I'm not sure if this is a salad, a side dish, an entree, an appetizer or what, but you can do with it what you like. This was devised on a whim when I found myself craving pesto but also realizing that I'd eaten pasta for the last 4 or so days straight, and also in possession of some very good french mini beans, new potatoes, and basil from the farmers' market. I decided it was good enough to share. It would work as a replacement for any other kind of potato salad in the traditional contexts (bbqs, picnics, etc.) but makes a good side dish for more sophisticated fare, or for simple folk like me, the better part of a meal.
EDIT: It turns out this doesn't really make for good leftovers; it's not an especially good make-ahead (at least not the day ahead, a couple hours might be ok) dish. By the next day, the pesto turns fairly brown and the potatoes absorb the pesto and taste a little blah. But of course you could steam the vegetables ahead of time and add the pesto at the last minute and be just fine.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Prepare pesto per your own specifications. If your pesto doesn't contain lemon juice, a good squeeze of lemon (if you have one handy) is a good addition to everything here to brighten the flavors a bit.
2. Steam potato chunks until tender but not at all mushy (!), probably between 10-15 minutes but it will depend on the potatoes and the size of the pieces. When cooked, rinse under cold water for a bit. (they don't need to be completely cooled down but you want to stop or slow the cooking).
3. Steam beans until tender but still crisp, somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 minutes but here too it will depend a lot on the age and size of the beans. Plunge into cold or ice water to stop the cooking, then drain.
4. In a large bowl, combine potatoes and beans, then spoon in pesto and stir gently (to avoid breaking up potatoes), adding more pesto as needed. If you like, add a spoonful or so of mayonnaise when you add the pesto (people who really like mayonnaise will probably like this better with it, people who are neutral or don't much like it will prefer it without). Add salt & pepper to taste, and maybe a splash of lemon juice or red wine vinegar if you like.
5. You can serve/eat this at room temperature, warm or cold.
6. Plenty of things would make good additions to this - halved cherry tomatoes and/or hard cooked egg slices come to mind. You can probably think of others.