Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.

“Pantesca” means “native of the island of Pantelleria,” the tip of a volcano jutting out of the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia. Officially part of Italy, the rocky, scrub-covered island feels like another world, criss-crossed with ancient stone walls and dotted with domed roof stone houses called dammusi that have helped keep the inhabitants cool during the scorching summer heat since the 10th century.

And while part-time residents like Giorgio Armani attract the glitterati, what makes Pantelleria sort of famous are its capers, considered the world’s best. They’re the only capers with an IGP or denomination of origin. The immature flower buds from the Capparis spinosa plant thrive in the hot, dry volcanic tuff. Pantelleria’s capers are hand-picked, then cured in sea salt from Trapani, about 60 miles across the strait of Sicily. They retain a firm texture and a sharp, pungent flavor that comes from the same methyl isothiocyanate that gives mustard its tang. You can taste the difference between salt-cured and brined capers; the brine leeches most of the pungent flavor from the little buds, and they end up tasting like vinegar.

Pantelleria produces another world-class ingredient that’s less well known: oregano, or more precisely, origano di Pantelleria. The island’s herb is actually a hybrid of an Adriatic subspecies of oregano and marjoram, so closely related they’re really kissing cousins. The intense sun and dry winds concentrate the flavor, and the Pantescan growers take the extra, labor-intensive step of separating the cup-shaped, flavor-filled bracts from the leaves and flowers after drying, a process known as sbriciolare, which means “to crumble” in Italian.

While you can make a version of this geographically specific version of potato salad with run-of-the-mill capers and oregano, it won’t taste uniquely Pantellerian. Fortunately, we import capers and oregano directly from small farmers on the island and sell them here in Portland at Wellspent Market. And a note about salt-packed capers: They’re salty, even after soaking, so always taste whatever you use them in before adding any more salt.

Insalata Pantesca

1 pound yellow potatoes

1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small red onion

1/4 pound black oil-cured olives, pitted and chopped

2 tablespoons capers, preferably Pantellerian salt-packed

4-5 leaves fresh basil, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Pantellerian*

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

*Substitute marjoram, an herb from the same plant family that tastes more like Pantellerian oregano.

If using salt-packed capers, soak them in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain and chop coarsely so you have a mix of whole and roughly chopped capers.

Boil or steam the potatoes, unpeeled, until easily pierced with a knife, 10-15 minutes. Drain, and when cool enough to handle, peel with your fingers. Cut into roughly 3/4 inch, bite-sized pieces and transfer to a large bowl.

Cut the onion into quarters through the root end, then slice thinly, about 1/8 inch or less. If you want to tame the bite of the raw onions, transfer to a small bowl and cover with cold water, add a pinch of salt and stir a little. Drain after 15 minutes.

Add the onions, tomatoes, olives, basil and the rest of the ingredients to the potatoes and mix together. Taste and add salt if needed. Best if allowed to sit for a few hours, and it should be at room temperature to eat.