Roasted Potatoes with Minted Spinach Pesto

These potatoes from Not Without Salt were wonderful. Tons of spinach hidden in the pesto, a little parmesan for richness, plus garlic and lemon and mint… Fabulous. I used pecans instead of almonds because that’s what I had on hand, but I think this pesto would be good without nuts, too. The recipe below should make 6 to 8 servings as a side, according to the recipe, so I halved it when I made it, but I should have made more, though perhaps I’d reduce the amount of garlic a bit. I recommend using potatoes of different colors to make this, because it’s prettier on the plate, but if you only have red new potatoes, that’s fine too. I served it with a wonderful chicken with mustard, which can be baked in the oven at the same time as the potatoes.

For the potatoes
2 lbs. new potatoes, halved
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
¼ tsp. kosher salt

Pre-heat your oven to 400 °F. Place potatoes on a parchment lined sheet tray. Drizzle olive oil and salt over top and sprinkle salt. Stir the potatoes to evenly coat. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through and deep golden in parts. Stir a couple times during the cooking process to ensure even cooking.

For the pesto
2 garlic cloves (I’d use a bit less)
½ cup toasted almonds (I used pecans; you could always omit them if you want)
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 cups spinach leaves, packed
½ cup mint leaves
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. water
1 cup grated parmesan (I used about half that, because I didn’t have enough left)
¼ – ½ tsp. kosher salt

In the bowl of a food processor add the garlic, almonds and zest. Process until finely minced. Add to that the spinach, mint and lemon juice. Process until greens are chopped fine. While the machine is running add the olive oil and water, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Lastly, pulse in the parmesan. Taste and add salt to your preference.

While the potatoes are still warm, toss with pesto. You may have leftover pesto or you may decide to use it all, either way is fine with me. Garnish with more parmesan and serve warm.