My spring potato salad makes a great side dish with roasted potatoes, nutty fava beans, sweet peas, soft boiled eggs, and a garlicky olive dressing. This post is sponsored by California Ripe Olives and CA Grown. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Beyond Sweet and Savory possible.
With Easter right around the corner, I’m looking forward to sharing a fun Easter spread with marmalade roasted ham, a few side dishes, and carrot cake for a sweet ending. Potato salad has always been my go to side dish for major gatherings. This year, I’m excited to partner with CA Ripe Olives to bring you a spring take on the humble potato salad. Using seasonal ingredients, this spring potato salad features garlicky roasted potatoes, nutty fava beans, sweet peas, soft boiled eggs, and a garlicky olive dressing to bring everything together. Delicious eaten hot or cold, it pairs perfectly with meat and fish and doubles as leftovers for your next meal.
Ingredient Notes
- Fava beans: also known as broad beans, have a slightly sweet, buttery, and nutty taste. You can buy fresh ones and pod them or pre-podded frozen fava beans. For fresh fava beans, choose pods that are bright green and full to the ends. They’re available at farmers markets and grocery stores during the spring.
- English peas: also known as shell peas, are a type of garden peas known for their sweet flavor and bright, beautiful green color. You can buy fresh ones and pod them yourselves or buy the fresh prepodded ones.
- Olives: I used canned green California Ripe Olives but you can use black or a mixture of both, whole or sliced.
- Potatoes: I like using organic baby red potatoes for the spring potato salad. These potatoes need a quick wash before they get parboiled. There is no need to peel the skin. Look for potatoes that are uniformly sized so that they cook evenly when boiled. New potatoes and fingerling potatoes also make a great substitute.
About California Olives
Canned California Ripe Olives have been my pantry staple for years. They go into appetizers, salads, dressing, and main dishes. California produces over 95% of the olives grown in the US. The olives are grown in California's Central Valley and handled with the most care from the groves to the table by many small family farms. After being harvested in the fall, the olives are sent to one of two family owned, multi-generational processing plants for curing and canning. When purchasing olives, look for California on the can.
How to Make Potato Salad
- Par-boil the potatoes until they are almost cooked through. Then drain and add to the roasting pan. This process helps ensure a crispy exterior and soft and fluffy potato interior.
- Cook the soft-boiled eggs. I like to cook them for 7 minutes which leaves a wonderful jammy center.
- To double-peel fresh fava beans, pod the beans, then blanch in a saucepan of salted boiling water until tender (about 1-3 minutes), transfer them to a bowl with iced water, then drain. Peel the skins and discard.
- Blanch the English peas by cooking them in a pot of salted water for 1 minute. Transfer the peas to a bowl of iced water then drain.
- Make the olive dressing by combining olive oil, chopped olives, honey, grated garlic, and salt in a bowl. Taste and season with additional salt and olive oil as needed. The garlicky, briny olive dressing is really what makes this potato salad stand out from all others.
Make Ahead and Storage
All the ingredients for the spring potato salad can be prepped the day before including the dressing. Dress the salad right before serving. This salad will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
For more salad inspiration:
Spring potato salad with olive dressing
Ingredients
For the Potatoes
- 12 ounces red skinned potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Salad
- 4 soft boiled eggs, halved (more if you like)
- 1 cup (5 ounces) podded fava beans
- 2 cups (10 ounces) podded English peas
- 2 tablespoons chive blossoms for garnish
- freshly ground pepper for garnish
Olive Dressing
- ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons chopped CA Ripe Olives
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 2 medium cloves of garlic, peeled and grated
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, add potatoes and cook until almost cooked through; drain. Transfer potatoes to a roasting tray lined with parchment paper. Halve larger potatoes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Drizzle olive oil mixture over potatoes. Toss to coat. Roast the potatoes for about 20 minutes, or until golden.
- To make the 7-minute eggs, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high. Carefully lower eggs into water using a slotted spoon. Set your alarm for 7 minutes and maintain a gentle boil. Once the alarm goes off, transfer the eggs to a bowl filled with ice water and let them chill until they are just slightly warm, about 2 minutes. Gently crack eggs all over and peel, starting from the fattest end containing the air pocket. Set them aside until ready to use.
- Pod the fava beans by snapping the pod open and removing the beans. In a medium saucepan filled with salted water, bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the fava beans until the skin turns bright green and becomes soft, about 1-3 minutes depending on size. Transfer them to a bowl with iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain. Once they are cool enough to handle, use your fingers to remove the waxy, white translucent covering.
- In a medium saucepan filled with salted water, bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Blanch the peas by cooking them for 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peas to an ice water bath to stop cooking then drain.
- To make the olive dressing, add olive oil, chopped olives, grated garlic, and salt to a small bowl. Mix everything together with a spoon.
- When ready to serve, transfer potatoes to a large platter, layer with fava beans and peas. Add the eggs on top. Drizzle olive dressing over the salad. Garnish with freshly ground pepper and chive blossoms.
Dianna
Wonderful recipe! I don't like peas as much as fava so I replaced all the peas with fava.