French Potato Salad

Who doesn’t like potato salad? I make a few different kinds: my mother’s recipe with just mayo, carrots, and pickles, my mother-in-law’s with hard boiled eggs, an Italian one with olive oil and vinegar and a French one with wine, olive oil, red onion and shallots. Here is my recipe for the French potato salad. The wine replaces the vinegar in the Italaian version of this salad.You need to use waxy, not starchy potatoes so they can maintain their shape. Brown skinned starchy potatoes would disintegrate and become mealy when cooked (great for mashed potatoes) while the white or red skinned potatoes hold their shape. The potatoes should be warm when you add the wine and dressing so they absorb the flavours. You can vary the salad by adding cheese (feta or goat), chopped olives, capers, green onion etc. The possibilities are endless (well, almost). Delicious.

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Ingredients:

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1 1/2 lb white skinned potatoes

1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
1 shallot, sliced into rounds

3 tablespoon mixed herbs (flat leaf parsley, hyme, oregano, chives)

Salt and pepper

Optional: hard boiled egg, chopped

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Directions:

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Steam unpeeled potatoes in a steamer basket until a knife can be easily inserted into the flesh and the potatoes are fully cooked.

Let cool until you can handle them but do not cool completely. Hold each potato with a piece of paper towel and peel off the skin. Once peeled, cut the potato in half vertically and then slice it horizontally in to 1/4 inch slices or so. Place the warm potato slices in a bowl and pour the wine and stock over them. Let rest for 30 minutes to allow them to absorb the liquids.

Prepare the dressing by combining the olive oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk to emulsify.

When the potatoes have soaked up the wine and stock drizzle them with the dressing, then add red onion and herbs. Mix gently, being careful not to mash the potato slices as you mix them. Add chopped egg if you are using it.

Serve the potato salad on it’s own or mixed with some greens such as arugula.

This potato salad can be served warm or at room temperature but not cold from the fridge. If you refrigerate it bring it back to room temperature before serving.

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