La Cucina Italiana’s ‘Potato, Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad’
The simplicity of this salad is the main reason why I love it so much. Simple in its ingredients and its preparation, however the resulting combination of flavors is complex. This is true of most Italian cooking; their kitchen culture revolves around seasonal produce, high quality ingredients, and unique combinations of flavors. This simple salad from La Cucina Italiana magazine is composed of tender potato wedges and blanched broccoli and cauliflower florets, all tossed with a simple dressing of briny capers, flavorful olives, tart red wine vinegar, and high quality extra virgin olive oil. A wonderful side dish to just about any Italian entrée, this vegetarian side dish is as quintessentially Italian as it gets.
(To view this recipe based on the original from La Cucina Italiana, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
‘Potato, Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad’
Ingredients:
- Recipe based on the original from La Cucina Italiana:
- 1 head of broccoli, washed, dried and divided into individual florets
- 1 head of cauliflower, washed, dried and divided into individual florets
- 6 baby red potatoes, scrubbed, quartered
- ½ cup mixed olives, green & black
- 3 Tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
- For the vinaigrette:
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup red wine vinaigrette
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. First, add the potato wedges into the water and cook until tender when pierced with a knife, about 10-12 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in large mixing bowl.
- Next, add the broccoli and cauliflower florets into the same pot of boiling water. (You made need to first bring the water back to a boil after removing the potatoes.) Blanch for 2 minutes or until the broccoli is bright green and both vegetables are tender. Add the florets into the bowl along with the cooked potatoes. Toss together, along with the olives and the capers.
- In a small bowl whisk all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette together until emulsified. Pour over the cooked vegetables and toss, allowing the salad to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving. This give the vinaigrette time to be absorbed by the potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower. Serve room temperature.
Tagged: broccoli, capers, cauliflower, Italian, Italy, La Cucina Italiana, olives, potatoes, red wine vinegar, Salad, side dish, vegetarian, vinaigrette
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