Potato Caprese Salad with Homemade Pesto
Caprese is one of my all time favorite foods in all forms. By itself, in a salad, on a sandwich. Pesto is another one of my all time favs and I particularly enjoy pesto on Caprese. Best of both worlds! But what if I told you there’s a way to sneak even ANOTHER fan favorite into this combo. Potatoes. Potatoes are honestly and truly a vegetarian/vegans best friend. They are easy to cook, filling and absolutely delicious. Any form of potato is just heaven-sent in my opinion.
So I had a moment and decided I was just going to put all this delicious stuff together and eat it! I succeeded at eating it and at creating a pretty bomb recipe.
This recipe would also be delicious on top of pasta, in place of potatoes, but I felt like really stepping out of the box with my pesto carb-vehicle. It’s just as delicious as it sounds. When we were eating it my partner said “it’s like a pesto poutine!” and while it isn’t exactly accurate, he’s not totally wrong. Theres a sauce element, a cheese element and potatoes. So if you like all those things, come join me on this simple little culinary adventure.
First, cube, season and roast or air fry your potatoes. While they’re roasting, make your pesto and chop your mozzarella and tomatoes and voila! Thats it! You’ve got a 30-40 minute week-night dinner thats as simple as it is delicious. Join me in the world of pesto on potatoes–you’ll wonder why you didn’t come here sooner. All are welcome!
Potato Caprese Salad with Homemade Pesto
Ingredients:
- 20-30 cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 8 oz container marinated baby mozzarella balls
- 6-8 gold potatoes
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 2 cups fresh basil
- olive oil to preference
- salt to taste
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional (double parm if not using)
- 2 tbsp parmesan
- olive oil to preference
- dried basil to taste
- dried oregano to taste
- red pepper flakes
- garlic powder
- onion powder to taste
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Wash and chop potatoes. Mix in a bowl with olive oil, dried oregano, dried basil, red pepper flakes, onion powder, black pepper and salt. Roast or air fry on 400 Fahrenheit.
- While potatoes are roasting, add fresh basil to food processor with pine nuts, olive oil (to preference) and whole raw garlic. Add nutritional yeast, Parmesan and salt to taste. Process again briefly.
- Chop tomatoes and mozzarella balls to preference.
- Add everything including the pesto to a large bowl and mix together. Serve with garlic bread and olives (or just by itself!) Add a little balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze on top if you’d like!
