patatosalata

Firstly, let it be stated that I adore potatoes.

I adore them.

It’s starting to get colder in Sydney and so I finally have an excuse to indulge in potatoes again.

I could eat them boiled, mashed, roasted and fried. The only way I can’t eat them is raw.

And yes there are people who eat them raw, as you would an apple. When I was small my neighbours would sit in front of the TV eating raw potatoes as though it was completely normal behaviour. I tried it, but it wasn’t for me.

One way I particularly like potatoes is in a warm salad, when the potato soaks up the tangy citrus dressing and the flavours are fresh, sharp and yet still cosy.

This salad fits the criteria exquisitely.

Patatosalata Kypriaka – Cypriot Potato Salad
Recipe from Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros. Serves 8 as side dish.
Ingredients:
1 red onion, very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1.5kg waxy potatoes
3 tablespoons drained baby capers
30g chopped parsley
Juice of 1 ½ lemons
100g good quality black olives
125ml extra virgin olive oil
Method:
1. Put onion slices in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Leave for 30 minutes. This removes the strength of the onions and makes them more palatable and the dish more balanced.
2. Boil cleaned potatoes in salted water for 20-25 minutes until they are cooked but not breaking up.
3. Drain well, allow to cool a little then peel them while they are warm.
4. Cut them into chunks.
5. Rinse onion and drain well, then pat dry with paper towels.
6. Add all the ingredients to potato, season with salt and pepper. Mix through gently and serve warm or at room temperature
Note: if you make this in advance the potatoes will soak up the dressing so reserve a little of the oil until you are about to serve.
You can add chopped boiled eggs or anchovies to the salad.

The word caper is said to derived from Latin capparis, which evolved from the Greek kapparis (κάππαρις). This word either came from West or Central Asia, where the caper is said to originate, or from the Greek word for Cyprus, because the island contains many caper shrubs.

A caper is a biennial spiny shrub, grown mostly in European and North African countries in the Mediterranean, although California also produces significant amounts.

The immature bud and larger fruit are pickled in oil, vinegar or brine, or cured in salt. These pickled buds are important ingredients in many Mediterranean dishes, but feature particularly in Italian and Cypriot recipes.

Since capers are hand harvested, the smaller capers are more expensive and highly prized due to the intensive labour needed to harvest them. Buds are picked in the mornings and the smaller the caper, the more expensive it is, due to high labour involved in collecting.

The caper family, Capparidaceae, are related to the cabbage family and the capers’ mustard oil glycosides (bitter flavonoids) are similar in other species such as mustard, wasabi and horseradish.

This week, WHB is hosted by one of my all time favourite bloggers, Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once. Be sure to look over the recap, as well as check out Haalo's endless list of delicious recipes, complete with drool-inducing photos.

References:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artcapers.html
http://whatscookingamerica.net/capers.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caper
http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Capp_spi.html

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes weekend herb blogging whb salad parsley capers potato patatosalata potato salad cypriot recipes cypriot food cypriot cuisine