I can’t believe I never got around to doing a post from our 4th of July party. It was epic and the food spread was unbelievable. But, there is one aspect of it that I figure I should share with you and it was the potato salad.
I’m generally not a fan of potato salad. It often has unidentifiable crunchy bits (which I find incredibly disturbing), has been made with sweet mayonaise like Miracle Whip (which I find disgusting), and is just plain oniony or weird. I’ve had so many unhappy potato salad experiences, that I’ve generally written it off as something I’ll never be interested in. But, it was the 4th of July and I figured I might as well make one for my guests, since it seemed like standard holiday fare.
I decided to do one that wasn’t mayonaise based, since I knew it might be sitting out a few hours during the party and the last thing I wanted mixing in my guests was alcohol and bad mayo. *shudder*
I found a Barefoot Contessa recipe for “French Potato Salad”. (I decided to ignore the fact that it seemed terribly unpatriotic to make it for the 4th of July and did it anyways.) I figured, the Contessa always knows what she’s doing. It can’t be too bad.
I was so wrong.
This was the BEST POTATO SALAD I’D EVER HAD!
It was flavorful and vinegary and absolutely delightful. At the party, when I saw it was almost gone, I ran in and saved a scoop and hid it in the fridge so that I would have some the next day. It was so delightful that I have completely changed my opinion of potato salad. It can be a wonderful, wonderful thing. If you are on the fence on the potato salad issue, give this a go and come over to the enlightened side.
(Btw, this isn’t a picture of my potato salad. I found it online from another cook’s site of the same recipe)
Barefoot Contessa’s French Potato Salad
- 1 pound small white boiling potatoes
- 1 pound small red boiling potatoes
- 2 tablespoons good dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 10 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1/4 cup minced scallions (white and green parts)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves
Drop the white and red potatoes into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are just cooked through. Drain in a colander and place a towel over the potatoes to allow them to steam for 10 more minutes. As soon as you can handle them, cut in 1/2 (quarters if the potatoes are larger) and place in a medium bowl. Toss gently with the wine and chicken stock. Allow the liquids to soak into the warm potatoes before proceeding.
Combine the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Add the vinaigrette to the potatoes. Add the scallions, dill, parsley, basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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