Green Bean and Potato Salad

Green bean and potato salad: your new favourite side dish for summer BBQs and parties! This recipe is the easy way to make a substantial, all-in-one salad that is full of Mediterranean flavour, carbohydrate and vibrant vegetables.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Worldwide

Servings:

Calories: 236kcal

Ingredients

500 g/ 17 ½ oz New potatoes
200 g/ 7oz Green beans
100 g/ 3 ½ oz Peas frozen are fine
2 Salad onions scallions
2 Radish
1 tablespoon Capers drained from brine
30 g/ 1 oz Sundried tomatoes drained from preserving oil
15 g/ ½ oz Dill
1 ½ tablespoon Apple cider vinegar or whitre wine vinegar
4 ½ tablespoon Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
3 Hard boiled eggs optional

Instructions

Prepare the Potatoes & Vegetables

Wash the potatoes and cut in half before cooking in a pan of salted water for around 15 minutes until almost cooked through
Meanwhile, prepare the green beans by trimming the ends and cutting into 2.5cm strips. Add to the pan and cook everything for a further 5 minutes
After 5 minutes, toss in the peas and cook for 2 more minutes. By now the potatoes should be cooked through
Next, drain the potatoes and vegetables from the cooking water then plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water to refresh it all and stop the cooking process
After 2 minutes, drain and set aside to cool

Prepare the Add-ins

Rinse the capers in cold water and pat dry with kitchen towel. Drain the sundried tomatoes from their preserving oil. Chop both roughly
Remove the dill fronds from their stems and chop roughly
Wash the radish and remove the tops & tails. Slice the end of the salad onions, peel off the outer skin. Slice the radish and onion into thin rounds

Prepare the Vinaigrette

Measure the olive oil and cider vinegar into a small screwtop bottle then add seasoning. Secure the lid and shake vigorously until the ingredients emulsify
Alternatively, put the ingredients into a bowl and beat with a small handheld whisk until they emulsify and form the dressing

Mix Everything Together

Gently tip the cooked vegetables and potatoes into a large bowl and scatter the capers, sundried tomatoes, radish, salad onion and dill into the bowl
Pour over the vinaigrette
Use your hands to gently toss the ingredients together
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary to suit your preferences
Top with halves of hard-boiled eggs (optional) and a few extra strands of dill, then serve straight away

Notes

Tips for Success

Potatoes vary in size so use my cooking times as a guide only. Check your potatoes as they cook and if they still feel hard, cook them a little longer. They need to be almost cooked through before the beans are added
The easiest way to refresh the cooked potatoes and vegetables is in a clean washing up bowl half-filled with ice-cold water. Failing that, pick the largest pot or bowl you have and be prepared to change the water if necessary – the aim is to extract significant heat quickly from the ingredients to stop the cooking process
Add the dressing just before serving to avoid discolouration of the vegetables. After sitting in the dressing for several hours, slight discolouration of the beans and peas make occur. For this reason, this salad is best eaten fresh.
Re-shake the dressing prior to pouring if the ingredients begin to seperate again
Avoid using metal spoons to toss the ingredients together since they will likely break up the potatoes. Instead, use your hands and proceed gently

Making in Advance

To avoid discolouration of the vegetables, if you are wanting to make ahead of time, I recommend the following:

Make the potatoes and vegetables up to 24 hours in advance - let cool, then cover and chill until required
Prepare the capers, sundried tomatoes, onion and radish and store together in a covered bowl. Keep chilled for up to 24 hours. Store them separately from the vegetables to avoid brine juice discolouring the veggies.
Make the vinaigrette ahead of time. Store in a bottle and shake hard to re-blend the ingredients
Take ingredients out of the fridge one hour before serving to remove the chill
When ready to serve, toss all ingredients together with the fresh dill

Make it Vegan

Simply leave out the hard-boiled eggs to make this salad suitable for a vegan lifestyle.

Nutrition