You hear it often, but this time it’s true: this salad is all about the
ingredients. Because there are so few, seek out the best you can
find. When Mantuano and Grueneberg assemble this salad in the
Spiaggia kitchen (it’s based on a salad Grueneberg ate on the island
of Pantellena, off the southern coast of Sicily), they use such a
colorful array of farmer’s-market potatoes and tomatoes—reds,
yellows, and purples exploding across the plate—that I can’t
imagine re-creating this salad without them. You can only really
make this salad in summer, and when you do, make sure to shop
with an eye for color. Be generous with the olive oil at the end.
That’s how they do it in Italy.
1 cup assorted peewee potatoes (baby Yukons, purple
potatoes, fingerlings, German butterballs), boiled in salted
water until cooked through, then sliced in half
1 cup assorted cherry tomatoes, preferably heirloom (purple,
orange, yellow, etc.), sliced in half along the equator
½ red onion, slivered very thin
Extra virgin olive oil (the best you have)
Balsamic vinegar (the best you have; it should be syrupy)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 pieces calamari, cleaned*, purple skin removed
1 lemon
⅛ cup dried capers, reconstituted in water
Whole basil leaves