Eolian potato salad, grandma’s recipe for one of the most appetizing potato salads and the most Sicilian there is. Fresh and delicious, the original Eolian salad, also called the Lipari-style salad, is a big summery potato salad to serve as a side dish, as a main course or as a single dish. It is a boiled potato salad that apparently originated in the Eolian Islands, in the province of Messina. Made with boiled potatoes, sweet red cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, tuna, red onion, oregano, olives and basil, the Eolian Islands salad is an explosion of aroma and flavor.

The Eolian potato salad is prepared in a few minutes, but you must also consider the time to boil the potatoes and let them cool, maybe preparing them well in advance — in the morning for the evening, or the night before for lunch the next day. Once ready, the Eolian salad is perfect for a lunch at the beach or at the office, just like the Greek-style potato salad or potato salad with tuna and hard-boiled eggs!

Fresh basil, oregano, white wine vinegar and olive oil are the seasoning ingredients of the Eolian Islands salad, which becomes a Pantescan salad if you omit the oil-packed tuna. So what are we waiting for — let’s make it together! Before we start cooking and discover how to make the Eolian potato salad, remember that if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).

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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very inexpensive
Rest time: 1 Hour
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Portions: 5
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients for making Eolian potato salad

1 lb 5 oz potatoes (about 600 g, roughly 4 medium potatoes)
5 oz oz tuna in oil (drained)
3 tbsp capers (salted) (rinsed/desalted)
1 red onion (small)
2 2/3 cups cherry tomatoes
to taste salt
to taste extra virgin olive oil
to taste basil
to taste black olives
to taste green olives
to taste vinegar (white or red, if desired)

Tools

Pot
Bowl

How to make the Eolian salad

Place the potatoes in a pot, cover them with water, add salt and cook for 35–40 minutes from the boil or until a skewer goes through them easily. Do not overcook them; it’s better to leave them slightly undercooked as they will continue to cook by residual heat. Drain them and let them cool gently at room temperature or in room-temperature water, changing the water often. Do not rinse them under cold or icy water, as they would break apart.
Once they reach room temperature, place them in the fridge for 1 hour, then peel them and cut them into chunks and transfer them to a bowl.
Rinse the cherry tomatoes and cut them into quarters. Peel the onion and slice it thinly; if you want to mellow its flavor, let it rest in salted water for 20 minutes (it will also become softer), then squeeze it. Add it to the potatoes together with the tomatoes, olives, capers (well rinsed and desalted), and the drained tuna. Add salt, oil, oregano, basil and, if you like, a little vinegar, mix and enjoy.
The salad is ready; you can eat it immediately or store it in the fridge in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap and consume it within 24 hours.