Very Special Roasted Red Potato

You can serve this dish as a hand held appetizer to nibble on by itself or as the side dish to a wonderful grilled steak or pan seared salmon filet. Either way, the creaminess of the potato combined with the fresh herby pesto and cool topping will make your heart and tastebuds sing!

12 red potatoes (cut in half lengthwise)
cooking spray
2 tbsp. thinly sliced fresh chives (substitute green onion, plus more for garnish)
1 cup thick Greek Yogurt (or lite sour cream)
6 sundried tomatoes (drained and patted dry if packed in oil; julienned)
½ cup prepared pesto (or better yet, make your own healthy batch – see below)
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cup fresh basil leaves (packed)
1 cup warm water
¼ cup mac nuts (unsalted; substitute pinenuts)
⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp. salt

For lightened pesto:
This pesto uses much less oil than most recipes or prepared versions. Combine the olive oil with the warm water. Put the basil leaves, mac nuts, parmesan cheese, black pepper, and salt in a blender or processor. Turn on and slowly add the olive oil/water mixture until pesto is creamy. If it’s too thick, add more water.

For potatoes:
Pre-heat oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, toss the cut potatoes in ½ cup of the pesto to fully coat. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and lay the potatoes down, cut side up. Bake for 40 minutes or until edges are golden brown and a toothpick can pierce the potato easily. While the potatoes cook, mix together the Greek yogurt and chives and julienne (thinly slice) the sundried tomato.

To assemble the potatoes, put a dollop of yogurt on each piece, a few slivers of sundried tomato and a little chive.

Recipe By:

Chef Michi Holland

Prep + Cook Time:

1 hr 15 mins

Serving Size:

4 Servings

As featured in…

Jan. 26, 2011 Coupon Book