Warm Potato, Olive and Green Bean Salad

Once in a while I love to serve a warm potato salad for our tea. It always goes down a real treat with burgers, grilled fish, chicken . . . even steak and chops.

Hot potato salads are pretty versatile. You can toss pretty much anything into the bowl and it turns out grand. Olives, tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, cheese. The sky's the limit!

Tossing the warm potatoes in a well seasoned vinaigrette ensures that the potatoes absorb the flavours of the other ingredients really well.

Mmmm . . . this is one of my favourite combinations. You get all the sweetness of the new potatoes combined with the tender crunch of haricots vert, the peppery snap of fresh rocket, and the saltiness of beautifully rich and meaty dry cured black olives. I like to buy the ones that come marinated with herbs and garlic. They really have a lot of flavour.

Add to that the sweetness of baby plum tomatoes and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette and you have a match made in heaven . . . with a touch of mild red onion and a sprinkling of salty freshly grated Parmesan cheese, this salad is a meal in and of itself.

You are going to love this! And it's so easy and quick to put together. Lickety split and it's done and you're digging in! You'll want to eat this on the day. The rocket gets all wilted if you keep it any longer, which isn't a problem if you don't mind soggy rocket.

*Warm Potato, Olive and Green Bean Salad*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

A delicious warm potato salad which makes the most of that wonderful sweetness you find in baby new potatoes. A delightful mixture of potato, olives, baby plum tomatoes, black olives and rocket, in a garlicky balsamic vinaigrette. Incredibly tasty!

450g small new potatoes (about 2 pounds)
12 baby plum tomatoes, halved
1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
4 TBS basil leaves, torn into bits with your fingers
about 12 dry cured black olives, pitted and halved
a handful of fresh green beans
a couple handfuls of fresh rocket

For the dressing:
5 TBS good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 TBS good quality balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To serve:
25g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place the potatoes into a pan of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until tender, adding the green beans the last five minutes of cooking. Drain well. Cut the potatoes and beans in half while still hot and toss with the dressing right away.

To make the dressing whisk together the oil, vinegar, garlic and seasoning. Pour this over the hot potatoes and beans, tossing all together until well coated. Add the tomatoes, onions, olives and basil leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Toss in the rocket leaves just prior to serving and garnish with a healthy grating of Parmesan cheese.

Note:  The North American equivalent of rocket would be arugula.