Fingerling Potatoes & Green Beans with Pesto

It’s springtime and one of my favorite springtime dishes is new potatoes with fresh garden peas. The freshness of these two together just reminds me of spring and newness. It makes me miss home at times because here in Denver, I am just starting to plant my garden instead of already picking those two and a few other goodies as well.

But I love it here and while my garden might be much later than back home in the South, I do get to plant and grow all kinds of things that I didn’t get to do there such as artichokes and garlic (haven’t actually tried growing either of them yet but planning on it soon). Last week, I put in beets, parsnips, spinach, kale, brussel sprouts, carrots and broccoli. I enjoyed knowing those little babies are going to be soon making their way to the table but that still didn’t stop the craving for my favorite spring dish.

An over abundance of basil in my fridge (Trader Joe’s had it on sale), coupled with some beautiful fingerling potatoes and green beans led to the creation of this dish, Fingerling Potatoes and Green Beans with Pesto. I love fingerlings because they remind me of new potatoes and can be boiled or roasted. The green beans were fresh from California and it’s so hard to get fresh peas here (frozen yes, but not fresh).

I turned the basil into pesto, boiled the fingerlings potatoes and steamed the green beans to crisp tender. Tossed them both in the pesto while they were warm and I had the perfect springtime dish to help out my cravings. It was so perfect because the sweetness of the fingerlings and green beans paired so well with the slight bitterness of the pesto and spiciness of the red pepper flakes (of course, I added a hint of heat!).

So if you’re looking for a taste of spring, try out my Fingerling Potatoes & Green Beans with Pesto. They’ll also make a great side dish for Easter dinner or serve cold as a potato salad without mayo over the summer. It’s already a vegetarian dish but leave out the cheese or substitute for a soy product and you have vegan as well. Personally, I could eat this as a main dish with nothing else and be as happy as a clam.