French Potato Salad Recipe

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Potato salad is one of the most popular sides that you can serve at a backyard barbecue for a good reason. Though potatoes are usually served piping hot, potato salad is typically served cold and made with tasty ingredients like eggs and mayonnaise. While traditional potato salad is always good, it's nice to stray away from the norm from time to time ... and that's where this French potato salad recipe comes into play. This potato salad is made with champagne vinegar and Dijon mustard, giving it a unique and delicious flavor.

Recipe developer and wellness coach Miriam Hahn is the brains behind this recipe and tells us, "I always love dishes that can be made ahead and are just as good as when you first make them. This potato salad is perfect for that. Plus, when you leave cooked potatoes in the fridge for 24 hours, they increase their amount of resistant starch, making them great for gut health." And, while Hahn herself is a fan of other potato salad recipes, she likes to keep this one in her rotation as a more sophisticated option. "I have a few different potato salad recipes that I make, but this one was born when I wanted a side dish that was just a notch up from standard potato salad and a little more elegant looking," Hahn adds.

To make French potato salad, you'll need 12 to 14 Yukon or red potatoes, Italian parsley, fresh dill, scallions, olive oil, champagne vinegar, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.

First things first, wash your potatoes — the skin stays on for this recipe, so make sure they're nice and clean. Then, grab a medium-sized pot that is big enough to fit all of the potatoes and fill it with water. "When you are boiling the potatoes, the water should cover the potatoes by an inch or so," Hahn notes. "I don't peel the potatoes because a concentration of the vitamins and minerals is in the skin. I always buy organic for this reason. But if you prefer, you can peel the potatoes first." 

Place the pot on your burner and crank up the heat to high. Boil the potatoes for about 20 to 30 minutes. You can check doneness by sticking a fork in one and seeing if it comes out easily. As long as it does, you can remove the potatoes from the heat. 

While the potatoes cook, chop the parsley, dill, and scallions. These just add another texture and great flavor to the potatoes. "For chopping the parsley and dill, I use the top ¼ of the bunch so you get less of the heavy stems. For scallions, I just trim off the end and use both white and green parts," Hahn shares. "I usually chop them in half first, then stack all pieces to do all of them at once."

And these herbs are good for you! "Lots of health benefits of herbs. All herbs help with digestion and offer lots of vitamins and minerals. I always recommend people grow fresh herbs so you can add them to everything," Hahn shares. 

There's no salad that's complete without a flavorful dressing. In our recipe, we use a light vinaigrette. To make it, add the olive oil, vinegar, crushed garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Mix the ingredients well to combine. You can use a spoon or something similar. "The dressing is just like a mustard vinaigrette and is delicious," Hahn raves. 

Once you remove the potatoes from the heat, drain the water and let them cool for about 10 minutes or so. Then, chop them into cubes as you would with any other potato salad. Add the potatoes to a large bowl and toss with the dressing and the scallions, dill, and parsley. Pop the bowl into the fridge and chill if you want the French potato salad on the cooler side. You can also serve at room temperature if you'd like it that way — this is purely based on preference. 

It's time to get a fork and dig into the wonderful French potato salad. This dish would make a great side to any protein or sandwich, and we think it would be a hit at a picnic. "This is a great side dish for sandwiches or anything off the grill," Hahn says. If you have leftovers, they will last for about a week in the fridge. "When you are serving after it has been in the fridge, the dressing will get soaked up in the potatoes, so sometimes I add a little vinegar to revive the dressing," Hahn notes. "And I always top with more fresh herbs."

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It's not surprising that potatoes, with their mild flavor, low price tag, and endless versatility, feature in recipes from countries all over the world, where they're adapted to accommodate local flavors, ingredients, and tastes. One such recipe is potato salad, which looks and tastes very different depending on where you travel. In the U.S., we tend to think of a bland, creamy, mayo-heavy concoction. But in other parts of the world, you'll find variations ranging from lighter and brighter to even richer than our home-grown version.

South African potato salad falls into the latter category, as it relies on evaporated milk to add creaminess and a little sweetness, as well as onions, seasonings, and often hard-boiled eggs for extra substance. A typical Russian potato salad is also very hearty, featuring meat, boiled eggs, and plenty of mayonnaise. A Dominican potato salad also gets its creaminess from mayo, but is lightened by boiled carrots, peas, and corn. Japanese and Korean potato salads both tend to include vegetables and mayo, (Kewpie mayo in Japan), and in both, the potatoes are roughly mashed. Korean potato salad is distinguished by the addition of some sweetness from fruit.

For a lighter version, look to the Mediterranean. In Greece, they serve a zesty, tangy potato salad with onions, capers, and a lemon and herb vinaigrette. And in Italy, you'll find a bright combination of firm potatoes, tomatoes, and green beans in a light vinaigrette.

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