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Purple Potato Salad with Pickled Red Onions & Feta

Roberta Reynolds
Here’s a Potato Salad for the adventurous. We take a sharp right turn from tradition, and use purple potatoes for color. Then we get a little crazy with feta cheese, juicy green olives, scallions, pickled red onion and a mustardy, lemon vinaigrette. Fresh oregano and edible flowers top it all off. Check it out.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 6 -8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • FOR THE SALAD:
  • 5 pounds of purple potatoes steamed and sliced in half if small in fourths if larger.
  • ½ pound feta cheese crumbled into large pieces
  • 1 cup of Castelvetrano Olives pitted and halved (or pitted and halved Kalamata olives if you prefer)
  • ½ cup green onions sliced on the bias
  • 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves or Italian parsley
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh edible flowers (optional)
  • FOR THE PICKLED RED ONIONS
  • 2 large red onions peeled and cut into very thin slices & rings separated
  • Teakettle full of boiling water
  • 2/3 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 2/3 cup cold water
  • 1-2 teaspoons red peppercorns
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • FOR THE LEMON VINAIGRETTE
  • I cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • Zest of one large lemon
  • 3-6 tablespoons lemon juice to your taste
  • 2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • FOR THE POTATOES
  • Steam potatoes over high heat until just tender when pricked with a sharp knife. Set aside to cool. When cool, peel (the peelings should slide right off), and cut into small, ¼ -1/2 inch cubes. Drizzle with just a little olive oil to keep moist. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  • FOR THE PICKLED RED ONIONS
  • Place onion slices in a colander in the sink. Pour boiling water over the top to soften.
  • Rinse with cold water, then place in a glass or other non-reactive bowl.
  • Combine water and rice vinegar. Pour rice wine vinegar and cold water over the top (this should cover the onion slices).
  • Gently stir in salt and pink peppercorns.
  • Cover and refrigerate at least one hour before serving.
  • When ready to serve, cut into 1-inch slices or whatever size you like best.
  • FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
  • In a small bowl, combine the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and Dijon Mustard.
  • Slowly whisk in the extra virgin olive oil, and keep whisking until emulsified.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • TO ASSEMBLE:
  • Place potatoes on an oval platter.
  • Sprinkle green onion, feta cheese, pickled onions, olives, and fresh oregano over potatoes.
  • Drizzle dressing over all. Top with edible flowers. Serve immediately.