Pesto Potato Salad

Pesto is one of my absolute favorite foods! It has such a strong garlic flavor, with a burst of freshness from basil and a nutty crunch from the toasted pine nuts.  It goes well on everything from pasta, to panini's, to bruschetta, to eating it with your finger. No? Maybe that's just me then. Anyways, this pesto potato salad is super simple to make and can be served as a side to a dish or as a main dish itself. It takes roughly 20 minutes to make from start to finish and can be served immediately warm or saved for later cold--it tastes amazing either way! Give it a try!

Pesto Potato Salad

• Roughly 1 Ib. of red skinned potatoes, scrubbed with skins on, chopped
• A bunch or two of asparagus, stems cut off, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 cup of fresh basil
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted
• 3 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 tbsp. of parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Place potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil, about 10 minutes total. Before those 10 minutes are up, add in the asparagus for the remaining 3-4 minutes. After it's done, drain and set aside until pesto is complete.
2. Meanwhile, begin making the pesto. Toast the pine nuts in a little olive oil, 1-2 minutes, and remove from heat.
3. In a food processor, add in the toasted pine nuts, fresh basil, and garlic. Give it a quick grind in the food processor. Slowly add in the olive oil while the food processor is on--you may need to scrape down the sides as you go.
4. After the pesto is well combined, stir in the parmesan cheese, if using.
5. Pour pesto on top of cooked and drained potatoes and asparagus, stir to combine.

This recipe was found and adapted by fitness blogger, Nicole Perry.