Wild Garlic French-Style Potato Salad
đź’ˇ Why It Works
- White wine vinaigrette pairs great with starchy potatoes, adding a bright acidity kick and extra depth, without the heaviness of mayo.
- Wild garlic and fresh green beans bring layers of flavor, crisp texture, and a serious nutrient boost.
- This salad works great as both hot and cold dish. Keeping potatoes in the fridge overnight helps to build the resistant starch, lowering glycemic index and making it more blood glucose level friendly.
This is not your average mayo and potato salad. Inspired by a classic French approach, this version features young potatoes, crisp green beans, and punchy seasonal wild garlic. It’s dressed with a light emulsified vinaigrette that clings beautifully to every bite. I have ve fine-tuned the technique so the potatoes stay whole and flavorful, and the beans retain just the right amount of crunch. It’s a simple, elegant dish that’s naturally lower in carbs, with healthy fats and slow-digesting starches that make it a solid choice for anyone watching their blood sugar—myself included. A true taste of summer.
To get the best texture and flavor, I add a tablespoon of vinegar to the potato cooking water. This small step helps to prevent the skins from splitting and keeps the flesh firm.
When blanching the green beans, cook them briefly in salted boiling water, then immediately transfer them to ice water. This locks in their bright color and crispness while halting the cooking process.
Once the potatoes are cooked, don’t rush to serve them. Toss them warm with the vinaigrette and let them sit for about 10 minutes They’ll absorb the dressing like a sponge, resulting in a much, much more flavorful salad. And if you can’t find wild garlic, don’t worry: soft, fragrant herbs like dill, parsley, or baby spinach will make excellent substitutes.
The salad can be safely chilled overnight. When cooked potatoes are cooled, some of their starch converts into resistant starch — a type of carbohydrate that isn’t fully broken down or absorbed by the body. This helps lower the overall glycemic index of the dish, making it more blood-sugar friendly. It’s a simple technique that makes the salad a smarter option for anyone managing diabetes or aiming to reduce post-meal glucose spikes.
Check the video version of this recipe on my YouTube channel.
Recipe
Wild Garlic French-Style Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 700 g new potatoes skin on
- 50 ml water from cooked potatoes save it after cooking
- 200 g green beans trimmed
- 60 g wild garlic alternatively use spinach, parsley, or dill
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2.5 tbsp chardonnay vinegar 1 tbsp for cooking water, 1.5 for the dressing. Can be substituted with champagne or white wine vinegar.
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minces
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Add unpeeled potatoes in a pot with cold water and 1 tbsp of vinegar. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 20–30 minutes, depending on size.
- Bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and blanch for 2 minutes. Immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk mustard with 1.5 tbsp of vinegar. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking until you achieve a creamy, emulsified dressing.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and transfer them to a large bowl. Add about 50 ml of the cooking water and the vinaigrette. Let sit for 10 minutes so the potatoes absorb the flavor.
- Chop wild garlic or substitute herbs. Add to the potatoes along with green beans and minced garlic, if using. Toss gently to mix everything.
- Serve warm, or chill in the fridge for the next day.
