Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Baby Potato-Green Bean Salad with Bacon and Feta


If you have time for one more potato salad this summer, please make it this one!  This is one of the best potato salad recipe I've ever had.  Last picnic, Labor Day cookout or family-and-friends gathering coming up? Bring this!   

Rather than a warm starch side dish for our gourmet group dinner recently, I decided to go with something cool, as our weather has been very warm and humid this summer.  It was a perfect accompaniment for the grilled meat, which is the last recipe from our dinner that I'll be sharing from our dinner, next time.


The dressing is a delightful vinaigrette made with Dijon mustard, fresh thyme leaves (hello, garden), and honey.  When all the wonderful ingredients are tossed together with the vinaigrette you will have one of the freshest, best tasting potato salads you can imagine.  Better yet, it can be made either a day ahead or in the morning.  I like to take it out of the refrigerator and allow it to get to room temperature before serving.  But be careful, you'll be tempted to sneak a bite every time you walk past it :)


If you don't care for bacon or feta cheese, leave them out.  But, if you do, they just make every mouthful a delightful combination of flavors!

I used a combination of baby Yukon gold and baby red potatoes.  I would suggest using either one of those over russets as they hold their shape better after boiling.  The green beans are cooked until just tender and then blanched in a bowl of ice water to keep them from getting mushy and to keep their bright green color.  I used haricot vert (thin, French green beans) that I found at Costco but any fresh green beans will work.  Even better if you can get them freshly picked at a Farmers' Market.



You may have heard or read about all the rain we've been getting in Wisconsin recently.  9-11 inches of rain fell in portions of Wisconsin yesterday that caused mudslides (unusual here), water rescues and evacuations ongoing.  Areas hardest hit are north of Milwaukee, Madison and areas near LaCrosse.  Here in Southeastern Wisconsin we have Flash Flood warnings today for nearby rivers and creeks.


Luckily, our home is built on high ground so we are fortunate.  My poor Limelight hydrangea is so heavy from all the rain that the blooms have fallen over but, compared to what other's are going through, a minor disaster indeed. Isn't it hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of August?


Baby Potato-Green Bean Salad with Bacon and Feta

Printable Recipe

Serves 8

For the Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup white wine or apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon honey
1 heaping tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 heaping tablespoon minced shallot
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup vegetable oil

For the Salad:

3 pounds baby gold or baby red potatoes, or a mixture of both, washed
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 (generous) pound fresh green beans
5 green onions, white and light green part, thinly sliced
1/2 pound bacon, cooked crispy, crumbled
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 ounces)

To make the vinaigrette:  In a blender, combine the vinegar, honey, minced shallot, thyme leaves, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Blend until combined. With the blending running and pour cap open, slowly add in the oil until the vinaigrette is thickened. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large saucepan of boiling water, add the salt and cook the potatoes, covered, for 8-10 minutes.  Drain and run cold water over them. Spread in a single layer on a tea towel to cool completely.  When cool, either halve or quarter the potatoes and place in a large bowl.

Wash and trim the green beans and cut in half crosswise. Fill a large bowl with ice water and have ready by the stove. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the beans and return to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until just crisp-tender. Immediately remove from boiling water with a slotted spoon and put them into the ice water. After a couple of minutes drain the beans, pat dry and and to bowl with potatoes.

Add sliced green onions to the bowl and drizzle with some of the vinaigrette and gently toss.  Add more vinaigrette, if needed, to thoroughly coat the salad. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours. Chill remaining dressing to serve alongside the potato salad. You may remove the salad from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, if desired.

Just before serving, toss salad with the bacon and feta cheese and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Serve with remaining dressing at table.

45 comments:

  1. What a terrific salad! For me please double the bacon :-) I love to make my salad dressing with apple cider vinegar, actually I love to add ACV in almost anything :-)

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    1. I'm with you on the bacon, Angie :) I could drink this dressing, it's so good!

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  2. Yes, thank you! I will be making this. It's just the kind of recipe I like to have on hand. Your hydrangeas are lovely no matter the rain.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  3. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, Bonnie! I'll be making it often :)

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  4. Your salad sounds like a winner Susan! Glad to hear your home is high and dry-take care:@)

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    1. Thank you, Lynn! I do think it is a winner. More rain last night - yikes!

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  5. The salad sounds simply wonderful, Susan! I would love to make this flavorful combo, and I even have a surplus of fresh thyme. I have frozen haricots verts that I'm sure would be fine to use. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us!

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    1. Thyme is one of my all-time favorite herbs, maybe that's why I love this salad so much :) Thank you, Kitty!

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  6. This looks like a delightful and delicious summer salad!

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  7. Bonjour belle fille this looks so good!I love everything in it!!Thank you!!Your prolific lime lights appear to be curtsying!!
    I had not heard of all your rain..here it was supposed to today..Mais pas encore!

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    1. I know you would love this ♥ Thank you! The blooms on LL are as big as my head this year. If they don't pop back up when they finally dry out, I'll have to cut and dry some :) More rain last night - OY!

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  8. Oh wow Susan - I would love this potato salad. I bet it is tasty!!! Pinning :)

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    1. I think you would love it, Tricia! I couldn't stop eating it ;)

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  9. This is a wonderful potato salad! I love all of these ingredients together.

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    1. It's definitely a great combination of flavors :) Thank you, Mimi!

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  10. I love potato salad and this looks wonderful Susan ! hugs!

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  11. What a great looking potato salad. That dressing looks so good. Pinned!

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    1. And it tastes as good as it looks :) Thank you, Gerlinde!

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  12. I always have time for one more potato salad and if there were many on the table I would choose yours first! This looks sensational as do those hydrangeas. Colorado dry weather would eat these alive! Cut some for me!

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    1. Thank you, Abbe! Colorado definitely has it's perks too. One of my favorites was being able to dine outdoors without mosquitoes :)

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  13. Susan--I can't tell you how excited I am to make this. It will transition. well to the coming brisker weather. I have a no carb rule but I'll make an exception to those potatoes!! The vinaigrette also sounds fantastic.

    The hydrangeas usually take a beating from the rain, as do peonies. Its about time we got some though!

    Are you near Cedarburg? When you said Southeastern Michigan, it made me think of one of our happiest destinations at Christmas!

    Jane

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    1. I'm so glad, thank you, Jane! Our daughter and her family live near Cedarburg and we've been there several times to the park to watch them play baseball. It's such a cute village! The river that runs through Cedarburg has been flooding with all the rain we've had, sadly.

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  14. We’ve enjoyed our two stops here in Wisconsin and leaving Door County this am to start back south. They only got about 2” of rain but it was too late to save most of the corn crops. Your potato salad looks delicious and if anything I’d add extra bacon and feta.

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    1. Thanks, Larry. Nothing wrong with extra bacon and feta :) That's too bad about the corn :( You'll probably see lots of Harley motorcycles on your way back because it's Harley's 115th anniversary and Milwaukee is a bit part of Harley history. You should stop at the Harley museum if you come through Milwaukee!

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  15. Your potato salad looks delicious and would be perfect with some grilled tuna.

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  16. Have made my copy and can't wait to try this salad, it looks amazing. BTW, I didn't know Colorado didn't have mosquitos. I tried to work outside this morning and the mosquitos just about carted me away. They don't bite me but there are just so many of them that it is such a nuisance. We have had so much rain this summer. Between the mosquitos and humidity I didn't last long in the garden. Your hydrangeas look beautiful.

    Carolyn

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    1. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, Carolyn! It's so good. It has been very hot and humid here this past month too. We had our yard treated for mosquitoes a couple of times this summer. Perhaps there are mosquitoes somewhere in Colorado but much of the Denver area is very dry and we've also been to the Vail area during summer twice and never saw one there either.

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  17. can't wait to try, I love potato salads ! A warm hug

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    1. Thank you, Chiara! I hope all is going well with your Inn ♥ Warm hugs, Dear.

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  18. I know with bacon and that wonderful salad dressing this would be a winner! I'm saving it for future reference. We've had the warmest summer in five years, and I have loved it.

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    1. Thank you, Debbie! It is good one ;) I just wish it would stop raining. Looks like a soggy Labor Day weekend here.

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  19. What a beautiful potato salad Susan...this could be my perfect meal, and the dressing with fresh thyme just sounds fantastic.
    Thanks for sharing...and have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. It really could be a meal in itself, with the carbs, veggies, and protein! Thank you, Juliana :)

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  20. A very Scandinavian looking potato salad. The only difference is the addition of the green beans, which I like. Here we also toss the salad with fresh arugula. Poor hydrangeas, they still look good, they must have been magnificent prior to your rains.

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    1. Perhaps that's why I loved it so much :) Arugula would be a great addition...duly noted!

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  21. I love these types of salad-meals especially during summer! And the vinaigrette is absolutely delicious!

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    1. Oh, the vinaigrette is so good it's drinkable ;) Thank you, Katerina!

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  22. Susan, I am absolutely craving this potato and green bean salad now! I'll definitely take mine with Feta and bacon!

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  23. I adore this recipe. And just in time for my trip to our farm markets today. Can't wait to try this one Susan.

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    1. Thank you, Lea Ann! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. I just made it again yesterday myself :)

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