How To Turn Potato Salad Into A Gourmet Dish With This Italian Sauce

Potato salad is the quintessential dish for family picnics, church gatherings, and potlucks among friends, and there are so many different ways to make it, like the Amish version or the ever-popular warm German variety. However, most traditional potato salad typically contains one controversial ingredient — mayonnaise. If you love it, you love it, and if you dislike it — or you're serving potato salad to someone who gets queasy at the thought of it — you need to come up with a different binder. So why not take your next 'tater salad in a gourmet direction with pesto?

Pesto, that flavorful, herbaceous Italian sauce, works really well in potato salad, as its bright, lemony nuttiness coats the bites of soft, earthy potato, adding fresh flavor and an intriguing texture. It's saucy, without any of the cloying (and sometimes overwhelming) creamy richness of mayo-based potato salads, and you can serve it to your vegan friends if you omit the parmesan. For this version, too, you can use boiled potatoes, or add another layer of texture by actually roasting your potatoes.

Your typical mix-ins still work with the pesto, like chopped hard-boiled egg, diced celery, bits of onion, etc. But if you want to really embrace the refinement that is pesto potato salad, consider some nontraditional elements, like sliced radish or arugula. No longer will potato salad taste better from the deli with this version in your arsenal.

Now, one of the decisions you'll have to make when it comes to the pesto portion of this potato salad is whether to use store-bought or make it yourself. It's true, there is no denying the difference in flavor and quality when it comes to homemade pesto, and you can control all the ingredients going into it (just be sure not to make the mistake that can flatten your sauce: using a food processor). For example, if you wanted to use parsley instead of the typical basil, you can, and if you know you're serving it to someone who is allergic to nuts, you could forgo the pine nuts (or swap them out for something like roasted sunflower seeds). If you want to make your pesto completely vegan, you can use nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese. It might also be cheaper to make the pesto from scratch for your potato salad, especially if you have a garden overflowing with herbs.

On the other hand, if you want to make pesto potato salad as quickly and easily as possible, by all means, buy a jar or two of it. You can elevate even the store-bought versions with a bit of fresh lemon, both juice and zest, a glug of high-quality olive oil, and some fresh garlic.