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Potatoes

French Potato Salad Recipe – Quick and Easy

This one takes barely anytime at all.  In fact, that’s really why I’m posting it here.  We’ve both been feeling somewhat beat after getting home from work, so cooking is often the last thing we want to do.  Then we watched Food, Inc. and that attitude got flipped around.  It prompted us to start getting a Boston Organics box from the seemingly great organization here in town.  We’ve been very impressed overall with the quality of the fruit and vegetables, but we end up with almost more that we can use.  This week was our second week getting the green box and in it were some beautiful baby potatoes from Maine which I wanted to use before the weekend.  So potato salad – yeah that happened.  Totally simple, and really good.

The potato salad that I make is rather French – it’s somewhat creamy, but light at the same time.  I use a little bit of mayo, but more creme fraiche, dijon, lemon and vinegar.  The secret though?  Cut your warm potatoes up into pieces and let them soak up some wine, stock and lemon juice before you add the rest of the dressing.  Here’s the method I used, which I think you’ll find easy and simple tasting:

• 15 small red new or fingerling potatoes (around 1.5 lb.) – washed and left whole
• 1 medium red onion – very finely diced

• 2 Tbsp. homemade or Hellman’s mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. creme fraiche
• 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbsp. decent dry white wine
• 3 Tbsp. chicken stock
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon (meyer’s if available)
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
• Good grind of black pepper
• Decent amount of salt
• 3 Scallions – sliced VERY thin along a bias

Ok, so the obvious part of this recipe is to cook the potatoes.  Start with a large pot of boiling water and add and good amount salt. Add the potatoes, and of you’re using larger sized potatoes, half or quarter them – especially if they’re really big. Boil them for around 15-20 minutes, or until you can stick them with a fork, pull them out of the water and the fall off the fork after a second or two.

At this point, gently drain the potatoes in a strainer or sieve and add them to another bowl to let cool.  As soon as they’re cool enough to touch, quarter the potatoes or try to cut them into similar sizes as consistently as possible.  Immediately add them to a bowl and add the wine and chicken stock and mix to incorporate.  Add the onions and let stand and let the potatoes soak up the liquids while you make the dressing.

For the dressing, start with the mustard, mayonnaise and creme fraiche and mix together in a small bowl.  Add in the Worcesteshire sauce, vinegar and Tabasco and stir together to combine.  Season with a little salt and black pepper.  Next, while whisking or stirring with a fork, add in the oil to emulsify the rest of the dressing.  Finish with the lemon juice, taste and adjust your seasonings as you like them.

Once you’ve let the potatoes sit and soak for at least 20 minutes, mix in the dressing and stir to combine.  Finish with the scallions and serve immediately or store in your fridge for up to 5 days.

Tags: potato salad, summer salad