Traditional Greek Potato Salad

Summertime is great for casual barbecues with friends and family, and one of my signature side dishes that goes with any thing cooked on the grill is traditional Greek potato salad.  Forget the recipes weighed down by heavy and gooey mayonnaise; who needs that sitting in the heat, or in your stomach for that matter? The ingredients you'll need are:

5-6 potatoes
3 hard boiled eggs
1/2 medium onion
olive oil
white or champagne vinegar
salt and pepper
olives

Start by peeling and cutting the potatoes in half, and boiling until tender.  I like to make sure all the chunks of potato are uniform in size so they soften in the same time.  Let them boil about 20 minutes to get to desired tenderness.  You don't want them too mushy or they will disintegrate.

While your potatoes are boiling, hard boil some eggs.  I put them in a pot with water covering them, and turn the heat on high.  Let the water come to a boil and wait 2 minutes.  I then cover the pot, shut off the heat, and let the pot sit on the hot burner.  By the time I'm ready to peel them they have cooked to my liking.

Once the potatoes are boiled, rinse them with cool water and drain.  Put in a large serving bowl and cut into chunks.  Chop 1/2 an onion and add to potatoes.  (I sometimes use red onion for more of a kick!). Now you can peel your hard boiled eggs, chop, and add to potatoes.  Add salt and pepper for taste.  In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup white vinegar, and whisk together.  Pour over potatoes. Add olives to top of potato salad, and your done!

I recommend making this a few hours before you would like to serve, because I like to put this in the fridge and let it get cold.  The longer it sits (and soaks up all the oil and vinegar) the better this salad tastes.  If I have leftovers, I sometimes add some more oil & vinegar if it seems to have dried up a bit.

Enjoy this easy to make potato salad during the summer or in any season! Kali oreksi.