Warm, luscious potatoes infused with pesto and fresh herbs topped off with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese…friends, this is potato salad done right. This recipe is an excellent choice for serving in warm weather or dining al fresco since it doesn’t contain ingredients that need to be refrigerated.
If you are heading out for a picnic, lunch at the park or maybe enjoying supper outside, this is the side dish to make. It comes together in 30 minutes or less and can sit a room temperature for a bit while you fire up the grill.
I came up with this recipe because I had an event to attend and needed a side dish to take and share. I was somewhat tired of making my “go-to” recipes even though I knew my friends loved ’em so, I started exploring ways to make a new-to-me potato salad.
When I spotted a jar of prepared basil pesto at the grocery, I knew I had the twist I needed for my new recipe. I grabbed a bag of baby Yukon Gold potatoes and started dreaming of how I’d pull it all together.
I’m not a fan of mushy potato salad thus, boiling them was not the cooking method I wanted to use. About 90% of the time, I roast my veggies and knew that cooking these succulent little babies on high heat would be the ideal way to bring out their flavor.
I made sure I coated them with pesto, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil before roasting to make sure there’d be loads flavor throughout the dish.
My roasting method was foolproof and when my potatoes came out of the oven I actually got a little excited. While they cooled slightly, I whipped up the dressing, chopped the herbs then tossed everything together. The outcome was outstanding! I packed up my creation and headed off to meet my friends.
They all gave this “new” potato salad top honors at our gathering. The funny thing is, my family had no idea I’d made this dish until they saw the photos I’d taken for this post. You can only guess how that went over. Looks like I’ll be keeping the peace around here by making my new potato salad…again.
Roasted Potato Pesto Salad
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs baby Yukon Gold potatoes-washed and halved
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 teaspoons basil pesto - store bought or homemade
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons basil pesto
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese - grated
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place potatoes in a bowl. Add basil pesto, olive oil, salt and pepper tossing together to coat potatoes.
- Layer potatoes on baking sheet. Roast in oven 20 minutes until potatoes are done and brown on edges. Remove pan from oven and allow potatoes to cool slightly.
- Mix in a small bow, dressing ingredients - pesto, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Remove potatoes to a large bowl. Pour dressing over potatoes and gently toss to coat. Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese, chopped basil and chives.
- Serve on a platter with an additional drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Best enjoyed warm or at room temperature.
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