Insalata Pantesca, Sicilian Potato Salad

Insalata Pantesca is a beautiful, fresh salad from the island of Pantelleria, Sicily. Made with potatoes, capers, olives and tomatoes, Sicilian oregano and a simple zingy dressing. So easy and good!

Summer is all about fresh and simple dishes and this Sicilian salad is solid on a hot day.

The potatoes are boiled whole in their skins to retain flavour then they're peeled, chopped and tossed with lots of good things like olives, capers and tomatoes.

For us, the oregano is what makes this dish extra good, it's so fragrant and flavourful. We highly recommend buying a bunch of dried oregano (see the ingredient shot below) that you'll find in Italian food stores.

Usually, it's Sicilian oregano and it's so fragrant you'll be blown away by how good it is. It's fairly inexpensive and lasts quite a while so well worth hunting down in our opinion.

Love Sicilian food? check out our collection of traditional Sicilian recipes here!

See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos and tips. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Potatoes – a firm, yellow potato works best for this salad, we use Vivaldi.
• Olives – pitted black or green olives work.
• Capers – Panterellia is famous for it's capers so traditionally those from the island are used. They're both hard to find and expensive so use whatever capers you can find (we use those jarred in brine).
• Oregano – as we said above, dried Sicilian oregano makes a huge difference to this dish. You can buy it in Italian food stores or online (see the link in the recipe card below).
• Onions – we used Tropea onions which we love but you can use a red onion instead. Thinly sliced.
• Dressing – a good extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper is all you need.

Visual walk-through of the recipe

1. Boil the potatoes – wash the potatoes then boil them whole in plenty of boiling salted water until cooked through. Alternatively, you can peel and chop them (they'll cook faster but slightly less flavour) (photos 1 and 2).
2. Prep the onion – peel the onion and cut it in half. Finely slice the onion and add it to a large mixing bowl with the white wine vinegar (photo 3).

1. Assemble – when the potatoes are cooked and cool enough to touch, chop them up and add them to the onions. Add the tomatoes cut in half, olives, capers, oregano, basil and salt and pepper (photo 4).
2. Serve – drizzle over the olive oil, toss everything together and serve .

Recipe Tips

• Boiling the potatoes – boiling the potatoes whole in their skins helps to retain the flavour BUT you can peel and chop them if you're short on time (they'll cook a lot faster). drain and let them steam for a few minutes so the water evaporates.
• Prepping in advance/leftovers – you can prep this whole salad in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy at room temperature.
• Serving suggestions – this salad is good on its own as a light lunch or dinner but also goes well with chicken or fish such as salmon. You can also add some canned tuna (canned in olive oil works best) to the salad as a variation.
• Quantities – you can add more or less of the ingredients to your own preference (more tomatoes, less olives etc).

More Italian summer salads to try

Pasta

Zucchini Shrimp Pasta Salad

Salads

Insalata di Riso (Italian Rice Salad)

Salads

Cannellini Bean Salad with Tuna and Tropea Onions

Salads

Authentic Tuscan Panzanella Salad

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

• 1 lb (450g) 450g potatoes
• 8.8 oz (250g) cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 red onion ((we like to use a Tropea onion))
• ½ cup (70g) black olives ((can use black or green))
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 small handful fresh basil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Wash your potatoes then add them whole to the boiling water until cooked through. They're done when you can insert a knife into the largest one easily (around 20 minutes).

2. Meanwhile, finely slice the onion and add them to a large mixing bowl with the vinegar. Let them sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

3. Once cooked, remove the potatoes and let them sit until they are cool enough to touch. Peel them and roughly chop them then add them to a bowl.

4. Cut the tomatoes in half and add them to the bowl alongside the capers and olives. Add the oregano, torn basil and a good pinch of salt and pepper.

5. Finally, add the olive oil and toss everything together. Enjoy slightly warm or at room temperature.

Kitchen notes

1. 1. Boiling the potatoes boiling the potatoes whole in their skins helps to retain the flavour BUT you can peel and chop them if you're short on time (they'll cook a lot faster). drain and let them steam for a few minutes so the water evaporates.
   2. Prepping in advance/leftovers you can prep this whole salad in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy at room temperature.
   3. Serving suggestions this salad is good on its own as a light lunch or dinner but also goes well with chicken or fish such as salmon. You can also add some canned tuna (canned in olive oil works best) to the salad as a variation.
   4. Quantities you can add more or less of the ingredients to your own preference (more tomatoes, less olives etc).