Pesto Potato Salad

Menu: Pesto Potato Salad; Broiled Tilapia; Garlic Bread

Lessons learned:

1. Putting some parsley in your pesto really helps to keep it looking bright green.  When my pesto darkens, I cry a little inside.
2. Don't forget to leave some salad components unpestoed for the kids.  Ben liked pesto last year, but since then I think he has learned that green things are yucky, so he wouldn't try any of this.

 I LOVE this salad.  I discovered it last year in my Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook.  Their version includes hard-boiled eggs, but that goes a little overboard to me, so instead I just use a lot more fresh mozzarella than they call for.  I also use a different pesto recipe (from Williams-Sonoma's Sauces cookbook), since it's a perfect balance and I don't want to mess with that.

Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my house who gets excited about fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and pesto.  But you know what, people?  That's what summer is about for me.  I know fresh corn is the standard crop for the season, and a grilled cob with a compound butter is hard to beat.  Except if you're me and you have fresh tomatoes and basil growing right in your back yard.  I waited for this all winter.

Tilapia has been a big hit lately.  I've got the prep down and it's super easy: I put an oven rack as high as it'll go and preheat the broiler on high.  I grease my grill pan and lay the fillets on it, then sprinkle them liberally with salt, white pepper, garlic, powdered lemon peel, and paprika.  Stick them right under the broiler for 5 or 6 minutes and they're ready to go.  I know they would be fabulous with some sort of remoulade or a drizzle of something... not that they need it!  These days I'm trying to find ways to make less effort, not more.  There's probably something I could buy if I got down off my high horse about prepared foods...

Pesto Pasta Salad

4 medium potatoes (Yukon Gold is usually what I have), cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
About a pint of cherry or plum tomatoes, halved
About 6 ounces of good fresh mozzarella (I like the little balls), halved

For the pesto:
2 ounces pecorino romano chese
1/4 cup pine nuts
2-3 cloves garlic
2 cups packed fresh herbs: mostly basil, but about 3 tablespoons parsley for color
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Boil a medium pot of water and add the potatoes.  Cook them just until they're easily pierced with a fork, maybe about 7 minutes?  I forgot to time it, and the recipe doesn't say.  Remove the potatoes from the water with a strainer, but keep your water boiling for the green beans.  Boil the green beans for about 3-4 minutes so that they're cooked but still have a little crunch to them.  Let the potatoes and green beans cool off, maybe in the fridge if you're pressed for time.

Put the cheese, pine nuts, garlic, and herbs into the small bowl of a food processor and turn it on.  Slowly pour the oil in through the feed in the lid as the machine runs.  Let it go until the mixture has a sauce-like consistency; no big chunks.  Pause every now and then to push down anything sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Toss immediately with the potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes.  Add the delicate cheese at the end and toss again gently.  Done!