Forget The Main Course — Potato Salad Reigns Supreme With One Italian Ingredient

Potato salad is a favorite side dish for backyard barbecues and burger cookouts, but the diversity of potato salad recipes shows just how versatile the dish it can be. One Italian ingredient that could give potato salad main-course energy is pancetta.

Whether you choose a mayo-based or oil-based dressing, potato salad usually has a slightly tangy flavor with subtle aromatics that compliments the earthy savoriness of the potatoes. Cured meat is the perfect potato salad upgrade, bringing more robust flavor and texture to the mix. Pancetta is cured pork belly with an especially strong, pork-forward flavor. Unlike the smokiness you get from bacon, pancetta is salt-cured, often with aromatics and spices, delivering an especially rich and complex taste, as well as a subtle saltiness, and a silky chew. Considering how well pancetta works in a creamy dish like spaghetti carbonara, you know it'll be a decadent addition to bring mayo-based salads to the next level. But, it'll also add extra depth to a lighter, oil-dressed recipe.

The best way to incorporate pancetta into potato salad is to dice thinly sliced pancetta and fry it in a pan. The pancetta's own fat will help it crisp and curl into a meatier and crispier version of itself to contrast the soft, pillowy potatoes and creamy sauce, as well as enhance the crunch of aromatics like celery and diced onions. After frying the pancetta, let it cool on a paper towel-lined plate before adding it to the potato salad with the rest of the ingredients.

Not only can potato salad be customized with countless ingredients, but pancetta also pairs well with an array of ingredients, allowing you to create many novel potato salad combinations. For example, we use pancetta in this recipe for filling and refreshing BLT potato salad, along with halved cherry tomatoes and roughly chopped lettuce that get tossed in a dressing of olive oil, mayo, lemon juice, mustard, and seasonings. You can bring even punchier flavor to a pancetta potato salad with a funky, umami-rich goat cheese that'll also add creamier textures. Balance all that savoriness with a pop of sweet and tart dried cranberries.

Alternatively, bring a tangy and velvety element by swapping mayonnaise with sour cream and yogurt to balance the savory, pork flavor from the pancetta and brighten the earthiness of the potatoes. Add a generous serving of green onions to the mix for a "sour cream and onion" vibe. Otherwise, make a loaded baked potato salad with a sour cream and green onion dressing, fried pancetta, shredded cheddar cheese, and some diced jalapeños for some spice. Bacon is a quintessential ingredient in German potato salad, so pancetta could also be a tasty swap in a recipe. You could even make a carbonara-inspired potato salad with plenty of parmesan cheese, boiled eggs, chopped parsley, and fresh basil for garnish.