Roasted Pepper Pesto Potato Salad

This would make a great side dish but when I made this it was all we had for dinner and it was extremely good and filling!  It's also a vegetarian friendly dish :) I actually don't have any close friends or family members that are vegetarian but sometimes I just don't feel the need for meat.  There are many occasions when I think a steak, burger, chicken, etc. would just be too much and something like this potato salad would be perfect for one of those nights.

I made this during the week one night after work and we sat out on our back porch and enjoyed the sunset :) It's been really hot here in the past few weeks but this last week was actually not as hot (in the lower 80's) and we have been able to spend more time outside eating. I love eating outside in the summer but come July and August it's just too hot and humid here in Kentucky and the bugs are TERRIBLE!  So, while it's semi-enjoyable I expect to eat outside as often as possible!


Roasted Pepper Pesto Potato Salad
Source: Heather's Dish
Printable Recipe 

Ingredients:

2 lbs red potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 Vidalia onion, sliced
6 mini bell peppers or 2 regular sized bell peppers*
1 jalapeno
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

*I used 1 jar of roasted red peppers because I had them on hand and just skipped the whole roasting them myself step.


Directions:


Turn your oven on to broil.  Spray a cooking sheet with nonstick spray and place all of the peppers on it.  Roast the peppers under the broiler for about 10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes, until the outsides are slightly charred and starting to wrinkle.  Carefully move them onto a plate and let sit.  (I skipped this since I used peppers from a jar)


Reduce the heat to 400.


Mix the potatoes, onion slices, and 2 Tbsp of olive oil and spread evenly on the same pan.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt. 


Roast at 400 for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the potatoes start to brown and the onions caramelize.  Make sure potatoes are done by checking them with a fork. When a fork is easily slid in and out of the potato you know they're done!


Meanwhile cut off the tops of the bell peppers and jalapeno, trying to keep as much of the juice as you can (this is what helps us not use so much olive oil.   Make sure you to remove as many seeds as you can, especially with the jalapeno.


Place  peppers in a food processor with the walnuts, cheese, garlic, and the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Process until thick and smooth, pulsing when you need to.


Place the pesto in the bottom of a bowl and dump the potatoes and onions on top.  Stir until combined!  Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold. I prefer hot :)