Spring is here and my belly wants crisp salads and fragrantly fresh from the garden herbs. Winter is hanging on a bit so this salad is a perfect marriage of comforting potatoes and herby pesto with crisp green beans.

It’s a good pot luck hit too.

Pesto Potato Salad

Smitten Kitchen Recipe – no adaptation

• 4 pounds small Yukon gold and red-skinned potatoes mixed, halved
• 1 pound green beans, cut into two-inch segments
• 1 to 2 small garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 bunches of basil (about one ounce each)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
• 6 tablespoons (or more to taste) mild vinegar, such as champagne, white wine or a white balsamic
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• Parmesan cheese to taste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Add beans; cook four minutes longer. Drain well and let cool, then transfer potatoes and beans to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, discard the stems from the basil and wash and dry the leaves. Puree them in a food processor with garlic, drizzling in enough olive oil that it gets saucy. Add a handful of pine nuts and Parmesan. Season the pesto with salt and pepper. [Alternately, you can swap this step with one cup of prepared pesto, but seriously, I think you’ll be missing out.]

Toss the beans and potatoes with pesto. Stir in vinegar, green onions, pine nuts and season with salt, pepper and/or additional vinegar to taste. Finally, shave some wide flecks of parmesan over the salad with a vegetable peeler.

Serve immediately, or make this up to two hours in advance. It can be stored at room temperature.

Enjoy!