Lunches, picnics, potlucks... sometimes you just need one dish that ticks all the boxes. A great salad that eats like a meal. A bit like a Salade Niçoise, our French potato and green bean salad is amped up with hard-boiled eggs, cornichons, tarragon, and a super flavourful mustardy dressing.
There’s something about the combination of flavours and textures in this salad that’s greater than the sum of its parts. You could add more if you wanted (a bit of cooked fish or roast chicken, a handful of cherry tomatoes), though it stands strong all on its own. The cornichons are key—tiny, tangy pickles that add a delightful burst of flavour.
We carry the Viniteau brand of cornichons because we love their balanced flavour. Cornichons are a great addition to your cheese and charcuterie boards, and of course, our salad recipe, but we also like to chop them up and add them to tuna or egg salad for a burst of bright acidity.
French Green Bean & Potato Salad with Mustardy Dressing
Salad:
454 g (1 lb) mini yellow potatoes
250 g green beans, stem ends trimmed, halved
3 lg eggs
1/4 cup sliced cornichons
2 tbsp tarragon leaves
Dressing:
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp finely chopped shallot
salt & pepper
- Put potatoes in a pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cook for 15 min or until tender. Drain, cool and halve, or quarter.
- Return pot to stove, fill with salted water and bring to a boil. Add beans and blanch for 3 min or until tender-crisp. Use tongs to transfer beans to a bowl of ice water to cool.
- Add eggs to pot and boil for 9 min (this gives you a hard boiled egg with a set but moist centre). Drain and transfer to bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking further. Peel and quarter.
- Combine mustards and vinegar in a bowl. Add olive oil while whisking to get a fully emulsified sauce. Add shallots and season with salt and pepper to taste (tip - the shallots add a bit of sweetness to the dressing, so it's great if the dressing has a few minutes to sit and mellow before serving).
- Toss potatoes and beans with most of the dressing, Add cornichons and tarragon, toss to combine. Add eggs and drizzle remaining dressing over top.
Serves 4
Header image photography by Dan Robb, props by Genevieve Wiseman
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