Fresh Herb Potato Salad

This amazing potato salad comes from Alex Guarnashelli. I have been watching her show Alex's Day Off since it started, and I love the way she describes her food. This potato salad sounded like my kind of potato salad. There's no mayonnaise in it for starters and it's not the traditional potato salad that I know. It has a fresh herb pesto, baby gherkins, tangy mustard, vinegar, and shallots. It's a fresh, briny, salty, and tangy potato salad with a little crunch from the pickles and shallots.

This is exactly the kind of food that I love. It it served warm so it is easily portable to a barbeque or picnic without worry. It's healthy as far as potato salads go and it's simple to put together. To be honest, I didn't measure out any of my ingredients for this recipe. I adapted a few ingredients but I left the recipe relatively unchanged. I kept having to add a little more olive oil and/or sugar because it was actually too briny at first, and it is probably easier to go by taste for a recipe like this depending on your preferences. I hope you enjoy!

Fresh Herb Potato Salad

2 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes

1 large bunch parsley

1 bunch basil

1/2 tsp salt

2 tablespoons water

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

5 baby gherkins pickles, quartered lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces

1 tablespoon gherkin pickle liquid

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange to potatoes in a single layer in a baking dish and bake for about 50 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a blender combine the parsley and basil leaves, snipping them into pieces with kitchen scissors before adding. Add the salt, water, and sugar and blend. With the motor running pour 1/2 cup of the olive oil through the top in a slow, steady stream until combined.

In a serving bowl large enough to hold the potatoes, stir together the red wine vinegar, shallots, mustard, gherkins and liquid. Add the the herb mixture and combine.

Check on the potatoes and remove if cooked. Let cool, remove skin, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Put the potatoes in the bowl with the dressing. Season lightly with salt and pepper, to taste, and toss them in the dressing.

Recipe adapted from Alex's Day Off