An adaptation of a classic recipe, this French Potato Salad is a new favorite!
I love a classic North American potato salad. That was before I discovered I couldn’t eat eggs without experiencing week long crippling joint pain, after hours of gut wrenching nausea. Needless to say, I usually avoid eggs now. My Grandma used to make one that was a mix between devilled eggs and your standard Potato Salad and I have been craving some of my Grandma’s Potato Salad! So I starting hunting for an egg-free alternative. This potato salad recipe is a riff on classic French potato salads, which contains no mayo and lots of herbs. It’s lightly creamy and tangy yet miraculously egg-free. This potato salad recipe is special diet friendly, too.
What is French potato salad?
French potato salad is a vinegar-based salad, instead of creamy like the American version. While the ingredients can vary, it typically includes potatoes, vinegar and olive oil, fresh herbs like parsley or dill, onion, shallot or scallions, and sometimes capers. It’s got no mayo and works for many diets including vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and gluten-free.
The secrets to the best French potato salad?
To make the best mayo-free potato salad, reserve some potato cooking water before draining the potatoes. Let the potatoes stand with vinegar & water, then mix in olive oil. After the potatoes are boiled and drained, you’ll mix them with white wine vinegar and warm water and let them stand for 5 minutes. At first when you mix in the water, the potatoes will be very watery. But never fear! As you gently mix the potatoes, they’ll absorb the water and vinegar and become moist and tangy. Then you can add a olive oil. This method makes for perfectly moist potato salad!
Health Tip for you Potato Salad
If you are buying your potatoes from a generic grocery store and you don’t know where they come from, peel them. In many areas, potato crops are sprayed with chemicals to protect them from pests and disease. As a root veg, potatoes absorb pesticides which can become concentrated in the potato skins and you can’t wash this off. If you’re growing your own or buying them from your local farm, keep the skins on. The skins are loaded with disease-fighting nutrients and weight-friendly fiber. By incorporating potato skins into your diet, you’ll get more healthy meals from each potato.
Did you know?
Plants do not produce vitamin B12, nor is it produced by animals. In nature, it is the bacteria present in the soil or in the water that produce vitamin B12. Therefore, vegetables as they are found in nature (and as humanity has always consumed them when living in a state of nature) contain B12 from bacterial contamination. While potatoes are not a great source of B12, it’s interesting to start considering the environment our food is grown and how it can benefit us in the long run.
Ingredients
3 pounds potatoes – Your choice
1 small sweet onion
5 stalks of celery
6 stalks of scallions (green onion)
1 fist-full bunch of fresh parsley
¼ cup fresh dill, minced – we didn’t have any dill but had dill infused olive oil! Just use what you have.
8-10 slices of bacon (optional)
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon flaked sea salt or finishing salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Fill a large pot with cold water and add 1-2 tablespoons of salt. The level of saltiness will depend on your brand of salt! Add the whole potatoes and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, set a timer for 8 minutes. Cook until fork tender (taste test to check).
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. Lay the bacon on the pan. Roast about 20 minutes, until browned and crisp. Peep in after 15 minutes or so to check on everything. You don’t even need to flip the bacon over. You may, if your oven is erratic, want to turn the pan.
- Finely slice the green ends of your scallions and reserve.
- Put the bulb end of the scallions, celery, parsley and 1 teaspoon kosher salt into a food chopper and roughly chop OR finely chop by hand.
- When the potatoes are done, drain them. When they are cool enough to handle, slice them into bite sized pieces. Place the potatoes in a bowl and gently mix in the greens, white wine vinegar, kosher salt, and ½ cup warm water or your reserved potato water. Let stand for 5 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. The potatoes will absorb the water as they stand.
- Add the bacon, scallion tops, olive oil, finishing salt and a few grinds black pepper. Taste and add additional salt if necessary. Serve warm or room temperature. I found it was even better the next day once the potatoes had fully absorbed all the flavour!
This healthy potato salad recipe is full of fresh flavor. It’s mayo-free, easy to make, and sure to be a hit at your potluck! This salad is vegan, egg free and gluten free. Recipe yields 8 side servings. Be sure to stay tuned for more recipes! Leave a comment below and let us know how it turned out for you!
