green beans and potatoes with basil pesto
I’ve been getting a whole lot of basil these past few weeks, which means I will have a whole lot of pesto for the next few months. This salad (I guess that’s what you’d call it) is one of those easy-but-not-boring non-recipe things that can be thrown together quickly and without much thought. It’s healthy, it can be eaten at any temperature, the ingredients are cheap, and it’s meat-, dairy-, and gluten-free (in case that’s a concern). You can even mention that this classic combination of ingredients is from Liguria, Italy, and not just some random cobbling together of leftovers. Can you say, picnic? Or potluck? Or gourmet camping?
All you need to do is:
1. Bring potato chunks to a boil in salted water (start with cold water and use a lot of salt! Here’s an explanation why). Cook until they’re tender, then drain and set aside.
2. Blanch the green beans in boiling water, then dunk them in a bowl of ice water. This cools them off and keeps their color bright green (basic explanation, again). Chop into bite-size pieces.
3. Toss it all with some pesto (more than you see in the photo). Season with more salt and pepper, to taste.
