An adaptation of Julia Child’s classic recipe, this French Potato Salad is a favorite! It contains spicy red potatoes, capers and parsley.
One of the first cookbooks Alex and I read when we wanted to learn to cook? A book by Julia Child. And after reading it, we fell in love with his personality. Her passion for cooking was contagious! She then became our “TV friend” as we watched seasons of her 1950s cooking shows. Recently we made the classic French Niçoise salad, a recipe we learned from Julia. One ingredient in this bowl is this French Potato Salad, and it was so good we removed stealth bits from the bowl! Here are all Julia’s secrets for the best potato salad.
What is French Potato Salad?
French potato salad is a vinegar-based salad instead of being creamy like the American version. Although ingredients can vary, they typically include potatoes, vinegar and olive oil, fresh herbs such as parsley or dill, onions, shallots or onion greens, and sometimes capers. It contains no mayonnaise and is suitable for many diets, including vegetarian, vegan, plant-based and gluten-free diets.
We made a version of this French Dill Potato Salad that is absolutely amazing. To add a touch of herbs, head to our Dill Potato Salad.
Have more parsley to use? Try more of our best parsley recipes.
The Secrets of the Best of This French Potato Salad
This French Potato Salad is incredibly delicious: the sum of its parts makes something much bigger than the whole! Red potatoes are salty, flavorful, and chewy, tossed with just the right amount of salted capers and zesty chopped shallot. Alex and I really couldn’t stop ourselves from biting while we made this salad: it’s so good! We couldn’t stop eating it. Here are some of the things that make this salad shine:
- Let the potatoes sit with the vinegar and water, then toss them with the olive oil. No traditional vinaigrette here! Once the potatoes are cooked and drained, mix them with white wine vinegar and lukewarm water and let them steep for 5 minutes. When you mix the water, the potatoes will be very watery at first. But no fear! If you gently toss the potatoes, they will absorb the water and vinegar and become soggy and tart. Then you can add a touch of olive oil. This method yields a perfectly moist potato salad!
- Capers add a salty, brackish flavor. The capers add just the right final flavor to the dish. This was an addition to Julia’s salad recipe as we’ve seen other french potato salad recipes with capers.
What else can you do with capers? Make more caper recipes like Paprika Goat Cheese Spread, Vegan Marinara Pasta, and Puttanesca Pasta.
Ways to Serve It!
This French Potato Salad is perfect for all sorts of occasions and as an accompaniment to all kinds of dishes. Here are our best ways to serve it:
This French Potato Salad recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free.
The description
An adaptation of Julia Child’s classic recipe, this French Potato Salad is a favorite! It contains spicy red potatoes, capers and parsley.
- 3 Pound small red potatoes
- ¼ cup chopped shallot (approx 1 large)
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup capers, drained
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Ground fresh pepper
- Fill a large saucepan with cold water and add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Add the whole potatoes and bring to a boil. When it boils, set a timer for 8 minutes. Cook until tender with a fork (taste test to confirm).
- Chop the shallot.
- When the potatoes are done, drain. When cool enough to touch, cut into bite-sized pieces. Place the potatoes in a bowl and gently mix together the chopped shallot, white wine vinegar, kosher salt, and ½ cup warm water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes, stirring gently from time to time. The potatoes absorb the water as they are.
- Add capers, parsley, olive oil and a few black peppercorns. Taste and add additional salt if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Remarks
Inspired by The way to cook by Julia Kind
- Category: salad
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: French
Keywords: French Potato Salad, What is French Potato Salad, Potato Salad with Capers, Best Potato Salad, Pickled Potato Salad
Looking for salad recipes?
Aside from this French Potato Salad, here are some of our favorite salad recipes:
