By Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating
Serves 4 as a side
For the salad
4 cups of fresh green beans, rinsed with the ends trimmed off
3 large or 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into equal-sized cubes (I like Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn for this salad)
Tray or two of ice cubes and lots of cold water
For the aioli
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2-3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed (go heavy if you like garlic, light if you don't!)
3-4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice3 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped
Make the aioli by combining all the sauce ingredients and stirring well. Taste and adjust the flavors as needed. It's okay if it seems a bit salty and garlic-y – remember, this is going to cover a whole lot of unseasoned vegetables.
Place the cubed potatoes in a steamer pot over an inch or so of water and steam, covered until tender when pierced with a fork, roughly 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the cubes.Then remove from the pot and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Then add the green beans and blanch then until they're just a little bit tender but still bright green – probably 3-4 minutes or so. While they're cooking, prepare a large pot of very cold water mixed with ice cubes so that you'll have it at the ready to put the blanched beans in - this is important so that you can stop the cooking process (otherwise, they'll continue to cook and end up overdone).
Once the beans are done, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon or by pouring them into a colander, then place them in the ice water bath for 5 minutes to ensure that the cooking stops.
Combine the steamed potatoes, blanched beans and the sauce, stirring with a large spoon to ensure that everything gets well-coated with the aioli and serve.
