String Bean & Potato Salad

By ltrodrigu

"Bean salads make good picnic food because beans don’t wilt after they’re dressed, the way lettuce does. This recipe calls for a Wisconsin sheep’s milk cheese, Carr Valley. I like to use a domestic product whenever I can; you can use any semi-dry sheep’s milk cheese you want for this."

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more for the boiling water and to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 6 scallions (white and light green parts), thinly sliced on the bias
• 1/4 cup large shards semi-dry domestic sheep's milk cheese (such as Carr Valley Aged Marisa) or a medium-aged pecorino
• 1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes or other small, thin-skinned potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 pound fresh green beans, yellow wax beans, or a mix
• edible flowers, for garnish (optional)

Details

Adapted from lamag.com

Preparation

Step 1

Whisk the mayonnaise, oil, vinegar, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in a medium bowl. Stir in the parsley, scallions, and cheese.

Put the potatoes in a pot with water to cover. Add 1 tablespoon salt per quart water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook the potatoes until they’re tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool slightly.

While the potatoes are still warm, slice them ¼ inch thick. Put the slices in a large bowl.

While the potatoes are cooking, snip the ends off the beans. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Bring another pot of water to a boil and salt it the same way you did for the potatoes. Add the beans and blanch them for 1 to 2 minutes, until they are just tender but still have some snap to them. Remove the beans and plunge them into the ice water to cool. (If you are using different types of beans, blanch them separately as cooking times will vary. Use a strainer to remove the beans from the water so you can reuse the water.)

Drain the beans and add to the potatoes. Pour on the dressing and toss to coat the beans and potatoes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or pepper if you want. If you like, garnish with edible flowers.