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Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad

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Crispy smashed baby potatoes tossed in a simple arugula pesto: This Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad is the best summer mayo-free potato salad!

Crispy smashed baby potatoes tossed in a simple arugula pesto: This Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad is the best summer mayo-free potato salad!

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In my opinion, potato salad is one of those things that’s just kinda blah. I mean, potatoes tossed in mayo with a few veggies just really isn’t that appealing to me. It’s not that it’s horrible, it’s just never been what I gravitate towards at a barbecue. Being that the 4th of July is this weekend, I decided I needed to whip up a potato salad that I actually crave! To me, that means no mayo, an herbaceous pesto, and all the good crispy crunchy textures. Thus, this Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad was born!

Crispy smashed baby potatoes tossed in a simple arugula pesto: This Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad is the best summer mayo-free potato salad!

The breakdown…

This Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad is not your average potato salad. Although it takes a few more steps, it’s totally worth it! In this recipe, the potatoes are boiled, smashed, then roasted in the oven. This is my all time favorite way to prepare potatoes. And, if you’re also all about crispy potatoes too, this is definitely going to be one of your fav new methods!

Start off by boiling your baby yukon gold potatoes as you usually would. Really, my only tip here is to use a large pot. Oh, and… definitely use your favorite type of potato! I love yukon gold baby potatoes because I find them easiest to smash. However, fingerling potatoes or baby redskin potatoes would also be delicious. You could even go with large potatoes and dice them up, if you prefer… Go with what you love!

onto the smashing…

Once your potatoes are nice and tender (aka — you can easily poke them with a fork), it’s time to smash them! As noted in the recipe, my favorite way to smash potatoes is to do them all at once with two baking sheets. By arranging your potatoes around a baking sheet and smushing another baking sheet over top, the entire 2 bags of your potatoes can be smashed at once… so easy!! If you only have one baking sheet, though, you can easily just take the bottom of a jar or cup and smash each potato individually — this just may take some more time.

With your potatoes all smashed and ready to go, it’s time to toss them in some oil and take them to the oven! Make sure you spread your potatoes out nicely, as this ensures that the potatoes get a nice crisp. You may need to spread them out onto two baking sheets to do this.

Crispy smashed baby potatoes tossed in a simple arugula pesto: This Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad is the best summer mayo-free potato salad!

all about that pesto!!

The next component of this Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad recipe is that pesto — or, maybe I should say “pistachio pesto di rucola.” You may be wondering, “wtf if di rucola?” Well, this is really just the Italian way of describing an arugula pesto. Every good pesto is made up of three components: a nut or seed, a green, and a liquid. This pistachio pesto de rucola uses pistachios as its nut, arugula as its green, and a combination of olive oil, water, and lemon as its liquid. 

With some parmesan, garlic, and seasonings for some more flavor and texture, this really is one of my favorite simple pesto recipes. You can even add greek yogurt or mayo if you like a creamier salad. I love the way the cheesiness of the parmesan and the herbaceous flavors pair with the smashed potatoes, but you could really use this pesto for any summer dish. It would be delicious over chicken or steak, and would be fabulous tossed in some pasta! The sky’s truly the limit, so go with what you love… But, just make sure you try this Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad first!!

Once your potatoes are nice and crisp, and your pesto is creamy and luscious, it’s time to get assembling! In a large bowl, toss your potatoes, pesto, some extra toasted chopped pistachios, and some freshly sliced basil. And, voila! You’ve got yourself some good ole’ revamped potato salad… perfect for barbecues!!

how to serve this up!

As said above, this Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad truly makes for the best potluck or backyard barbecue dish. I recommend serving it up for the 4th of July, but it is also delicious for a simple summer dinner. My family loves to eat this up with some grilled chicken, steaks, or burgers. Oh, and, you of course have to throw in a few other summer sides! Some of my favs are a classic caprese salad, a watermelon feta salad (my fav recipe linked), my Herbed Summer Squash and Feta Hash, my Best Summer Avocado and Corn Pasta Salad, my Charred Corn and Strawberry Herbed Salad, or my Chilled Asparagus and Pea Orzo Salad. So many ways you could go with this!!

However you serve this Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad up, I hope you love it as much as I do! Let me know if you make it in the comments below:)))

Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad

Recipe by Annie PatrickCourse: Vegetarian, Side DishCuisine: American, ItalianDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

side servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes
Total time

55

minutes


Crispy smashed baby potatoes tossed in a simple arugula pesto: This Smashed Pistachio Pesto di Rucola Potato Salad is the best summer mayo-free potato salad!

Ingredients

  • smashed potatoes:
  • 2 24 oz bags baby yukon gold potatoes

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • pistachio pesto di rucola:
  • 2 cups packed baby arugula

  • ½ cup shelled pistachios, toasted

  • ½ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed

  • ½ cup olive oil

  • ½ cup water

  • ½ a lemon, juiced

  • Red pepper flakes, to taste

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

  • 2 tbsp greek yogurt or mayonnaise, optional*

  • assembly:
  • ½ cup shelled pistachios, toasted and chopped

  • ½ cup fresh basil, sliced on a chiffonade

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  • Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil then cook the potatoes for about 10 more minutes, or until they are fork tender.
  • Meanwhile, in a food processor or low-speed blender, mix the arugula, pistachios, parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil, water, lemon, and greek yogurt/mayo, if using. Season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, to taste.
  • Once the potatoes are done, drain out the water and arrange them onto two large baking sheets. Then, place another, smaller baking sheet on top of the potatoes, using it to push down and “smash” the potatoes all at once. Alternatively, you could take the bottom of a jar/cup and smash each potato individually.
  • Toss the smashed potatoes with the 2 tbsp of olive oil and transfer the baking sheet to the oven. You may need to spread your potatoes out amongst two baking sheets to ensure that the potatoes are at least an inch apart. Then, roast the potatoes for 30-35 minutes, or until the potatoes are crispy. To get them extra crispy, switch your oven to broil for the last 3-5 minutes of their baking time.
  • Once they have slightly cooled, gently toss the potatoes with some pesto, pistachios, and sliced basil in a large bowl. Serve at room temperature and enjoy!
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