Buttermilk Potato Salad With Preserved Lemon

By Samantha Seneviratne

Published July 8, 2024

  • Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
55 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes, plus 15 minutes’ cooling
Rating
5(250)
Comments
Read comments

Preserved lemons are lemons that have been packed in salt and spices and allowed to ferment in their own juices. The resulting fruit softens and becomes even tangier with a satisfying salty pucker. You can rinse them before chopping and adding them to soups, stews and dressings, or you can use them as is. Here they add an unexpected zing to a simple buttermilk-based potato salad. Look for them in the international aisle at the supermarket or make your own. 

Featured in: The Ingredient That Brightens Every Dish It’s In

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1½ pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes

  • Salt and pepper

  • ½ cup buttermilk

  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

  • 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 large garlic clove, grated

  • ½ preserved lemon, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons), plus 1 teaspoon brine

  • 1 small shallot, finely chopped (or ¼ cup finely chopped red onion, about ¼ small onion)

  • ¾ cup green olives (such as Castelvetrano), pitted and torn 

  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped dill

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

36 grams carbs; 4 milligrams cholesterol; 252 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 598 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 4 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cover the potatoes with 1 inch of salted water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over high and cook until they are just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain them and slice them in half when they are cool enough to handle.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil and garlic. Stir in the preserved lemon and brine, the shallot and olives and season to taste with salt and pepper.

  3. Step 3

    Stir the warm potatoes and herbs into the dressing and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Enjoy the salad warm, at room temperature or cover and chill to serve cold.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
250 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

RB

Because I had them on hand, I used capers instead of olives and added some chopped celery. I'm sort of verklempt at how good it was. The brine, the tang, the added crunch---is it possible to be moved by potato salad?

EmEl

Excellent! Made as per recipe except used a whole preserved lemon (because really, there can never be too much preserved lemon!). I thought there wasn’t going to be enough dressing but it was fine.

Judy

In preserving the lemons, do they sit out or in the fridge? It says to keep them in the fridge when they are ready, but before?

Zackbox

This deserves its 5 stars! However, I didn’t measure anything. Have you ever watched a professional chef cook? They mix ingredients without measuring and then taste to correct them. Remember: baking is a science; cooking is an art. Hints to make it even better: buy cultured buttermilk. The difference in taste is everything. I roasted my potatoes and incidentally found green olives with tangerine and hot chili. It helped put this over the top. My family all agreed that this is the single best potato salad any of us had ever eaten!

Joanne

A keeper. Doubled the recipe and it scaled perfectly. Used red onion that I pickled lightly, but suspect shallot would be better. Soaked garlic in lemon brine then whirred in food processor with all the liquid ingredients before adding herbs and onion. Put the olives on the side. Per previous commenters, at first the dressing seemed to be to voluminous but it soaked in!

ck123

Can I use pasta instead of potatoes? It’s just what I have on hand.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.