French Potato Salad

Ok so this recipe was requested by a fellow med student and blogger (miss kara :) quite a long time ago, and I'm finally getting around to posting it.  I made it for our Easter lunch, but unfortunately forgot to get a picture of the final project.  In the blogger world, this is an epic fail.  I do have these two pathetic pictures to demonstrate the potential yumminess of the salad....one is what artichokes look like so you won't be scared to add them to this recipe.....

and the other is all the pieces of the potato salad, minus the potatoes and green beans.  Whoops...

Let's talk about potato salad...I hate the traditional kind so many people love.  The gloppy, kinda yellow-kinda white stuff you can slop together with eggs and a frightening amount of mayonnaise (I have angina right now thinking about that), or worse yet, buy by the pound at Walmart's deli (and by the way, it's been sitting in that case for about a day).  I apologize if you like traditional potato salad...but the medical person in me must tell you that as summer approaches and you're headed to barbecues, avoid making things like this with mayonnaise and eggs, or at the very least, keep it super cold (with a truck full of ice).  Otherwise,  we'll see you in the ER with horrible, rapid onset diarrhea from Staph or Salmonella.  I'll give you fluids but not antibiotics, just so you know.

This would be a good one for your picnics...it's made with a vinaigrette, which is much safer to have around, though you'll still want to keep it nice and cool anyways.  It's refreshing and kinda light...being mainly veggies in a yummy tart sauce.  In my humble opinion, it has a lot of flavor and no mayo.  Everyone wins :)

French Potato Salad

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp mustard
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed
1 1/2 lb red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into big chunks
5 scallions, finely chopped
1 14oz can water packed artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup roasted red pepper strips
1/2 cup black olives
Parmesan Cheese

Combine vinegar, mustard, oregano and salt and pepper in a bowl.  Whisk in olive oil.  Set dressing aside.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.  Add the beans and cook until just tender.  Scoop beans out and rinse with cold water.  Add potatoes to water and cook until potatoes are just tender.  Drain and put potatoes in a bowl.  Add scallions and drizzle with a few teaspoons of dressing, then toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside to cool.

When ready to serve, combine remaining ingredients with potatoes.  Pour on remaining dressing.  Adjust seasoning and serve.