It’s a little known fact the many Italians enjoy American style “junk food.” Specifically, and I’ll use an anecdote to describe the phenomena, during our summer trips to Italy my Italian relatives would beg my mother to bring over US style foods such as: pancake mix with artificial maple syrup, Hershey’s milk chocolate bars, Ritz crackers, etc. In fact, our family would arrive in Calabria on a weekend and a few days later my mother would be making pancakes for the entire village of Pellegrina. Part of the junk food appeal was the novelty factor but I also think the village folk enjoyed the sweet and salty attributes of our western junk.
Fast forward about 25 years and I, at times, crave crappy Americanized junk food (our first documented claim here on Scordo.com). Specifically, it’s US style hot dogs with mustard and sauerkraut, potato chips of any variety, and even some mayonnaise based dishes such as coleslaw and potato salad when prepared well (I emphasize “prepared well”).
The following is a recipe for Italian potato salad which, of course, contains extra virgin olive and parsley, amongst other ingredients, and no mayonnaise.
Italian Potato Salad
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Italian potato salad
Cook: Vince from Scordo
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds of Red bliss potatoes (or California New Potatoes)
- 1 bunch of parsley, chopped
- 1 medium sized red onion, sliced thinly
- ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 9-10 mint leaves, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- Splash of red wine vinegar
Process
- Dice the potatoes into 1 inch cubes (with skin on) and boil until potatoes are fork tender. Drain potatoes and add them to a large bowl, while potatoes are still hot add parsley, mint, oregano, onions, and extra virgin olive oil. Mix well and add the Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and splash of red wine vinegar. Enjoy the potato salad during summer cook outs and with dishes like high quality hot dogs and hamburgers.
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