I remember at the age of 8 pitching a fit at Clearwater Beach because there was mayonnaise on my ham sandwich. I whined so much there was also sand in the sandwich by the time my parents made me eat it. Since then, I’ve hated both mayo and beachside sandwiches. That is why I love my family’s recipe for Greek Potato Salad – it have very little mayonnaise in it. I’ve had it assembled a couple different ways – some bury the potatoes underneath the traditional salad and some make a nest out of the salad for the potatoes. Either way, I love how light this salad is in comparison with normal American mayo-gloppyness (technical term). This is a perfect side dish for a picnic, al fresco meal or even to eat throughout the week for lunches!

Greek Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 or so pounds of Idaho potatoes
• 1/2 large sweet onion
• olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• mayo
• 1 head iceburg
• 1 handful good Greek kalamata olives
• 1 English cucumber
• tomatoes
• feta cheese
• dried oregano
• salt & pepper

Assembly: Bring a large pot of very salty water to a roaring boil. Meanwhile, using a mandolin, cut uncooked potatoes (peeled or unpeeled) into 1/4 inch slices. Additionally slice the sweet onion on the lowest setting on the mandolin – I used 1/16 inch. Once the water is boiling, add the potato slices and monitor like a hawk. Once the potatoes are just tender (the water temperature lowered for me and I had to check the taters about every 3 minutes). Once tender, drain the potatoes and add the onions (the heat of the potatoes will slightly cook the onions). Dress generously with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. You want to taste to make sure they are seasoned will with both vinegar and salt. Refrigerate until cold. Once the potato salad is chilled well, add about 2 or 3 tablespoons of mayo. Don’t over do this – it is just to make them creamy not to add any flavor. In a large bowl, make a nest with large slices of iceburg lettuce. Top with olives, large chunks of cucumber, tomatoes and chucks of feta cheese. Dress the salad with olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano and salt and pepper. Fill the nest with potato salad.