Insalata di Patate all'Italiana

Americans see potato salad and reach for the mayonnaise. Italians see potatoes and reach for the olive oil. This fundamental difference explains everything about how our cuisines diverge.

The secret to Italian potato salad is not a secret at all. You dress the potatoes while they are warm. Warm potatoes are porous, receptive, eager to absorb whatever you give them. Cold potatoes are dense and stubborn. They sit in the dressing without taking it in. Every Italian grandmother knows this. It is curious that so few American cooks have learned it.

This is a summer dish, best made when you can eat it outdoors with grilled fish or chicken. The capers and olives provide salt and brine. The celery adds crunch. The herbs remind you that you are eating something alive, something from the garden. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in. There is no onion here because the shallot is enough. There is no garlic because it would overwhelm. Restraint is not deprivation. It is wisdom.