Friday, July 3, 2009

Pesto Potato Salad

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

This is a fresh twist on potato salad with no mayonnaise and one of my favorite flavors: pesto. The salad turned out beautifully and it was very easy to put together.


2 lbs small potatoes, quartered
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 1 inch segments
3/4 cup pesto (about 6-7 ounces)
4 Tbsp mild vinegar, like white wine or white balsamic
1 small purple onion, diced
3 diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts, but next time I might try pine nuts or almonds)
1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Clean potatoes, cut them into quarters. Boil in salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Add beans; cook for 4 additional minutes. Drain and let cool, transfer to a large bowl.

In a small mixing bowl, combine pesto, vinegar, and diced tomatoes. In a frying pan, saute onion until soft and add to the pesto mix. Pour over potatoes and beans and mix until potatoes are evenly covered. Add salt and pepper.

Toast nuts on medium with olive oil, salt and sugar; stirring constantly until they are a golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside to cool on a plate.

Garnish potato salad with nuts, serve immediately or make this up to two hours in advance.

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