Roasted Witch Finger-ling Salad with Greeeeen Pesto Sauce

It's officially the week before Halloween and I had to share something soooo crazy-fun!  This is a fingerling potato salad...that looks like something totally morbid. Witch fingers. Mmm. I don't know which witch had to give up her flanges to give me this idea, but it has been fun seeing the various reactions from around my house.  Both boys, age 14 and 11 asked me if they could eat them right away.  Ace, my husband, wouldn't eat them at all. He said they looked too evil to eat...and really sick. Yup. That's the point darling. Though I do have to say that I had a really hard time not eating them!  Plus. They're greeeeeeeen!

 Just to set the record straight, they really are just potatoes...

So today when I got some fingerling potatoes from the market, I decided to do a Halloween theme.

You'll need:

One pound of fingerling potatoes, steamed or roasted until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with 1-2 Tablespoons of your favorite oil.  

I'm partial to this Ahuacatlan Avocado Oil infused with chipotle. It just gives this awesome kick to the potatoes...and has a really great high smoke-point so it won't add free funky-radicals to my body. I'm radical enough, thank you very much. 

 Cooking the potatoes. Personally, I like to either pressure cook the potatoes 5-6 minutes on high pressure (natural release) or roast them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooling, make the sauce.

 Chef Tess Wicked Witch Low-fat Pesto Dressing
1 cup parsley
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
2T dry basil or Chef Tess Romantic Italian Seasoning
1 cup fresh pumpkin puree (instead of oil)
1/4 cup basil infused olive oil
juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Puree in a blender until smooth...and Greeeeeen....

 Seriously. The squash puree not only makes it low fat, but also makes it a nice bright green. Using the fresh parsley and dry herbs, lowers the cost dramatically without skimping on the flavor. Plus...it is greeeeeeeeen. 

 Drizzle the sauce over the potatoes. You can use as much or as little as you'd like.

Arrange decoratively on a tray and garnish with blanched almond halves for "fingernails" if desired.

Serve warm or cold. Though, cold is more authentic...for a witch finger. Right? Plus, they're greeeeeen! Happy Halloweeeeeeeeen!

Have fun this week!
Always My Very Best,
Chef Stephanie Petersen