Garden Bean & Red Potato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Crispy, oven roasted potatoes are lightly seasoned with rosemary and sea salt. Then, a trio of garden fresh beans and peas are sauteed to tender perfection. The potatoes and veggies are gently tossed together and drizzled with a homemade basil vinaigrette. This is the perfect side dish to any meal, and it’s definitely not your grandma’s potato salad!

Whenever I think that I’ve lost something (my keys, my wallet… my sanity) I know that my two little boys are probably to blame. They have an incredible ability to hide things where I can’t find them. Like the time I found my long lost credit card in my running shoe. Or the time my hairbrush went missing, only to show up several days later… in the freezer.

I’ve gotten used to the random Lego dude showing up in the washing machine or the Matchbox car in the dishwasher, but when something important (usually belonging to me) can’t be found, the shtick gets bit old.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because the most recent item to disappear was the memory card for my camera! The very same memory card that holds every photo I’ve taken over the last two years – all 6,500 of them. That teeny tiny speck of plastic contains every important moment of our lives from 2012 thorough now. The pink and wrinkly feet of our newborn son, Christmas mornings by the tree, birthday parties, and soccer games. If we did it, it was captured forever in time on that little memory card.

It also contains a lot of the photos that I take for this blog. Including the pictures that I snapped for this post. So imagine my horror several months ago when I went to grab the memory card from it’s usual hiding place, only to find it missing. I looked everywhere, and I mean absolutely, positively, turn-this-house-upside everywhere! No luck.

Then, the other day, my oldest son walked up to me with something in his hand. I couldn’t believe it when I saw my memory card in the palm of his hand. Where had it been all summer? Why did it disappear? And why did he all of a sudden remember where it was?!

So many questions, all of which I’m certain will forever remain unanswered. Questions aside, I was ecstatic to have it back in my possession again. At this point I figured it had long ago been flushed down the drain or buried in the back yard (very legitimate possibilities with my two crazy boys).

At the time I created this recipe, I was so excited to share it with you all. It’s packed with garden fresh, seasonal veggies and is a perfect summer side dish. The fava beans, which were the inspiration for the dish came right out of my mom’s garden. These pictures are of the bean plants that she grew this year!

Now it’s September and we’ve traded in fava beans for fall veggies, and peas for pumpkins. I decided to go ahead and share this recipe for Garden Bean and Red Potato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette with you any way. Why? Because even this time of year, it makes one heck of a side dish. You can leave out the fava beans if they’re not available and just add a handful more of peas and green beans instead. Also, I figured if I share it now, you can Pin it on Pinterest to save it for next year. Gives you something to look forward to next year!

This isn’t your average potato salad. There’s no mayo or wacky ingredients, just pure and simple garden fresh goodness in every bite. The potatoes are crispy and the peas and green beans are fresh and crunchy. Of course, basil makes everything taste better, so tossing everything in this bright green, bold, basil vinaigrette takes it top over the top!

Garden Bean & Red Potato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

For the Potato Salad:
INGREDIENTS

• 3 lbs small red potatoes (organic if possible), cut into small wedges
• 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp course sea salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 Tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 cup fava beans, shelled
• 2 cups of peas (fresh, not frozen, is best)
• 1 cup of fresh green beans, cut into 1″ pieces (I used the green & yellow beans from my garden, but regular green beans will work just fine)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 Tbsp organic salted butter
  Additional salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 450*.
2. In a large bowl, combine potato wedges, olive, salt, and pepper. Mix until all potatoes are evenly coated.
3. On a parchment lined baking sheet, spread the potatoes out into a single layer. Sprinkle with the dried rosemary.
4. Bake the potatoes at 450* until they are tender and golden brown (you want the outer part to have a nice crispness to it), about 30 minutes. Once the potatoes are done in the oven, allow them to cool for a few minutes before mixing the salad together.
5. Meanwhile, in a saute pan over low heat, saute the fava beans in the butter until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
6. Add the green beans and the diced onion, stir, and continue to saute for 2 more minutes.
7. Next, add the peas, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the Basil Vinaigrette:
INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  Large handful of fresh basil leaves, about 1 cup

DIRECTIONS
1. Place all ingredients into a blender and pulse on high speed until everything is well incorporated and the texture is smooth.

To Assemble the Salad:
1. Combine the pea/bean mixture with the roasted potatoes in a large bowl.
2. Drizzle on the basil vinaigrette and toss to evenly dress the potatoes and beans.

Note: I’ve made this a few times and I’ve decided that this dish is at it’s best when it’s served room temperature. When the potatoes get cold, they tend to get too firm.