Greek Potato Salad
Get a different taste with every bite in this summery main-dish salad. It's a great way to show off tomatoes and green beans at their peaks. Use a mix of heirloom tomatoes, large and small, if you have them.
Active time: 30 minutes, starting with hard-boiled eggs. Total time: 30 minutes. Makes 4 main-dish servings, 2 1/2 cups each.
Ingredients
4 hard-boiled eggs
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups diced potatoes, in 3/4" pieces
3 cups green beans in bite-sized pieces, cut at a diagonal
1 green pepper
4 cups tomato, cut into bite-sized pieces (600 grams)
Dressing
2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 1 small lemon)
5 tablespoons olive oil (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
1/8 teaspoon mustard
1 clove garlic, put through garlic press or minced into very small pieces
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
8 leaves fresh basil (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Boil eggs at least a day before if possible. Refrigerating them overnight will make them easier to peel.
- Put garlic through a garlic press or mince very fine. Put in a dressing jar and set aside.
- In a covered medium pot, bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat.
- Meanwhile, scrub potatoes. Peel if not organic. Cut off any bad spots and cut into 3/4 inch cubes. Add to water as you cut.
- Rinse green beans and cut off tips. Cut into bite-sized pieces at a diagonal. Add to pot as you cut.
- When water begins to boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer, partly covered, for about 8 minutes or until potatoes and green beans are tender but still firm.
- Meanwhile, rinse tomatoes and cut into bite-sized pieces. If using cherry tomatoes, cut each in half. Put in a medium bowl. Rinse, core, and seed green pepper and cut into bite-sized pieces and add to bowl. Peel eggs, cut into bite-sized pieces, and set aside to add after mixing in the dressing.
- Make dressing. Juice lemon and put juice into dressing jar. Add olive oil and mustard. Cover jar and shake briskly until dressing is combined. If the jar doesn't have a lid, whisk until smooth. Taste, then add salt and pepper as needed.
- Drain potatoes and green beans as soon as they are done, saving water for other uses (see notes). Add to bowl. Add dressing. Toss to mix and coat evenly with dressing. Add eggs and toss gently. If using basil, rinse leaves and roll lengthwise like a cigar. Cut across roll with a sharp knife to make basil ribbons. Top salad with basil ribbons.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, topped with feta cheese and basil ribbons, if using. Refrigerate any extra. Keeps for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator.
Tips and notes
- Use flat Italian beans if possible. Their robust taste will stand up to the tomatoes and their wide shape looks festive cut on the diagonal into diamond shapes.
- A dressing jar must have a tight-fitting lid, but otherwise can be anything from a recycled glass jar to a canning jar to a fancy jar marked with recommended proportions of oil and vinegar.
- Save water from boiling potatoes and green beans to make oatmeal, rice, or stoup.
- Make vegan potato salad by using 2 cups of cooked and drained chickpeas instead of eggs and skipping the feta cheese.
