Italian Potato Salad, Gorgonzola, and Orange Balsamic Dressing

Submitted by KerfuffleUponWincle

"A potato salad made without mayonnaise! Modified from dallasnews.com -- Source: Philomena Aceto; published in The Dallas Morning News on May 17, 2008. Tender asparagus, sugar snap peas, or snow peas could be substituted for the green beans!"

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 2 lbs potatoes (red potatoes preferred, medium-sized, quartered)
• 1 - 1 1⁄2 lb green beans (young slender beans ~ snapped in half, or substitute tender asparagus, sugar snap peas, or snow peas)
• 4 large plum tomatoes (quartered)
• 2 small shallots (minced)
• 24 kalamata olives (pitted, drained, dried, and halved)
• 2 tablespoons capers (rinsed and dried)
• 1⁄4 cup fresh basil (chopped)
• 1⁄4 cup of fresh mint (chopped)
• 1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 6 tablespoons olive oil (extra-virgin)
• orange zest (zest of one medium-sized orange)
• orange juice (juice of one medium-sized orange)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 ounces gorgonzola (crumbled)
• fresh ground black pepper
• salt (to taste)

directions

1. Cook potatoes in simmering salted water about 20 minutes or until tender (do not overcook). Drain and rinse in cold water; drain again!
2. While the potatoes are cooking, in a separate pan, blanch beans in boiling salted water; drain; rinse in cold water; drain again!
3. Transfer potatoes and beans to bowl. Add tomatoes, shallots, olives, capers, fresh herbs, and pepper to taste.
4. Combine vinegar, oil, zest, orange juice and oregano. Gently toss salad with dressing and top with crumbled Gorgonzola and lots of fresh, cracked pepper.
5. Add additional salt if needed.
6. Arrange on a platter. Serve chilled. Makes 12 servings.

Reviews

[zeldaz51]

Delicious! Although the flavors may sound to some (like my skeptical husband) like they would clash, they complement each other extremely well. He REALLY likes this. The orange in it is wonderful! We made a half-recipe and took it to a friend's house, where it was served with steamed lobsters. Life is tough, I know. We used a bunch of halved grape tomatoes because no ripe Romas were available. The ratio of beans to potatoes seems pretty high, I think next time I would use fewer green beans and a couple more potatoes, and probably a tad more Gorgonzola, but the dressing is spot-on and brings it all together. It would probably work with raw or blanched zucchini or asparagus tips in lieu of beans, too. The dressing would be good on a green salad made with sliced strawberries and mandarin orange segments, like the ones served at a local restaurant. We'll be eating variations on this recipe this all summer, I expect.