Ina's French Potato Salad

I seem to have an abundance of fresh herbs and before time got away from me I wanted to make Ina Garten's French Potato Salad. I had been searching for something that would have a lot of taste and be fairly easy to put together. As a browsed through The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, I noticed that the introduction to the recipe mentions that it was Julia Child who first showed Americans how to appreciate the combination of flavors found when potatoes, fresh herbs and a vinaigrette come together in one dish!

This French Potato Salad recipe is Ina's version of Julia Child's.

I had a combination of potatoes on hand so I used a mix of red potatoes, purple potatoes, small Yukon potatoes and a few fingerling potatoes.

French Potato Salad

1 pound small white boiling potatoes
1 pound small red boiling potatoes
2 Tbsp good dry white wine
2 Tbsp chicken stock
3 Tbsp Champagne vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
10 Tbsp good olive oil
1/4 cup minced scallions (white and green parts)
2 Tbsp minced fresh dill
2 Tbsp minced flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp chiffonade of 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.

The Kitchen Gnome sampled the dish before I could set it aside. He said that he was surprised he liked it....one isn't supposed to mess around with potato salad, I guess! I had to sample, myself. It was delicious. I can hardly wait until dinner!

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