Green Bean & New Potato Salad

This green bean and new potato salad is the warm-weather side dish that beats your grandmother’s mayo-heavy potato salad on every front. Tender baby potatoes and snapped fresh green beans get steamed, tossed with a tangy garlic-tarragon vinegar mayo, and served warm or chilled.

Steaming both vegetables, rather than boiling, keeps them crisp-tender and stops them from turning waterlogged. Boiled potatoes absorb water and dilute the dressing; steamed potatoes stay firm and grab onto the mayo properly.

Let the garlic and vinegar bloom in the mayo for fifteen minutes before tossing. Raw garlic is harsh straight from the press, but a quick rest in acid mellows it into something rounded and savory. This is the kind of small detail that separates a fine salad from a knockout one.

Tossing while still slightly warm is key. Warm potatoes drink in the dressing and let the flavors penetrate the flesh; cold potatoes just get coated on the outside. The same trick works for German potato salad and the better French ones.

Chef Tips

• Choose new potatoes about the size of golf balls. Larger ones cook unevenly and need to be cut down.
• Skip peeling. The thin skin on new potatoes is tender, adds color, and contains most of the nutrients.
• Don’t overcook the green beans. Three to five minutes of steam keeps them snapping; ten minutes turns them army-drab and limp.

Variations

• Add a handful of crumbled bacon and a chopped hard-cooked egg for a heartier salad.
• Stir in chopped fresh dill, parsley, or chives for an herb-forward version.
• Add diced red bell pepper, thinly sliced red onion, or chopped celery for crunch and color.