When you have a marathoner in the family (um...not me), you have to plan to include some sort of carbs into each meal. Five mornings each week, my husband heads out to run anywhere from 7 to 21 miles and, on the other two days, he does strengthening workouts. The man burns some serious calories. Despite the fact that I run four days per week, my calorie burn total is like that of a sloth in comparison. That might have something to do with the fact that I run half the speed and distance as our resident Speedy Gonzales. This fact, however, does not stop me from trying to keep up with his massive consumption of food.
While we typically try to fill our plates with whole grain carbs, such as Ginger, Jalapeno & Coconut Brown Rice and Quinoa with Black Beans, Corn & Chipotle Peppers, occasionally we are tempted by other types of carbs. When I found these baby Yukon gold potatoes, freshly dug that morning, at my favorite farm stand, I knew they were destined for our dinner plates. Considering my husband's dislike for mayonnaise and a fortuitous leftover bowl of Lemon & Almond Basil Pesto in the fridge, this salad fit our taste buds and time constraints.
Prepare 2 pounds of baby potatoes (Yukon Gold or red-skinned) by scrubbing an cutting the larger ones into bite-sized pieces. Place the potato pieces in a large pot of cold, salted water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a fork, but not falling apart. Drain the potatoes and run them under cold water to stop further cooking.
Place the potatoes in a serving bowl and gently toss with â…“ cup Lemon & Almond Basil Pesto or your favorite basil pesto until well combined.
Cut 6 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise. Cut 3 ounces fresh mozzarella into thin strips. Gently toss tomatoes and mozzarella with the potatoes. Season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. Serve or refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
Other potato salad recipes with pesto:
Bitchin' Camero's Pesto & Smoked Salmon Potato Salad
Coconut & Lime's Radish Pesto Potato Salad
The Not So Skinny Kitchen's Pesto Potato Salad
Pesto Potato, Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Salad
2 lbs. baby potatoes (Yukon or red-skinned), scrubbed and cut in bite-sized pieces
Salt for the water
â…“ cup Lemon & Almond Basil Pesto, or your favorite pesto
6 oz. grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
3 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into thin strips
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Place the potato pieces in a large pot of cold, salted water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a fork, but not falling apart. Drain the potatoes and run them under cold water to stop further cooking.
Place the potatoes in a serving bowl and gently toss with pesto until well combined. Gently toss with tomatoes and mozzarella with the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve or refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
Serves 6.
Pacheco Patty
Wonderful seasonal salad recipe featuring one of my favorite herbs, looks like a nice picnic dish:-)
Maggy@ThreeManyCooks.com
I love everything in this potato salad. Will definitely be making this!
Michelle @ Brown Eyed Baker
OMG, I love this potato salad! The pesto is gorgeous and I love fresh mozzarella.
Cookin' Canuck
Thanks again for all of your comments.
Gera, slow is better, huh? I'm going to feel good about my running pace, then!
GreedyRosie, I don't have any other pesto recipes on this site, but I would try something like macadamia nuts or cashews in place of the almonds or pine nuts. Cilantro pestos with cashews turn out really nicely, too.
Jenny
Oh baby this looks so good! LOVE potatoes....and everything else in this gorgeous salad!!
Tracy
Wonderful salad and a great way to get in more carbs!
penny aka jeroxie
Pesto makes it such a better and healthier choice!
krissy @ thefoodaddicts.com
wow, you guys really know how to stay in shape with running! i just recently started getting back on my treadmill, but i'm not anywhere close to your stamina. but burning that many calories really make you hungry. these potatoes will surely do the job of filling up your man! i'm a sucker for fresh mozarella cheese and tomatoes. mmm mmm good.
Magic of Spice
Fantastic dish 🙂
Stephanie
Mmmmm carbs! This sounds really good. I am in slight awe of your husband. I just started running a couple of months ago and am doing around 3 miles - I can't imagine running over 10! Maybe someday...