Red Potato & Green Bean Salad

There are very few things that I can make without a recipe in front of me, or at the very least, the notes that I’ve jotted down about a recipe. A lot of times while cooking I’ll start off by using a recipe but not like the direction its going in, so I’ll really throw caution to the wind and end up winging it. This has resulted in some very interesting meals, some rather tasty, others not fit for human consumption. Sometimes, especially when I’m feeling particularly adventurous, I’ll try to make something based on the memory of something I once had. This salad falls into that category. It’s really very simple, and it’s very similar to a salad my friend’s mother used to make for us many years ago.

Because its a salad I make from memory I don’t have precise measurements for anything, I eyeball the amounts and use taste to determine what the salad needs more of, this results in it being slightly different each time, but that’s okay.

Bring a pot of unsalted water to boil, then add ten or more baby red potatoes, skin on, into the pot and let that boil until a fork inserted into the center of a potato goes in easily. Remove from heat, drain potatoes and let cool. (You could actually halve the potatoes before boiling resulting in less cooking time.) Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Bring another pot of unsalted water to a boil, then, add at least a pound of green beans (I think at least a pound, maybe more or less) that have been washed, and the ends have been trimmed off. Let this boil until the green beans are cooked to your liking. I tend to cook them long enough for them to be just past al dente. Remove from heat, drain, then, plunge into cold water to keep them from cooking longer and turning a sad looking green. Once the potatoes are cool, slice them into bite size chunks, (if you didn’t do that prior to boiling) and place them into a large bowl, drain the green beans, pat dry with paper towels and add them to the potatoes. Dice a medium sized red onion (or half a red onion, depending on taste) and add that to the bowl of beans and potatoes. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, then, add the juice of a lemon, red wine vinegar, salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. These last step depends on how weak or strong you like your vinaigrette, its very important to taste as you go, adding as needed rather than dumping too much in the beginning. Mince a generous amount of fresh parsley and add to the salad. Toss well to coat everything, and serve either room temperature or chilled.

Written by Deb on October 15, 2003 12:15 PM