Fingerling Potato Salad

This is not your standard potluck pass around - it's a surprisingly hearty potato salad with wonderful colors, flavors, and textures that makes a great lunch or light dinner. It's sure to win you back to the potato salad team!

Ingredients:

Mixed fingerling potatoes- at least 25, cut into thick slices
1 ear of fresh corn, kernels removed
1 1/2 cups of green beans, cut in a bias
1/2 of medium red pepper, diced
1/2 of a medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup of petit cornichons, cut in a bias (you can substitute gherkins)
1/4 cup of mayonnaise, any kind you like
1/8 of a cup of dijon mustard
3 teaspoons of white vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of fresh dill, chopped
Salt & pepper
Avocado slices for serving

Preparation:

1. Place your cut potatoes in a medium pot, cover them with cold water, and place on the stove over medium heat.

2. To a large cast iron pan (you can you a regular non-stick pan too) on medium heat, add 1/2 tablespoon of butter. When hot, add the corn kernels and a pinch of salt. Cook them for about 5 minutes while moving around the pan. When they have all evenly pan-roasted, take off the heat, place in a bowl and set aside.

2. When the potatoes feel al dente (not completely soft- almost fully cooked), drain them. To the same pan previously used add the remaining butter. When it is melted and hot, (not burnt), add the potatoes a pinch of salt. Allow them to build a crust by letting them sit undisturbed for a couple of minutes, in between each toss. When all potatoes have cooked evenly, remove from the fire and set a side.

3. To a medium bowl, add the mayo, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, making the mixture if thick but fluid, then add the dill. Mix again and set a side.

4. Into a large bowl add the onions, garlic, peppers, cornichons, green beans, most of the pan-roasted corn (leave about 1/8 of a cup for decoration), and all of the pan-roasted potatoes. Mix a bit before adding the mayo-mustard dressing and continue mixing until all the ingredients are evenly coated.

Serve on a bed of avocado slices.