Warm Roasted Potato and Green Bean Salad

I have a propensity towards warm salads. Don’t ask me why, but they seem ever so much more interesting than cold salads. This recipe on Tasty Kitchen caught my eye–roasted potatoes + delicious and creamy mustard dressing? Yes, please! I made a few changes, choosing to roast everything together instead of roasting the potatoes alone and steaming the green beans, and tweaking the oven time and temperature. But credit must go to the fabulous creators of the original recipe. Let’s observe a moment of silence for their Awesome Contribution to My Dinner Table.

When my darling husband heard that dinner was going to be a salad, I watched his reaction closely. And though he was perfectly polite, methinks I detected a glimmer of concern in his eyes. I could almost see the gears and cogs in his mind turning “A salad? Is she serious? Is it going to fill me up? Is it going to be satisfying enough?” 

Of course, that’s all speculation. But whatever may have been going on in his precious man-brain, he absolutely loved it. We devoured the entire thing between the two of us. “This might have been good with a steak alongside,” I said. “No!” he exclaimed. “This is great just like this!”

When I have his full and enthusiastic endorsement, I know that my kitchen endeavors have met their ultimate goal.

And indeed, the sweet roasted flavor of the beans and potatoes with the tang of the vinegar and mustard dressing is perfection.

Ingredients

(Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side dish)

1 lb small or fingerling potatoes
2 TBS olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic
1 lb green beans
2 shallots

For the dressing

1/4 cups olive oil
3 TBS white wine vinegar
1 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 425. Halve or quarter the potatoes . . .

. . . and set them aside. Wash and halve the green beans . . .

. . . mince the garlic, and quarter the shallots, separating out the lovely violet-colored layers with your fingers.

Put the potatoes, beans, garlic, and shallots on a large baking sheet.

Douse them with a generous amount of salt, pepper, and 2 TBS of olive oil.

Toss the veggies so that everything is coated evenly in the oil and seasoning, and then spread them into a single layer, like so.

Pop ’em in the oven, and bake them for 45 minutes, turning everything over at the halfway point.

In the meantime, put the dressing ingredients into a small bowl.

Whisk them together vigorously!

I tasted the dressing and wondered if it needed a little sugar, but trust me–it doesn’t. The roasting adds sweetness to the other ingredients, so once everything is combined, there will be a perfect balance of flavors.

Once the potatoes and green beans are finished, take ’em out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes.

Dump everything in a large bowl, and pour the dressing over top.

Give it a good tossing to combine, and serve it warm!

So tasty. So filling.

I would eat this as a main dish any day. This salad doesn’t have to play second fiddle to anything else.

Do you need further evidence than this?

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