A Delicious Potato String Bean Salad

I love traditional potato salads but this is a much lighter version. The non-mayonnaise based dressing plus the added string beans make this a healthier version than normal potato salads shared at many Amercian BBQs.

recipe for potato & string bean salad

Ingredients:

• 1 lb red new potatoes
• 1 lb green string beans
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• Wash and clean all your potatoes, beans and cilantro.
• Trim beans and cut in 1/2.
• Steam string beans to desired consistency (I steam mine for 7-8 minutes for a crunchy bean).
• Cut potatoes in 1/2 and boil to fork tender.
• Dice or slice onion to bite size pieces.
• Chop cilantro.
• Mix all vegetables in salad bowl and add olive oil and vinegar.
• Add salt & pepper to taste and sprinkle with cilantro.

Like in any recipe, the quality and end result will be as good as the raw ingredients you use. We have a vegetable garden so I am fortunate to harvest some items from our own yard like the cilantro pictured below.

I recently shared updates on our summer gardens here {summer garden updates} and an earlier post when we established the veggie garden for the season here {spring garden plans}.

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thoughts about the potato & string bean salad

When we enjoy this salad at the dinner table it makes an appearance as a dish dish. But I can have this as my lunch with nothing else. Well…, maybe with a crunchy piece of baguette.

The tang from the red wine vinegar is a wonderful contrast to the creaminess of the potatoes. The crunch of the string beans is also a great ying to the yang of the soft potatoes. The red onions give the salad a bit of a bite (if you’re not an onion person you can easily omit this ingredient or substitute it with scallions which have a softer taste). The cilantro tops off the salad with a delicious freshness of flavor. Once again, if you’re not a cilantro fan you can easily substitute with parsley.

This is a weeknight dinner, enjoying this salad as a side dish. On the menu this evening we had lemon garlic grilled chicken, potato string bean salad, and mixed greens.

You can read about more salad ideas and recipes here {9 summertime salads ideas}.

Bon Appetite!

“No one is born a good cook, one learns by doing.”

Julia Child