Greek Style Potato Salad

I was going to make some burgers on the grill a few days back and couldn't think of anything for a side dish. I have made my Mustard Potato Salad a few times recently, and of course my Pan Potatoes, Oven Fried Potatoes, and Grilled Potato Salad a couple of times. I know there are other things than potatoes to make as a side dish for burgers, but there was not much else fresh to make. Summer is nearly here but really wonderful summer produce is still a ways off. The grocery stores still have the same tired vegetables that have come from all over the world. Good enough I guess, but I am really craving nice fresh garden vegetables from our little Farmers Market. Not yet, alas.

Greek Style Potato Salad

So back to a side dish. Potatoes it was going to be. What to do differently? I have a recipe for a Greek potato salad that I made up quite a few years back. It was really good, using red skinned potatoes sliced thinly with skins left on. And therein lies the problem. My husband won 't eat potato skins, so that potato salad, while delicious to me, was anathema to him. I am going to make it again sometime soon regardless. It is a long time since I made that. Meanwhile, the "Greek" flavors sounded good to me. I had some Feta in the fridge, dill in the spice cabinet. Lemon is also a classic Greek flavor and I thought I would use the vinaigrette concept, but using lemon juice.

Bowing to my husband's dislike of potato skins, I baked the potatoes whole and let them cool enough to handle easily. I took off the skins and just crumbled them into a bowl with my hands. I was going for rustic instead of structured. I made the lemon and olive oil vinaigrette and used capers and the Feta cheese. Olives and/or tomatoes would also be nice additions if you like them. I do; my husband does not. I left them out.

All in all, the flavors in this potato salad were really wonderful. Everything tasted great together. I would love to have used fresh dill, but even still this was good. 

Greek Style Potato Salad

Greek Style Potato Salad

Serves about 6

2 pounds russet potatoes (5 - 6 medium)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dill weed or 1 tablespoon fresh
⅓ cup lemon juice
½ cup olive oil
3 scallions, chopped
1 - 2 teaspoons capers
½ cup Feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes well, pat dry and set them on a baking sheet. Bake the potatoes until tender, about 45 minutes. Set the potatoes aside until cool enough to handle.

In a large bowl, whisk together the salt, garlic, dill weed and lemon juice. Add the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking constantly to emulsify.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove skins if desired, then crush the potatoes into the vinaigrette. If leaving skins on, you may need to cut them into chunks. Add in the scallions, capers and Feta cheese and toss well to combine. This potato salad tastes best tepid or at room temperature.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.