French-Style Summer Potato Salad with Corn

This elegant French-Style Summer Potato Salad is made with scallions, fresh corn and a dill-infused mustard vinaigrette. It’s light and tangy, great for the beach, picnic or your summer BBQ’s.

This potato salad is simple, just boiled red and gold potatoes tossed with a simple mustard vinaigrette and lots of fresh dill and scallions.  I add fresh corn to make it a super summer dish. The corn kernels add a bit of crunch to each delicious bite of the potatoes.

When I make corn on the cob I always make an extra few ears to add to other vegetable dishes. I love it with sautéed broccoli rabe.

I prefer potato salad without mayonnaise.  It’s lighter and fresher tasting especially in the summer heat.  Potato salad with mustard vinaigrette is a classic French dish.

The salad can be served cold or at room temperature.  The flavor gets better as it sits too!

Do you know that cold potatoes are low glycemic?  Cooking and then cooling starches like potatoes or rice and not reheating them transforms the regular starch into a RESISTANT STARCH.

Resistant starch is a type of starch that is not digested in the stomach or small intestine, reaching the colon intact. It “resists” digestion which explains why we do not see spikes in either blood glucose or insulin after eating RS, and why we do not obtain significant calories from RS.

Instead, your gut bacteria processes it, creating beneficial molecules that promote balanced blood sugar and healthy gut flora.

When the potatoes are chilled they “resist” digestion, hence the name, and do not spike blood sugar or insulin. Don’t you just love that chilled potato salad does not upset your blood sugar balance?

I used red and gold potatoes but it can be made with either one.

In order to get even slices cut them on a mandoline.  Many people tell me they are afraid of the mandoline because it’s so sharp. I understand, I have cut myself a few times on it.  Cutting the potatoes with a mandoline does make it really easy.

What I recommend is to use a kitchen towel to hold the potatoes instead of using the guard that comes attached to the mandoline.  I removed the guard after I cut myself.  The kitchen towel holds the potatoes (or other vegetables) firmly and protects your hands.  Be careful.  Alternately a sharp knife also works.

One of the keys to the success of this recipe is cooking the potatoes just right.  If they get overdone they’ll be mushy but if they’re underdone they’ll be waxy.  Here are the guidelines I use:

How to Cook Potatoes Perfectly for Salad

1. Place the potatoes in a sauce pan and cover by about an inch with COLD water. Add about a teaspoon of sea salt. Always start with cold water. If you boil the water first, the potatoes won’t cook as evenly (the exterior will cook too fast).
2. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium and remove the lid so  you can keep a close eye on the potatoes.
3. Let cook about 5 minutes. Then pierce the potatoes with the tip of a paring knife every few minutes.  You’re looking for a little resistance.
4. Taste the potatoes each time you check them with the knife. Your sample should have some body to it, an al dente quality. It should seem slightly undercooked and should fully retain its shape still. It usually takes about 12-13 minutes. Remember that the potatoes will keep cooking a bit from the residual heat even after the water is poured off of them. If the potato cracks apart or the knife slides right through rapidly, the potato is overcooked.
5. Pour into a colander immediately when the potatoes are done. Rinse in cold water.

Once  the potatoes are mostly dry, place into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to add an extra layer of flavor.

Now all you have to do is mix in the corn, scallions, dill and dressing.

The dressing is made with garlic, mustard and two types of vinegar.  The combination of rice vinegar and apple cider vinegar give it just the right amount of acidity. Olive oil gives is a velvety texture.

The potato salad is best served chilled or at room temperature.  It tastes even better after sitting a few hours giving the potatoes a chance to soak up all the flavor from the herbs and dressing.

The salad will hold up nicely in the refrigerator for at least 3 days.

I hope you enjoy this light, refreshing, satisfying potato salad as much I do.

“It is always wise to make too much potato salad. Even if you are cooking for two, make enough for five. Potato salad improves with age – that is, if you are lucky enough to have any left over.”   ~Laurie Colwin

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