Recipe: Potato Salad with Fried Capers
When I played for the Cal Women’s Volleyball team in college, my teammates and I each had a short intro video that would be shown during warm-ups. You’ve seen these for other sporting events—the athlete answers some questions about their life, maybe catches or throws a ball, smiles as the camera pans to one side. In my video, I was asked, “what’s your favorite food?” You can imagine how thrilled I was to answer this question! “Potato,” I state proudly, “because it is such a versatile vegetable.”
Now, more than a decade later, my answer hasn’t changed. I simply love potatoes in every form: baked, fried, roasted, turned into salty chips, grated to hash browns, diced and sautéed in olive oil and too much butter. I’d be happy eating potatoes for dinner every night.
Many people don’t know that potatoes taste best during summer. It’s true that they are hardy and can be stored over winter, but a freshly dug potato, pulled from the warm dirt in July, with its thin, papery skin, is such a delicious treat. You’ll often see piles of potatoes at summer farmers markets, and while they may not be quite as flashy as the heirloom tomatoes, they are absolutely worth your attention.
Try cooking them quickly in generously salted boiling water and turning them into this simple potato salad. One bite and you might be singing the praises of potatoes, too.
Potato Salad with Garlic Chips and Fried Capers
Scrub some red or yellow potatoes, cut them into bite-size pieces, and boil them in generously salted water until tender when poked with a fork, about 15 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, slice a good amount of (6 or 7 or more!) garlic cloves. Blot dry a fistful of capers on a towel. Warm at least ½ cup of olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic to the hot oil and fry, stirring often, until lightly golden. Make sure the garlic doesn’t brown too much—as soon as you see it turn a light golden color, pour the garlic and oil through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Return the oil to the saucepan. Fry the capers until they brown slightly and float. Let the garlic chips and fried capers drain on a paper towel and reserve the garlic-caper oil. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain them and transfer to a large bowl. Mix in ¼ cup of the garlic-caper oil, 3 Tbsp of white wine vinegar, the juice from ½ lemon, lots of freshly ground black pepper, a pinch each of fennel seeds and paprika, and 1 bunch of chopped fresh dill. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Scatter the garlic chips and fried capers over the potato salad and serve warm or at room temperature.
