French Potato Salad with Tomatoes and Fresh Dill

This is a wonderfully loose recipe that can be adapted for the ingredients on hand. Add canned drained beans like kidney or cannellini for a twist or use scallions in place of the onion.  If you’re looking to turn this into an easy main dish, add some drained canned tuna and quartered hard-boiled egg on top.  You can vary the herbs—add some parsley or chives if you like.  I love the dill, and it’s what really makes it special.

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon white wine (optional)
  • 8 medium boiling potatoes
  • 2 cups green or wax beans (or a combo), stems removed
  • 2 medium to large tomatoes, cut into large chunks (or 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved)
  • ½ cup red onion, chopped
  • ½ cup yellow or orange bell pepper, cubed
  • ¼ cup Kalamata olives, torn in half
  • 1 tablespoon drained capers
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 3 tablespoons sliced fresh basil leaves
  • Freshly ground pepper

Method:

  1. Make dressing by whisking together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, mustard and wine.
  2. Boil potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes until almost cooked through. Drain in a colander, then place colander back into pot, cover with a lid and let steam for another 10 minutes. Let potatoes cool a bit until they can be handled, then cut into one and a half inch cubes. Place into a serving bowl.  Gently stir in approximately ¾ of the dressing while potatoes are still warm. Be careful to handle potatoes gently, so they don’t fall apart. Let potatoes cool completely.
  3. Steam green beans until just tender.  Do not over cook. Place in a bowl of ice water to cool.
  4. Add beans, tomatoes, onion, peppers, olives, capers and fresh herbs to the serving bowl with potatoes. Fold all the ingredients together very gently then add the remainder of the dressing, if needed, to coat everything well.  Add freshly ground pepper to taste, and more salt as needed.
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