BHG’s Italian Potato and Green Bean Salad

Wouldn’t you like a different potato salad that isn’t loaded with calories? This Italian Potato and Green Bean Salad from BHG is just 186 calories a serving. Great for lunches and picnics, because there is NO mayonnaise, just lemon juice and a little extra-virgin olive oil. Do you know what they say about olive oil?

From a 2012 study in Spain..Only two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil per day protect you from heart disease. It does so by reducing the total cholesterol level in the blood as well as the LDL cholesterol level. At the same time the more polyphenol is contained in olive oil (such as in extra virgin olive oil), the more HDL your body will produce, which is essential to extract oxidized LDL from arterial plaque. On top of that polyphenol rich olive oil will increase the size of the HDL particles (these larger particles are called HDL2), which are more efficient in extracting oxidized LDL from arterial plaques. A Sept. 2014 study in humans showed that higher polyphenol olive oil as found in extra virgin olive oil caused an increase in the more effective HDL2 particles, which cleans out plaques from arteries more efficiently than the regular, cheaper olive oil. Serves 8 Total Time: 40 minutes plus cool time.

Ingredients:

1 lemon
1 1/2 pounds tiny red new potatoes, quartered 8 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
3 anchovies, mashed with a fork, or 1 to 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 hard-cooked eggs, each cut into 6 wedges
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered, coarsely chopped roma tomatoes, or roasted red sweet pepper strips 1/3 cup green Italian olives, pitted and quartered, or pitted large ripe olives, quartered
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves, cut into very thin strips 
Salt and Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Finely shred peel from lemon; measure 2 teaspoons lemon peel. Juice lemon; measure 3 tablespoons juice. Set aside. In a 4-quart Dutch oven combine potatoes and enough salted water to cover. Bring to boiling over high heat; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender, adding green beans for the last 4 minutes of cooking. Drain. Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour or until cool.

For the dressing, in a screw-top jar combine oil, the 2 teaspoons lemon peel, the 3 tablespoons lemon juice, the capers, anchovies, garlic, and the 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cover and shake well.

In a large bowl toss potatoes and beans with half of the dressing. Add eggs, tomatoes, olives, basil, and the remaining dressing; toss gently to coat. Season to taste with salt and additional black pepper. Yum Yum!