Good morning, friends! By the time you read this, the Duke and I will be soaking up the sun in South Beach. Ahh….this is the life!
Is there anyone on the planet that doesn’t love pesto? I mean, how can you not? The color is vibrant, the flavor is intense and it seems to go great with just about anything (pasta, bread, cake…ya know). While I certainly love the traditional basil and pine nut pesto, I thought it would be fun to play around with different herb and nut combinations. We had our parents over last Sunday for burgers in the backyard, so I decided to whip up a parsley and pecan pesto to toss into a roasted potato salad. YUM! It exceeded my expectations.
Different herbs and nuts…same awesome color. I didn’t add any cheese, although it would have been great with parmesan. Since we live in the South, we love pecans. They have such a distinct and slightly sweet flavor. The rather mild flavor of the parsley allowed the pecans and garlic to really shine.
Since there wasn’t any cheese in the pesto itself, I tossed the roasted fingerlings with the pesto and some grated parmesan for an awesome twist on potato salad. Holy Yum!!
Fingerling Potato Salad with Parsley Pecan Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 lbs fingerling potatoes, washed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- ¼ cup Parsley Pecan Pesto (recipe follows)
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 415 degrees. Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper on a large jelly roll sheet. Roast, tossing occasionally, for 50-60 minutes, or until nicely browned and crispy.
- Remove potatoes from oven and allow to cool slightly. Toss with pesto and parmesan cheese.
- Serve salad warm or cold.
Serves 6
Parsley Pecan Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups Italian flat leaf parsley, stems removed
- ½ cup pecans
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 ½ tbsp. olive oil
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse parsley, pecans and garlic until well combined. Stream in love oil until pesto forms. Season with the salt and pepper (you may wish to use less salt, so start with ¼ tsp and add more to fit your taste).
Yields 1/2 cup
The Duke flipped for these potatoes! He loved the subtle crunch from roasting the little fingerlings. This recipe is definitely a keeper for our upcoming spring parties and summer cook outs.
Alright…back to the beach for me. 
Have a wonderful day!The Duchess
I’m a pesto fan too. It’s easy and always adds that extra umph.
Have fun at the beach!
potatoes, pesto, and cheese? sign me up!
Yum! Must try, would be a great dish for easter.
What a great idea! pecans potatoes sounds delicious
I’m such a huge pesto fan! We recently made some gnocchi (sp?) and put pesto on it. What a great combo!