Not all potato salads have mayo. I didn’t really like potato salad growing up, as a kid I wasn’t a fan of mayo at all. While adult me has learned to like mayo, and appreciate mayo based salads, I often look for brighter alternatives. This potato salad is herbaceous and bright with a real zestiness from the pesto that makes its craveable. The celery and onion add a fresh crunch and tang. Sometimes I think about adding a spoonful of vinegar to amplify the tang - and that is definitely an option here. The pesto is VERY salty as written, it is meant to flavor 2 lbs of potatoes. If you want to use the pesto for any other purpose, cut the salt way down, by half at the minimum. This potato salad is perfect for all of those summer BBQs not only because it is delicious, but also because it works for most people; it is vegan, whole30 compliant, paleo, gluten-free, gum-free, and nut-free.

Ingredients:

1 cup loosely packed fresh dill

1 cup loosely packed fresh italian parsely

1/4 cup EVOO

5 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

2 lbs little potatoes

4-5 stalks celery, diced

half a red onion, diced

Wash all of the little potatoes and put them into a large pot with cool water & some salt. Pot the pot on high heat and bring to a boil, cooking until fork tender - this will vary based on the size of your potatoes. I like to use the smallest potatoes I can find and it only takes a few minutes once the water is boiling. While the potatoes cook, make the pesto and chop the veggies.

To make the pesto, wash the herbs & peel the garlic. Put the herbs, garlic, EVOO, and salt into a food processor (I use a mini one that attaches to an immersion blender). Pulse until you get a finely minced paste with no obvious chunks of garlic, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically.

Wash and chop the celery into 1/4 inch pieces. Dice the red onion aiming for 1/4 inch pieces there as well.

Once the potatoes are tender, drain them well returning them to the still warm pot to ensure they’re completely dry. Cut them into bite sized chunks - with mini potatoes that is usually in half for me, but if you’re using larger potatoes you may want to cut them into quarters or smaller.

Toss the still warm potatoes with the pesto, celery, and onion. Let it chill for an hour or two in the fridge before serving. You could easily chill this overnight as well, it is a perfect dish to make ahead.