into so many dishes. I love those salty little berries. My sister, when I was a kid, used to stand at the refrigerator door with a spoon eating them out of the jar. My mother would by extra large packages of them just for her.
This is a lovely potato salad, something right up my alley. I also have a huge rosemary bush duking it out with my strawberries, sage and a lily! The rosemary is clearly winning…
Carolyn says
Jul 31, 2011 at 6:16 amI love rosemary and I love capers, and they must be wonderful on potato salad. My garden has gone a bit wild as well. We had some volunteer zucchini plants spring up, most likely from seeds in our compost, and they’ve essentially crowded out the lettuce.
Drick says
Jul 31, 2011 at 7:22 amdog-gone-it, this is so similar to the salad I just made for a BBQ dinner…. something about the capers working within the dressing – the tomatoes sits beautifully along side the potatoes…
Dara (Cookin' Canuck) says
Jul 31, 2011 at 8:09 amI hope we get to see your version on your blog, Drick!
Cooking Creation says
Jul 31, 2011 at 12:44 pmWow… this sounds so good! My husband would kill me if I strayed from his mayo, sugar and vinegar potato salad, though. 🙁
Courtney says
Jul 31, 2011 at 2:43 pmThis looks absolutely beautiful .. Wow! I’ve never had a non-mayo potato salad. Can’t wait to try 🙂
Katrina says
Jul 31, 2011 at 2:56 pmThis salad looks so tasty. Great flavour ideas!
Tracy says
Aug 2, 2011 at 12:09 pmSo lovely and light. Love it!