The first time we prepared this salad inspired to Pantelleria’s flavor gems – capers – we were not in the tiny island of Pantelleria, in Sicily. We were actually upstate New York, in New Paltz, at the dreamy farm of Ray Bradley. We were kicking off a new Gustiamo tradition: a Ferragosto (15th of August) celebration with Ray, our absolute favorite farmer. We cooked a full menu for 60 (sixty!) people, marrying together Ray’s fantastic produce and some Gustiamo staple ingredients. Here’s an adapted version of the recipe for a smaller crowd for the balmy weather.
Ingredients
SERVES: 4-6 people
TIME: 45 minutes
4 medium potatoes (Yukon Gold or Eastern)
8 fresh plum tomatoes
1/2 small red onion
12 large basil leaves, thinly sliced
Black olives (40 gr/ 1.5 oz)
4 anchovies, cleaned, filleted, and torn into pieces
Capers, rinsed and patted dry (30 gr/1 oz)
12 caper leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of EVOO
Fine sea salt
Black pepper
Preparation
- Scrub the potatoes. Boil them until they are easily pierced with a fork (30-35 minutes). Drain and let them cool. Peel, halve, and slice them crosswise. Transfer to a large salad bowl.
- Peel and halve the onion lengthwise, then slice crosswise very thinly. Put the onion slices into a bowl with cold water and set aside.
- Wash the tomatoes and cut into 1 1/4-inch cubes.
- Add to the salad bowl tomatoes, capers, caper leaves, basil, anchovies, black olives, and drained onions.
- Add enough EVOO to coat all the ingredients, season with salt and black pepper, and toss to mix thoroughly.
- Serve immediately or chill with a slice of bread.