Green Bean and Red Potato Salad

Potato salad is a staple at every BBQ or cookout so I thought this recipe would be perfect to share with you now that it is the season of grilling and outdoor eating. It pairs nicely with a classic American cheeseburger or chicken breast hot off of the grill and can be made in advance. I made this last weekend for our own BBQ so I doubled the recipe since we had a large group, but you can cut all of the ingredients in half if you are serving it as a side for your family dinner. The other nice thing about this potato salad is there is no mayonnaise which is great since it always makes me a little nervous when a mayonnaise based salad has been sitting out in the sun for a few hours.

Adapted from: http://www.rachaelray.com/

Ingredients:
4 lbs Red Potatoes
1 lb Green Beans
2 Shallots - Diced
6-8 Slices of Bacon
6 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
6 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Sugar
Salt & Pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. While you are waiting for the water to boil, prep your vegetables. Trim the ends off of the green beans and cut them in half. Wash and cut up the potatoes. I tried to keep them all about the same size so some of them were quartered while the larger potatoes were diced into six or eight pieces. Dice up the shallots.

Once the water is boiling blanch the green beans for about 3-4 minutes. Take them out of the water with a slotted spoon and put them immediately into a bowl of cold water with ice cubes to stop the cooking process, this will also help to keep them green and crisp. Add the potatoes to the same water and bring the pot back to a boil, cook for 12 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain them and set them aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, put a large pan over medium heat. Place the strips of bacon in the pan and allow them to crisp for about 5 minutes, flipping the slices over so both sides can brown. Add the shallots and let them cook for 2 minutes. Next stir in the sugar, vinegar and chicken stock. Take the bacon out of the pan, if it is crispy enough, crumble it and set aside. If it isn't you can return it back to the pan to cook more after you pour the dressing over the salad. 

In your largest bowl combine your potatoes and green beans. Pour the bacon dressing over top. Drizzle the olive oil over the entire bowl. Mix everything together, allowing the bacon dressing as well as the olive oil to coat all of the green beans and potatoes. Add your crisp crumbled bacon on top and mix again. Put it in the fridge and allow the flavors to mingle for about an hour before serving. 

Enjoy!! - Nicole

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