String Bean and Red Potato Salad with Grilled Chicken Tenders and a 2020 Finger Lakes Unoaked Chardonnay by Lamoreaux Landing

Whoa! Talk about a perfect, light, and healthy summer meal with a truly enjoyable (and in my opinion) “fruit forward” 2020 Unoaked Finger Lakes Chardonnay from Lamoreaux Landing. This Chard is light and crisp, aromatic, and has beautiful citrussy characteristics of green apple on the nose palate and finish. Simply enjoyable, but not linear. It progresses every so subtly from nose to finish.

As far as the food pairing . . . I have just been dying to make this green string bean and red potato salad from all local produce! When you are dealing with string beans and potatoes fresh from the local farms it is just such a joy. From the visual, to how the produce smells, how it feels, and most importantly the taste and texture. It’s just a whole other level of genuine freshness. With all the farmer’s markets around here, I check them out first and use the supermarkets as backups. It’s the only way to shop.

For the salad, the potatoes were boiled until cooked through but firm enough to slice. Close attention to the soft but firm chewy texture is necessary just as if we were making pasta. The string beans were slightly charred on cast iron. While on the cast iron some water was added which quickly converts into a powerful quick steaming process when covered with the dome of a large mixing bowl. The string beans should be cooked through but also have a snap to them.  

Both the string beans and sliced red potatoes are then gently tossed in a light vinaigrette of sliced red onion, fresh parsley, salt, pepper, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and a dash of cane sugar. 

As far as the chicken tenders, they are just marinated in a simple vinaigrette and grilled quickly on high heat with cast iron. Once they rest a beautiful Au Jus forms on the bottom of the plate from the marinade and the natural juices of the chicken. A perfect protein accompaniment to this zesty but also savory and slightly sweet salad.

The sweetness from this salad primarily comes from the fresh beans, the char, and the red onion with just a little bit of help from the dash of sugar in the vinaigrette. It is ideal to eat the salad and the savory chicken together bite by bite.

And then, this surprisingly fruit-forward Chardonnay! Chards are not my usual go-to white. But up here in the Finger Lakes they seem more enjoyable to me. I tend to prefer the Chardonnay Riesling blends in this region. I love the body of a Chardonnay but I like a little more fruit. But for this one, no Riesling is needed. The citrusy fruit feel of this wine is a perfect match for the zesty sweet salad and smokey grilled savory chicken! And for $11.00? Ah, the perks of living in wine country.

I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for visiting my blog!

Ciao, 

Michael