mais oui: french potato salad

french style potato salad | everybody likes sandwiches

I’ve made a lot of salads in recent months:  wild rice & blueberry, kale & millet, a cabbage slaw with hard boiled eggs, a simple faro salad, a new broccoli slaw and a chickpea & carrot salad. That’s a whole lot of salad eating. And now I’m going to throw another one into the rotation. A potato salad. Simple, right? This one is easy and it’s the one salad that I’ve put on repeat all summer long. There’s room for endless variations here because the base is nothing more than olive oil, lemon juice, cider vinegar or white wine vinegar, plus a little dijon and honey (or agave syrup). Salt and pepper too. Plus fresh herbs.

french style potato salad | everybody likes sandwiches

All possible and delicious variations that I’ve tried: lightly steamed green or yellow beans. Yummy! Barely steamed snow peas are crunchy and delightful. I think diced celery is a must do. Chopped cold Kielbasa sausage mixed in with the warm potato salad? A dream come true. And gone so quick that I didn’t even take a photo. Trust me, it was amazing. To note, if you’re in Vancouver, the Kielbasa at J, N & Z Deli on Commercial Drive is hard to beat. It’s wonderful grilled too!

french style potato salad | everybody likes sandwiches

A cupful of fresh from the garden basil (or in my case, fresh from the farmer’s market) and parsley. Dill is great too, as is fresh tarragon. Herbaceous! Throw in chopped capers for a salty & tangy punch. I also like to add in a mix of purple potatoes along with the regular standbys because it just looks so freakin’ classy. And sometimes I like to get my fancy on.

french style potato salad | everybody likes sandwiches

One tip that I can’t stress enough is to really scrub your potatoes, even the cute lil’ baby ones, because crunching down on a grain of dirt is unappetizing and somehow I always get the potato with the dirt. Maybe you should peel your potatoes though I never do. And maybe this is just a reminder to myself to scrub a little harder next time. And I’ll be serving this up soon. Almost all my friends that have come over for dinner this summer have been privy to this as a side. It gets rave reviews every single time and I’ve had requests for the recipe. Here it is. And for you mayo haters, relax. No mayo, no fear.

french style potato salad | everybody likes sandwiches

10 comments to “mais oui: french potato salad”

  1. 1
    Sarah | The Sugar Hit   July 31, 2013 at 11:05 pm

    Man, I wish I could get my hands on those purple potatoes. They’re so cool.

  2. 2
    Joanne   August 1, 2013 at 3:29 am

    I love how this is actually a fresh flavored potato salad instead of super heavy like the mayo-based ones!

  3. 3
    kickpleat   August 2, 2013 at 10:40 am

    Sarah, I love using the purple potatoes 🙂 Luckily, my local market has them often!

    Yes, Joanne, I like that this one is a no-mayo version. And super adaptable too!

  4. 4
    Sues   August 2, 2013 at 6:57 pm

    What a delicious (and beautiful!) salad!

  5. 5
    Joanne (Bijoux)   August 3, 2013 at 7:01 am

    I love potatoes. Love! Too bad I had to stop eating them though as they were in the category of foods that are inflammatory for arthritis along with tomatoes and aubergine. Sucks to be me!

    What really got my salivary glands working in overdrive is the inclusion of kielbasa to this salatka. It’s the food of my husband’s people. And surprisingly I like it too!

    Have you tried Kozlik’s Triple Crunch grainy mustard. Oh boy! If not, I’m adding it to your future swap.

  6. 6
    kickpleat   August 3, 2013 at 1:26 pm

    Thanks Sues!

    Oh no, Bijoux! No potatoes? Yikes. I’ve never heard of that mustard – sounds like a winner!

  7. 7
    Marissa | Pinch and Swirl   August 4, 2013 at 9:27 am

    I love the simplicity of your dressing. So often potato salads are too goopy. 🙂

  8. 8
    kickpleat   August 7, 2013 at 1:44 am

    Agreed, Marissa – I like this one, nice and bright 🙂

  9. 9
    Marie   September 8, 2013 at 7:22 am

    This salad is delicious, the tarragon adds a wonderful note to the dish.

  10. 10
    kickpleat   September 8, 2013 at 9:17 am

    So glad you enjoyed this one Marie! Yes, I agree about the tarragon 🙂

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