Warm Potato Salad explodes with flavors!

We will all have made the traditional potato salad by summer's end with tons of mayo and onions. We will also have probably gained a few pounds and added a few points to our cholesterol count. Now it's time to have potato salad that you can eat and not feel guilty having seconds. Lighter without sacrificing flavor, Warm Potato salad is a wonderful summer salad that is more of the tradition of the French version than the American one. It is certainly one that you should give a try. When speaking of warm, we're not talking "hot". The potatoes have cooled to luke warm temperature and it is closer to room temp than anything else.

The ingredients are as follows for a group of 4:

5 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes
4 fresh eggs
2 nice handfuls of French style green beans
2 tablespoons of fresh minced garlic
3 tablespoons of fresh Tarragon, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon of anchovy paste (or 2 anchovies, crush)
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon of coarse ground pepper
salt to taste, but start with 1/2 teaspoon
3 tablespoons of capers
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of white balsamic vinegar (or rice vinegar)

Start by bringing a pot of water to boiling. Add the potatoes (unpeeled) and boil until you can stick a fork in and there's little or no resistance, usually about 20 minutes or so. Remove the potatoes but leave the water in the pot boiling. Let the potatoes sit for a few minutes until they have cooled slightly and can be handled without getting burned. They should peel very easy. Leave whole for now.

In the pot of boiling water, add your eggs and boil until they are between soft boiled and hard boiled. This can be a hit or miss but I have found that it takes no more than 4 to 5 minutes. You want to leave a bit of the yolk soft so that it will mix with the potatoes and dressing. When they have boiled, immediately take them out of the water and transfer them to a bowl of cold water. Again, leave the water boiling.

Now add the green beans in the same pot and boil for about 4 minutes until they are just al dente and still bright green. Remove them and transfer to a bowl of cold water so they don't continue to cook. Now you can dump the boiling water, it's no longer needed.

Cut the potatoes in halves and set them in a large bowl. Next, add the beans and capers. Set aside.

In a smaller bowl, add the ingredients for your dressing. Start with the anchovy paste, salt, pepper, garlic, and basil. Don't be afraid of the use of anchovy paste. Your dressing and salad will not have a fishy flavor whatsoever. You may actually place all these ingredients in a mortar and crush them all together until a nice paste has been achieved. Now add the Dijon mustard and vinegar, mixing the ingredients well with a spoon. While stirring, slowly add the olive oil until it is well incorporated. You may add a bit more olive oil than stated if you wish, there's no harm. I usually add a bit more.

Once all is well blended together, pour it into the bowl with the potatoes and green beans. With your hands, gently mix all the ingredients together until everything is coated with the dressing. Shell your eggs and cut them in halves. The yolk should have a thick creamy consistency and some of it should be harder. Add them to the salad and very carefully toss with your hands again.

Finally, add the fresh tarragon and give one brief last toss before serving. There you go. That's all there is to it. For some it may seem like this is complicated or laborious. Rest assured it couldn't be further from the truth. This salad is very easy to make and oh so wonderful to eat. Serve as a side dish with your favorite meat or fish. You can even serve over a leaf of bib lettuce for a nice presentation. As a topper, cut a few more tarragon leaves and sprinkle over the top. Enjoy. We all did!